The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[SiCkSoULjA]

We ae in pretty bad shape here people our point guard is regressing horribly. We need a PF bad Blatche and Booker should be coming off the bench. At SF Lewis is a bum and I think Singleton is a great guy coming off the bench. SG Nick Young should be coming off the bench he's having trouble shooting the ball, I think he needs too go too the basket more and try too create foul opportunists the man is money at the free throw line. Crawford and Saraphine should not be playing right now.

I don't follow college that much Everyone talks about how deep this draft is but we don't need a solid too good starter we need a superstar. Are there any Carmello's or Wade's in the draft? I have seen Barnes play and I am not impressed.

[Gator Bait]

Who exactly is comparing Davis to Dwight Howard? They are two ENTIRELY different players. If anthing, I think Davis projects well to Marcus Camby, but with a higher offensive upside.

Drummond would be the one to compare to Dwight Howard. A Super Poor man's Dwight Howard. Anthony Davis to me is more like an Anthony Randolph or JaVale McGee. I don't want to have the skinniest front court in the NBA! I think we need to take a wing who can score with the lottery pick. I'm going with Jeremy Lamb. Although, if the opportunity arises and I can trade that lottery pick for a proven NBA scorer (like Rudy Gay) I'm doing that.

---------- Post added January-12th-2012 at 11:05 AM ----------

I don't follow college that much Everyone talks about how deep this draft is but we don't need a solid too good starter we need a superstar. Are there any Carmello's or Wade's in the draft? I have seen Barnes play and I am not impressed.

In my opinion this draft has about 10 players who can start and contribute to your team right away, but it doesn't have a Durrant/Wade/LeBron/Howard/Griffin type franchise Super Star who everyone knows is going to be a star right out of the gate.

Sullinger and Lamb are probably the safest bets to turn into a Robin for John Wall (Batman) so we all have to hope that Wall reaches his potential (like I think he will)

[Weganator]

Drummond would be the one to compare to Dwight Howard. A Super Poor man's Dwight Howard. Anthony Davis to me is more like an Anthony Randolph or JaVale McGee. I don't want to have the skinniest front court in the NBA! I think we need to take a wing who can score with the lottery pick. I'm going with Jeremy Lamb. Although, if the opportunity arises and I can trade that lottery pick for a proven NBA scorer (like Rudy Gay) I'm doing that.

I need to go back and watch more of Jeremy Lamb.

I saw him vs Rutgers and left unimpressed. I know it was his worst game of the year, but he just didn't seem to have that leader vibe that we need a young superstar to come out with, even when he is having a bad game.

Its not the kiss of death or anything and I wouldn't even remotely consider myself a good basketball talent evaluator.

Mostly just thought I would mention it and ask what games from this year would be good ones to go back and watch?

[Samuels]

So if we have the #1 pick:
Do we take Davis and look to sign and trade McGee.
Do we trade down a few spots?
Do we draft someone else #1?

I'd take Davis without hesitation he alters the game defensively. He can play PF and I would'nt pass him up unless the offer blew me away but its doubtful we win the lottery anyway.

Who exactly is comparing Davis to Dwight Howard? They are two ENTIRELY different players. If anthing, I think Davis projects well to Marcus Camby, but with a higher offensive upside.

I read the other day that scouts were saying he was better then Dwight at 18 years old. Alot of people are giving him the KG comparison but better on defense. I can see the Camby comparison but he is blocking shots at a record pace for a true freshman this kid will make a huge impact defensively.

[Destino]

If you're thinking about improving the team stop thinking center unless we can't resign McGee. A team this bad shouldn't be replacing strengths.

PG - Wall / Mack. Wall is going no where and Mack has given no reasons to get rid of him.

SG - Young / Crawford. Here is a spot that needs help. Young isn't worth the money and Crawford isn't maturing though because he's young and cheap they might want to keep him.

SF - Singleton / Lewis / Vesely. Lewis is gone but Singleton and Vesely are going no where. Anyone signed here is going to have limited minutes.

PF - Booker / Blatche / Singleton. Hopefully someone likes the 6th man idea and trades for Blatche. This is a major area of need as Booker is clearly a back up (and frankly, a pretty good one)

C - McGee / Turiaf / Seraphin. Seraphin has to go but I doubt we'll be replacing someone buried on the depth chart with anyone exciting.

In summary, SG and PF.

[shuler74]

lol Davis is no mcgee......davis is awesome with a offensive game and one heck of a unibrow. He was a 6'3 guard and grew seven inches, so he can shoot and play on the low block very very good player a no brainer for me if we had the top pick. He can play the 4 spot ....

Drummond needs some work, great upside but we have no more room on our roster for"upside"......

[Samuels]

lol Davis is no mcgee......davis is awesome with a offensive game and one heck of a unibrow. He was a 6'3 guard and grew seven inches, so he can shoot and play on the low block very very good player a no brainer for me if we had the top pick. He can play the 4 spot ....

x2 Chad Ford said every front office guy he has spoken to said Davis is a lock for the #1 pick. This team is in no position to start drafting need over BPA anyway, we suck.

[Destino]

x2 Chad Ford said every front office guy he has spoken to said Davis is a lock for the #1 pick. This team is in no position to start drafting need over BPA anyway, we suck.

Davis can play the 4 so everyone's a winner.

[Samuels]

Davis can play the 4 so everyone's a winner.

I will be honest i've only seen 2 of his games this year but he was just a defensive monster in both. I just watched his youtube video though from nbadraft.net from his junior and senior years of high school and he can really shoot was draining 3 pointers off the dribble. I had no idea that kid can shoot like that he is a no brainer #1 pick.

watch the video
http://nbadraft.net/players/anthony-davis

[stevemcqueen1]

Could be a sophmore slump aggravated by a short pre-season which is bound to impact a very young team more than a vet team.

By the way, on a Redskins note... some were advocating that the Redskins in their rebuild get rid of all their good players and any vet over 30. The Wizards are a prime example of why that is not a good idea. Although I guess if we did we could have walked to Luck...

Two different sports. Basketball players are so young and immature when they get to the NBA. And veterans routinely play into their mid/late 30's.

Also, like you mention, there is value in bottoming out. That'd also be the case for the NBA if they didn't have the absolutely stupid and shady lottery system.

But I agree, getting rid of all of your veteran players is foolhardy, particularly after you draft your QB of the future. You need things like savvy, veteran wide receivers because having everyone learn on the job at the same time would be UGLY.

---------- Post added January-12th-2012 at 12:33 PM ----------

So if we have the #1 pick:
Do we take Davis and look to sign and trade McGee.
Do we trade down a few spots?
Do we draft someone else #1?

Keep McGee. Davis and McGee would be an amazing defensive front court. Davis is definitely a PF at the next level IMO. Way too skinny to play center in the NBA.

Davis does have offensive upside and he's already got a pretty high BBall IQ. Fantastic passing skills (like Drummond), good ball handler with fantastic foot coordination. Huge motor and gifted rebounder. Fantastic hands and soft touch.

There is some Joakim Noah to his game on the defensive end IMO.

He just doesn't have any big man scoring skills yet. No surprise considering how long he has been a big man, but the issue is if we can afford to wait on a long developing project.

Personally, if we're picking first overall I think you ABSOLUTELY have to take the uber gifted big like Drummond or Davis. When you're that terrible and that fortunate to draft first oeverall in a special year, you need to be taking the very long view. Davis and Drummond have franchise player potential. If Wall walked mid rebuild you'd still have your franchise player, at arguably a more important position than PG.

I agree with Samuels that Drummond scares me a little and that I don't prefer him to Davis. Drummond isn't nearly as explosive as Davis is and he's such a high cut dude, I don't think he'll ever be a center in the Hakeem mold. It's his ready made power that people are so crazy about, 250 some odd pounds at 16 or 17 years old with some natural grace on the floor. He's also young and has a tendency to defer, not an aggressive, alpha type.

One other thing to keep in mind with Davis is that he's going to be playing through some pain for a while after having gone through such a growth spurt. Remember Wall last year? That's going to limit him some. He also needs to add a ton of strength and fill out his new frame, which will take a while. We'd need to be patient with him. But the potential payoff could be huge.

---------- Post added January-12th-2012 at 12:35 PM ----------

Who exactly is comparing Davis to Dwight Howard? They are two ENTIRELY different players. If anthing, I think Davis projects well to Marcus Camby, but with a higher offensive upside.

I can see some Dwight in terms of length, aggressiveness, skills, and explosiveness, plus defensive motor. He's not as strong as Dwight was though. And it will be a while before he ever gets close to as strong as Dwight is now (if he ever gets there).

I think Camby undersells Davis's explosiveness quite a bit.

---------- Post added January-12th-2012 at 12:42 PM ----------

In my opinion this draft has about 10 players who can start and contribute to your team right away, but it doesn't have a Durrant/Wade/LeBron/Howard/Griffin type franchise Super Star who everyone knows is going to be a star right out of the gate.

Sullinger and Lamb are probably the safest bets to turn into a Robin for John Wall (Batman) so we all have to hope that Wall reaches his potential (like I think he will)

I like Lamb but I wouldn't be excited about taking someone like him in the top three. He's too one dimensional, and I feel like players like him are kind of common. Guys like him come out every year. I see a lot of Rip Hamilton comparisons with him and I think they fit fairly well although Lamb looks a lot shorter than Rip. Plus Lamb is really skinny.

Sullinger is a giant with legit skills. 280 pounds and he throws his weight around. I have a hard time seeing him bust and he'll probably be productive early because he can shoot, rebound, and has a post game.

[Destino]

I will be honest i've only seen 2 of his games this year but he was just a defensive monster in both. I just watched his youtube video though from nbadraft.net from his junior and senior years of high school and he can really shoot was draining 3 pointers off the dribble. I had no idea that kid can shoot like that he is a no brainer #1 pick.

watch the video
http://nbadraft.net/players/anthony-davis

You know normally I'm all about defense but watching this team play this year I've switched offense to the top of my wishlist. Think about it, let's say we do get the best defensive big man in the draft that can score in the low teens. Who on this team does the scoring? We aren't anywhere near the top of the points allowed list... we are one team from the bottom on points scored. How Davis projects on the offensive end interests me.

BTW - picture what Davis, McGee, and Vesely would look like on the floor together. I would dub them the Gangly Gang.

[Gator Bait]

BTW - picture what Davis, McGee, and Vesely would look like on the floor together. I would dub them the Gangly Gang.

Front court would be awesome as long as you had a 20 ppg scorer at the 2....which we don't have.

[stevemcqueen1]

I will be honest i've only seen 2 of his games this year but he was just a defensive monster in both. I just watched his youtube video though from nbadraft.net from his junior and senior years of high school and he can really shoot was draining 3 pointers off the dribble. I had no idea that kid can shoot like that he is a no brainer #1 pick.

watch the video
http://nbadraft.net/players/anthony-davis

The first look I got at Davis was at the Nike Hoops Summit which had a ton of great players playing for both the American and World teams. Teague, Gilchrist, McAdoo, Beal, Rivers were all on the American roster with him and Bismack, Bertans, Wiltjer, Fornier, and Noguiera were all on the World team. Davis's talent level absolutely exploded off the screen and it was clear he was the most gifted player on the floor. He was comfortable setting up his teammates, but his ability to get offensive rebounds, catch lobs and crush the rim was special.

Like you, I like Gilchrist too. I think he's a really well rounded player with a lot of upside to develop as a quality shooter and scorer. I think he brings the best intangibles to the table in the draft and is a natural alpha leader type. He should have no weaknesses in the NBA and can handle the ball well enough to play the two or the three. Pippenesque multi-skilled point forward.

[Samuels]

You know normally I'm all about defense but watching this team play this year I've switched offense to the top of my wishlist. Think about it, let's say we do get the best defensive big man in the draft that can score in the low teens. Who on this team does the scoring? We aren't anywhere near the top of the points allowed list... we are one team from the bottom on points scored. How Davis projects on the offensive end interests me.

BTW - picture what Davis, McGee, and Vesely would look like on the floor together. I would dub them the Gangly Gang.

I think alot of our offensive problems will be fixed with time. We need shooters no doubt but Flips system is built to get guys open jump shots and thats not the strenght of this team. I'd be willing to bet this team would look drastically different and alot better offensively and defensively if a vet pick&roll coach were hired like Sloan or JVG.

Nick Young needs to be force fed the ball at this point running off screens even if he is alittle off. You have guys like Crawford and Blatche that are just chuckers. Crawford brings the ball up and decides to go 1 on 1 and Flip lets him its ridiculus. Crawford in my opinion in that 4th quarter stretch blew any chance we had at winning. REALITY check young fella your not MJ and never will be.

[Destino]

I think alot of our offensive problems will be fixed with time. We need shooters no doubt but Flips system is built to get guys open jump shots and thats not the strenght of this team. I'd be willing to bet this team would look drastically different and alot better offensively and defensively if a vet pick&roll coach were hired like Sloan or JVG.

Nick Young needs to be force fed the ball at this point running off screens even if he is alittle off. You have guys like Crawford and Blatche that are just chuckers. Crawford brings the ball up and decides to go 1 on 1 and Flip lets him its ridiculus. Crawford in my opinion in that 4th quarter stretch blew any chance we had at winning. REALITY check young fella your not MJ and never will be.

I assume improvement over time as well, especially when you consider the age of these players. McGee is already showing improvement. Wall, Singleton, Booker, Vesely, Mack, and Crawford are all first or second year players. Their shots will improve.

The one thing I will say though, is that pick and roll or not, you aren't winning in the post season without shooting. It's essential for floor spacing and defenses in the post season game plan specifically against their opponents.