| Lottery Summit: Washington Wizards Authored by Andrew Perna & The RGM Wizards Forum - June 16, 2008 - 8:31 am
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The Washington Wizards:
2007-08 Record: 43-39
Difference From 2006-07: Two More Wins
Playoff Result: Lost In Six To Cleveland (First Round)
Restricted Free Agents: None
Unrestricted Free Agents: Gilbert Arenas (ETO), Antawn Jamison, Roger Mason
The Verdicts
1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?
Dat2U: If we kept our mouths shut, had stayed at home on the perimeter shooters and didn’t load up on LeBron James’ side as we did.
ZonkertheBrainless: If we played better team basketball on offense, played with some heart and a little more intelligently on defense.
Chocolate City Jordanaire: Washington could have played a bigger lineup with Antawn Jamison at small forward, Andray Blatche at power forward and Brendan Haywood at center to rebound and defend without collapsing inside. Quicker, taller and more athletic players like Nick Young and Dominic McGuire in the backcourt would have defended the perimeter better as well.
Ed Wood: The Wizards were awful all year at dealing with perimeter shooters, and come playoff time they decided to dance with the girl they\'d brought with them. Defensive rebounding was also an issue and LeBron. LeBron was a host of issues.
Gilbert0Arenas: A better defensive gameplan by a smarter coach. Preferably, one that wouldn\'t allow us to get bombarded from the three-point line.
fishercob: If we where fully healthy. A healthy Gilbert Arenas, plus six fouls and ten minutes from Etan Thomas could have gotten this team past the Cavaliers.
Wiz Fo Champz: Health, simple as that. A healthy Washington team can have easily beaten the Cavaliers.
LyricalRico: First, don\'t tell the world you\'re going to try to hurt LeBron. Second, stop helping off the three-point shooters.
fugop: If they had secured home court advantage by beating the Bucks late in the season, and learned to cover perimeter shooters.
NbdyBeatsTheWiz: Closed out on shooters better and had not put out a public hit on Stern\'s ‘golden boy’ prior to the series. A little health would have gone a long way too...
doclinkin: If we fouled without talking about it and pretended they were the finesse team being beaten up by thugs and bullies and sat Gilbert down at times.
gesa2: Defend LeBron as the Spurs and Celtics have successfully -- give him the outside shot and double team him hard and early.
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
Dat2U: The ability to make shots in stretches, having two capable 20-point scorers in Caron and Antawn (with Gilbert out) and offensive rebounding.
ZonkertheBrainless: Without Gil, the team showed amazing resiliency. Every player from Caron on down picked up his game and contributed at different points of the season.
Chocolate City Jordanaire: Butler when healthy, and Jamison all season, carried the Wizards’ offense. Haywood played well at both ends as well.
Ed Wood: High volume and quality offensive output from a variety of sources was a plus. Also, the ability to play at a variety of paces with some success and knack for avoiding excessive amounts of turnovers.
Gilbert0Arenas: Two All-Star forwards, along with an underappreciated center.
fishercob: Not backing down in the face of adversity – Butler and Jamison both had excellent seasons.
Wiz Fo Champz: Resilience. The Wizards never gave up and fought hard through forty-eight minutes, even if they came up short at times.
LyricalRico: Improved free throw and three-point shooting.
fugop: A dynamic offense that produced relatively efficiently all year, despite personnel turnover and injuries.
NbdyBeatsTheWiz: Two incredible team captains that also happen to be All-Stars. We have a lot of young guys, so their veteran leadership helped us get through rough stretches.
BigA: Resilience in the face of adversity, blogging and trash-talking.
doclinkin: Team cohesion, work ethic and attitude. Injuries could have torpedoed the squad, but players shouldered the load even when dinged up and battered.
gesa2: Cohesiveness and effort despite Gil\'s injury. We also managed to give a better defensive effort this year.
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
Dat2U: Roger Mason Jr., who went from an NBDL-level player to a relatively effective scorer off the bench.
ZonkertheBrainless: DeShawn Stevenson, Mason and depending on who you talk to Brendan Haywood. To a lesser extent, Young was a surprise as well.
Chocolate City Jordanaire: Haywood improved his free throw shooting tremendously. Also, Stevenson developed a three-point shot and prior to the playoffs had a terrific year.
Ed Wood: Mason Jr. stands out most in my mind, having transformed himself from an ‘all left-his-shot-at-shoot around selection’ to an efficient backup guard and even a credible situational option at point guard. Haywood solidified his position as a key part of what defense we have too.
Gilbert0Arenas: Mason and Young – both weren\'t expected to do squat, but showed a lot.
fishercob: Butler and Haywood both took leaps in their effectiveness this year. Butler added a three-point shot to his repertoire and Haywood went through a renaissance at the foul line.
Wiz Fo Champz: Mason Jr. Despite going on a hot streak towards the end of last season, I never expected him to be a valuable rotation player, and at times the sixth man.
LyricalRico: Haywood really stepped up this year, but it\'s a surprise because coach actually played him.
fugop: Butler elevated his game beyond expectations.
NbdyBeatsTheWiz: Mason Jr.
doclinkin: Jamison posted league-best on/off stats, even when Caron was playing at an All-Star level. His defense managed to quiet doubters and earned respect even from skeptics.
gesa2: Stevenson. He was a streaky shooter, but provided top notch defense and toughness all year. Mouthing off to LeBron distracted casual fans from how solid he was in regular season.
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
Dat2U: Darius Songaila. Although I never thought much of him, there were high hopes that he\'d be an effective role player in our offense. Not the case in general, he can\'t defend his shadow either.
ZonkertheBrainless: Songaila had a very slow start, but picked it up late. He looked like he was dealing with some sort of lingering injury.
Chocolate City Jordanaire: Arenas hurt himself and the team.
Ed Wood: Gil\'s injury troubles have been frustrating to say the least. It\'s sometimes difficult to accept Songaila’s many limitations as well, even if they\'re nothing new.
Gilbert0Arenas: Songaila struggled beyond belief, though he was OK at times late in the season.
fishercob: Songaila was immensely disappointing to start the season, but got somewhat better in the second half. Blatche showed flashes of greatness, but not the consistency from night to night that some of us hoped for (and expected).
Wiz Fo Champz: I actually expected a better season out of McGuire, because I thought he was more NBA ready than he actually was. Either way, I expect big things from him in the future.
LyricalRico: I thought McGuire would get into the rotation before Young.
fugop: Arenas didn\'t play.
NbdyBeatsTheWiz: Obviously the injury had a big part to play, but it would have to be Arenas
doclinkin: Oleksiy Pecherov caught a stress fracture or something, I forget what, but after giving us high hopes with his hustle and work ethic he showed up as only a shot-jacking perimeter catapult, amounting to not much under the boards. The other two rooks showed some promise, but Pecherov has so many holes to patch in his game it\'s doubtful he’ll improve much by next season.
gesa2: Blatche. I know he\'s young, but if he\'d give consistent effort on defense and offensive rebounding, he\'d be a key player already.
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
Dat2U: Eh, not really all that confident. Our GM seems comfortable with status quo. I want Gil and Antawn back, but I\'d like to see some changes made among the surrounding players. A new coach would be real nice too.
ZonkertheBrainless: Very, but there\'s not much the front office can do now without going over the luxury tax.
Chocolate City Jordanaire: Not that confident. This team is cap-constrained and Eddie Grunfeld hasn\'t traded for anybody significant in years.
Ed Wood: Reasonably, though it\'s hard to imagine that there will be all that much done to alter the construction of our roster.
Gilbert0Arenas: I like Ernie, but he isn\'t as great as some think of him to be. He\'s made this team good, but after five years I don\'t think this team has enough to take the next step.
fishercob: Pretty. Grunfeld is the best sports executive in this town, but I wonder if he\'ll make an aggressive move if the opportunity presents itself.
Wiz Fo Champz: I really have no idea, this front office hasn\'t done much the past two seasons. This summer will be very important, though.
LyricalRico: I really like our GM. I just don\'t think the owner/coach are on the same page as him, but I still think he\'ll do at least a decent job.
fugop: I’m 90% confident in the GM and 45% in coach.
NbdyBeatsTheWiz: Somewhat. We\'ve got an owner that is sometimes loyal to a fault, but a GM who I feel can more than handle things.
doclinkin: I sleep well. Question marks exist on the health of the owner, a good guy despite his frugality and outdated.
gesa2: Ernie will do as well as anybody else given the situation, and our owner\'s emphasis on loyalty.
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
Dat2U: A rebounding, low post terror in the Jason Maxiell or Paul Millsap mode or an athletic point guard that can push tempo, defend and hit an open jumper.
ZonkertheBrainless: If healthy, and if they re-sign Gilbert and Jamison, the team has no real needs in the starting five.
Chocolate City Jordanaire: A burly, explosively quick power forward that can defend and finish inside. Also, a quick point guard that can defend and distribute.
Ed Wood: The best player available really, though point/combo guard and small forward could be argued as team needs.
Gilbert0Arenas: A defensive-minded big. This team has enough shot jackers and scorers. We need a big man who can come in and rebound and defend.
fishercob: A healer. Maybe a young point guard to groom or a banger as well.
Wiz Fo Champz: I don\'t want to draft another young guy, let\'s trade the pick for a seasoned front-court veteran that can give us consistent production down low.
LyricalRico: The biggest need is a point guard since our backup is aging and Gil still hasn\'t proven he\'s fully-healthy. Second most pressing need would be a seven-foot backup center that can rebound and defend
fugop: A defensively proficient big, with enough offensive skills to see time on the court.
NbdyBeatsTheWiz: A no-nonsense big man to throw the ball to down low, who can rebound and play some good one-on-one and help defense. Also, a good level-headed point guard to groom since Antonio Daniels is on his way out.
doclinkin: A winner or the best talent available. We\'ve got no particular blank spot other than depth.
gesa2: A second front-court defender to go with Haywood or a player that we can groom to be a backup guard.
7. Who would you like your team to select?
Dat2U: At eighteen I like Marreese Speights, Darrell Arthur, Roy Hibbert, Nicolas Batum or Joe Alexander.
ZonkertheBrainless: Hibbert, because you can never have too many big bodies.
Chocolate City Jordanaire: Richard Hendrix and Mario Chalmers, or a trade up to get Kevin Love if possible.
Ed Wood: I like Chalmers, Speights, Batum, Donte Green and Anthony Randolph. Arthur, Hendrix, Brandon Rush, J.J. Hickson or Jason Thomson might not be too bad either.
Gilbert0Arenas: I don\'t watch college ball, but I hope we grab a guy who will rebound everything in sight.
fishercob: The Wizards should trade the pick for veteran help. They have four young players (three rookies and Blatche). They should follow the Celtics\' and Lakers\' model of consolidating assets to improve the rotation.
Wiz Fo Champz: If we aren\'t trading the pick, I wouldn\'t mind Alexander. That guy can just flat out score the basketball.
LyricalRico: I\'m currently on the Robin Lopez bandwagon, but he might not slip that far.
fugop: Trade down in the first round to take D.J. White, then draft Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in the second.
NbdyBeatsTheWiz: Hibbert, but if Darren Collison dropped to our slot I\'d scoop him up and take Joey Dorsey as our big in the second.
doclinkin: Beasley.
gesa2: Speights, if available, would be ideal. Or a trade down to get Hendrix and Chalmers at end of first/start of second round.
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Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. If you’re a fan of one of the many teams that we have yet to feature, surf over to our forums and weigh in on what is happening within the organization. If you’d like to contact Andrew, shoot him an e-mail at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
