Boring Wiz 2021 Preseason Presser

[Xist2Inspire]

......You know what? I actually don't have much to say. Last season was the first with our newly-reconstructed team, and we pretty much smashed my expectations. 50 wins, and we were in the division title race until the very end. Unfortunately, "smashed" also described our postseason, as we lost our long-awaited matchup with the Hawks. Still, the team performed well without Damian Lilliard, which was a very good sign moving into the offseason.

The plan was always to keep Dame for one season, then trade him to make way for D'Angelo in RFA. It was nice to actually achieve an offseason goal for a change, and we were even able to gain extra cap room by trading Odell and Tyron. It was great having them, especially Odell, but they had to go in order for the next phase to begin.

So what is the next phase? Well, the core is locked up. We brought in Leroy Haugh, Jim Benally, & Kent Matson during the draft, Gerald Carlsen, Desus Mero, & Billy Kingston in the Dame/Odell trade, and despite a miserable free agency period, we did sign a decent young talent in Louie Thomas. We now have a good idea what our key guys are capable of, so now it's go time. It's time to put our focus on becoming a perennial playoff team, and from there, a contender. Several of our guys have been putting in work to improve during the offseason, so if that continues, we'll be a team to look out for. And if not, well...

'Nuff Said.

Any questions?

[garbageman]

On a young team with a lot of promising players, what would you say the identity of this Wizards team is?

[false9]

With a plethora of smaller young guards, can we expect any of them to be in the move?

[JNR]

GWR: Who's your leader?

[Xist2Inspire]

On a young team with a lot of promising players, what would you say the identity of this Wizards team is?

"In Your Face." Like you said, we're young, so we're going to spend every bit of that youthful energy on putting pressure on our opponents. We're driving in the paint, we're crashing the boards, and we're disrupting offenses by playing tough defense.

With a plethora of smaller young guards, can we expect any of them to be in the move?

It's likely. We have a bit of a hole at the 5 that probably needs to be addressed if we want to compete. It also annoys me that none of our guys are combo guards, which really come in handy when streamlining a rotation and keeping the offense flowing. We're fortunate enough to be in a position to where we don't have to make a decision now, but don't be surprised if you see us make a move.

GWR: Who's your leader?

You know me, I prefer to have multiple "leaders" on my rosters, because it's usually those kinds of teams that win titles. If I had to pick one guy though, it'd be Paul Webb. Again, we're young, and thus we often make poor decisions. We need Paul to get the ball where it needs to go, and as one of the more experienced guys on our roster, we believe that he can be the floor general we need.

I also have to give a special shout-out to D'Angelo, who's completely elevated his game in our past two postseasons. That's the kind of thing that can put a team over the top, and we're hoping it's a sign of things to come.

[Wombataholic]

With a 4-2 preseason, do you believe that the Wizards can make the playoffs this year?

[Inner_GI]

In the past the Wizards may be known to rush rebuilds. How hard has it been to remain patient with such a large group of young players?

[ballsohard]

D'Angelo Russell and De La Rosa will always draw comparisons for obvious reasons. Eveeryone knew De La Rosa was a project coming in with a ceiling beyond measure. Russell looked to be a little more of a guy you can plug and play now for wins and we've seen the team make the playoffs 2/3 years he played but he's struggled on offense. What makes you believe he can be a great player in this league? How long do you think it will take?

[Xist2Inspire]

With a 4-2 preseason, do you believe that the Wizards can make the playoffs this year?

We've made it in for the last three seasons, so I know we can do it again. The East has been getting tougher every season though, meaning it won't be easy.

In the past the Wizards may be known to rush rebuilds. How hard has it been to remain patient with such a large group of young players?

I don't think it's been so much of a "I'm tired of this, let's rush it" thing as it's been a "Damn, _____ isn't progressing like I hoped/is progressing too fast," or "We won too many games, now our draft plans are ruined," "Oh snap, ______ actually signed/got traded to us, FULL STEAM AHEAD," "The tax man cometh, we're not good enough to commit," or the classic "Thanks TC, now we ded. ABANDON SHIP!" I'm totally fine with a slow rebuild, but circumstances often get in the way.

To answer your question though, it hasn't been hard at all yet. It was harder to make the deals necessary to set this team up than it's been to keep them together.

D'Angelo Russell and De La Rosa will always draw comparisons for obvious reasons. Everyone knew De La Rosa was a project coming in with a ceiling beyond measure. Russell looked to be a little more of a guy you can plug and play now for wins and we've seen the team make the playoffs 2/3 years he played but he's struggled on offense. What makes you believe he can be a great player in this league? How long do you think it will take?

And speak of the deal that set this team in motion...with Russell, yes, he was further along in his development despite still being young, but the thing that really drew us to him was his slashing mentality, tenacious defense, and willingness to help on the boards. He's 6'4", but plays 6'6". His offensive struggles have been noted, but seem to be limited to the regular season. So far, he's performed very well in the playoffs when given the opportunity. We hope that this season will be his breakout year, one where he can finally step out of the shadows of the trade that brought him here.

[Conroy]

Speaking of D'Angelo Russell playing like he's 6'6 have you ever seen a shooting guard average 7 rebounds per game, do you think that is something he can keep up during the regular season?

[Xist2Inspire]

Speaking of D'Angelo Russell playing like he's 6'6 have you ever seen a shooting guard average 7 rebounds per game, do you think that is something he can keep up during the regular season?

Rebounding guards are uncommon, but not unheard of. Right now, we have NBA Champion Russell Westbrook, and for more Wiz-centric examples, Rashard Lewis (during his time as a 2) and Tyreke Evans were excellent rebounders for their position. We hope D'Angelo can follow in their footsteps, and our intended gameplan will give him the opportunity.