The Wizards Are Content

[Xist2Inspire]

Call it laziness, call it complacency, but this quote from last season's presser kinda says it all:

As for our expectations, we just want to see how our new pieces fit and how far along some of our younger talent are in their development. Repeating would be great of course, but we're back in a transitional phase now. Best to set realistic goals.

While I think I tinkered a bit too much and caused us to stumble towards the end of last season, we still won 58 games and reached the Conference Finals with only 4 players in the rotation with more than 3 years of experience and our backup point guard KTFO for the playoffs. That's a pretty good sign. So, going into the offseason, my only goal was to add a piece or two and re-sign Paul Cassel. To that end, we used our MLE to offer Brian May a RFA contract and were able to reach a deal with the Blazers. We also traded for Ron McGee, a player we've wanted for some time. Oh, and Paul gave us a sweetheart deal, so......yay.

So right now we have an interesting mix of young talent and veterans. Apparently we had the 7th best training camp, which is impressive given that everyone currently on our roster would be at least a rotation piece on any other team. Even our "project" guy, Ali Assad, shows a lot of promise right now. We're actually kind of overwhelmed with all the possible lineups we could bring out. There's really not much more to say other than that we're excited to see what the season brings! Any questions?

[false9]

As we transition from Quintin Kidd's peak to sunset, do you feel any added impetus on winning title #2?

[JNR]

GWR: Much has been talked about Kidd's decline, but he's still an incredibly productive player. Do you still feel he can lead the team to the finals?

[MexicanMamba]

Whats the main weakness on your roster that you most want to still find a cure for?

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[NOLa.]

The title says content but this almost feels like the Wizards are bored? Is that a fair assessment or is it really just you being content with where you are as a potential division winner and contention for another trip to the finals?


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[Xist2Inspire]

As we transition from Quintin Kidd's peak to sunset, do you feel any added impetus on winning title #2?

Yeah, I'd ideally love to pick up another, but I'm fully aware that the landscape is changing. So with that in mind, I have to make sure that I'm focused on extending my window instead of grabbing whatever success I can before it closes.

[Xist2Inspire]

GWR: Much has been talked about Kidd's decline, but he's still an incredibly productive player. Do you still feel he can lead the team to the finals?

Things are going to be pretty interesting with Kidd this season. For one, he's moving to the 4 full-time for the first time in his career. I have no doubt that he has what it takes to lead us back to the Finals...but that's at his old position. I'm curious to see how he performs in his new one, and if we'll have to make a change.

[Xist2Inspire]

Whats the main weakness on your roster that you most want to still find a cure for?

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We need a young stud to form a one-two punch with Cassel. We've gathered a nice ensemble of future talent, but we're still missing that one extra piece to ensure our continued success as a franchise going forward.

[Xist2Inspire]

The title says content but this almost feels like the Wizards are bored? Is that a fair assessment or is it really just you being content with where you are as a potential division winner and contention for another trip to the finals?


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It's the latter. I mean, look at my roster, like really look at it. 13 deep, but only 6 guys with 5+ years of experience. 2 of those guys aren't even expected to be a key part of the rotation. 3 more of those guys have their understudies right behind them. Of the 7 players with 4 or less years of experience in my roster, 4 are signed long-term. I hold RFA rights on the other three, plus the rights I have on Assad. To be in serious contention with a 7-player future rotation already lined up and a sub-50 tax bill is a blessing. It'd be a knock on me as a person if I wasn't deeply appreciative and content with the situation I'm in.

If I seem bored, it's only just the boredom that comes from anticipation for the future, the boredom others see when you're totally satisfied with things as they are. I'm so thankful to have set up the next phase of this franchise and so excited to see what comes next that it almost makes whatever happens now inconsequential. I've already won a title, why be on edge? Why starve myself to increase my hunger when I've already been fed and there's more in the fridge? The pressure's off now. The pressure's off and I get to do what I love about this league, which is build a team from scratch that works, and I get to contend for another ring while doing it. This is fun, man. I'm having fun.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Brian May was a prolific scorer on the Trailblazers, but a lot of that seems to be that the Blazers haven't really had alternate scoring options. Once Luguentz Dort started coming along and the Blazers picked up Grayson Allen, May's scoring, usage, and efficiency all went down. What do you expect from him in terms of role on a team that's much better managed and much more focused on putting together competitive rosters?

[Xist2Inspire]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Brian May was a prolific scorer on the Trailblazers, but a lot of that seems to be that the Blazers haven't really had alternate scoring options. Once Luguentz Dort started coming along and the Blazers picked up Grayson Allen, May's scoring, usage, and efficiency all went down. What do you expect from him in terms of role on a team that's much better managed and much more focused on putting together competitive rosters?

Given that we run a pass-heavy offense that doesn't care who scores as long as it goes in, we're just looking for him to give us some solid scoring and adequate defense off the bench. In the future he'll have to step it up, but for now we're just curious to see how he performs on a team that doesn't need him to do anything other than what he's good at for about 15 minutes.

[greepleairport]

Have you thought about exercising or declining Kidd’s team option next year? He’s still one of the best, but his decline has begun, and $56 is a lot of change. As JR Johnson began his sunset you moved on to acquire youth in Tony Cucone. Will history repeat with Kidd?


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[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Looking at your history in this league, the last time you missed the playoffs was in 2025, which is an incredible run to say the least. What do you think has been the biggest attribute to your continued success year in and year out, and how much longer do you see this streak going for?

[Xist2Inspire]

Have you thought about exercising or declining Kidd’s team option next year? He’s still one of the best, but his decline has begun, and $56 is a lot of change. As JR Johnson began his sunset you moved on to acquire youth in Tony Cucone. Will history repeat with Kidd?

Yes, we've begun looking at the possibility of moving Kidd. Whether or not his option will play into that, we're currently not sure. It all depends on how that affects the market for him. Kidd's had an awesome run with us, but I'd be remiss in my duties as a GM if I didn't at least consider trading him. With that being said though, we're seeing more and more players over 30 continuing to be great-to-good players years past their prime. News of Kidd's imminent demise might be greatly exaggerated, and we definitely will take that into account as well.

[Xist2Inspire]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Looking at your history in this league, the last time you missed the playoffs was in 2025, which is an incredible run to say the least. What do you think has been the biggest attribute to your continued success year in and year out, and how much longer do you see this streak going for?

Luck. I know that's not what you were expecting to hear, but it's true. I can do all the scouting and planning and cap managing I want to - and trust me, I do quite a lot of that - but if the other GM doesn't (or does) accept that deal, then what? If the player dies in TC or just never develops, then what? If nobody signs with us in FA, then what? I'd love to puff out my chest and say that this streak is all me, here's what you other guys should do, but that wouldn't be right. If you're looking for general advice on what to do when constructing and maintaining a team, I can give you that, but I can't bask in the glory of this streak and endlessly reminisce on all I did to make it happen. That's only part of the picture. We like to think that we're the sole architects of our successes in life, but that's never the case. No matter how well you set yourself up to succeed, there will still be numerous factors out there that play a major role in your successes, but are and forever will be totally out of your control. It never hurts to keep that in mind. So, I'll go with luck.

As for how much longer I see this streak going? This is probably the last season. Realignment is coming, and I may have to move on from Kidd soon. With all that uncertainty ahead, I can't honestly say that I'm certain I can keep this going.