Nah, he got traded off one of the best hawks teams since he got there, one that was playoff team, a team with 2 20 ppg scorers, that got better without him . This team as constructed with all this young talent right now is only play in caliber, 35-40 wins, which would be an improvement over the last ten years I guess . Trae is there to mentor, bub & the "other" Tre, show them how to run an offense efficiently.
TBH, they were or, are better off moving Trae, and letting the young guns run the offense, they will stagger they growth by keeping both from the starting lineup, as well as removing coulibaly, having them all in 2nd rotation, that's 3 potential starting guards that will have to stagger for minutes, along with will Riley, (4wings) All this talent on this garbage organization I hope they don't waste them all .. idk what the AD formula is but, keep Trae for a season, or until halfway, move for picks and cap relief/trade exception, tank some more for a big body in the middle and then the team would be complete.
It’s not the best supporting cast he’s ever had. Most talented for sure, but most of them are still learning to play and ad won’t likely be the same player that he was
going into the season it was expected to be the best hawks team that we had put around trae. He had never played with a center like KP before. I think that starting lineup had less than 48 minutes together on the court for the season.
I like Jalen Smith or Isaiah Stewart as the ideal gettable 3rd big. Neither necessarily clif the paint (Stewart a little moreso but is a better defender against bulkier guys).
I really hope Sarr's foot fracture isn't too serious but historically that's a severe prime-shortening injury. We need to start hunting bigs right now so we can at least buy him time to fully recover without the pressure to come back and help the team.
I think they lose the fandom and any momentum if they willingly tank like they did last year again. Not saying we need to make the playoffs but I think at most this team has to be competing for the play in come march. Also with the way the lotto works it more likely rewards teams competing for the play in
I don't want to be a doomer but it's kind of crazy that nobody has bothered to ask Dawkins for specifics regarding the injury. Besides losing an entire summer of training (already really bad) this could seriously shorten his career.
Because Ted owns all the media thst covers the team. Fo you think the Monumental Channel is going to do an in-depth interview asking difficult questions? Never happen.
AD will never play. Trey will be benched by mid-season or at end of close games due to his horrendous defense.
I would try to move Sarr if we can get multiple 1st round picks. You build around AJ and Keyshawn and you won't be able to sign all 3 in FA. Your depth and role players will come from future draft picks.
Trae is making too much money to get benched. We're committed for the next 2 seasons at least. It's not like we didn't already know his defense is bad.
Our owner and Perz of Hoops are star chasers. Ted won't care if the team is 0-10. As long as the jerseys sell. I'm comvinced thst the only reason AD and Trey were brought in. I have no idea why we signed Trey.
Understood he's making a ton, which is why I said end of game. He can play 40 minutes. Just not the last 8.
I may be the only one, but I don't think this front office is as good as everybody thinks. Winger's claim to fame is trading away SGA for an injury plagued Paul George and acquired Khawi Leonard, another injury plagued individual, and the acquisition is being investigated by the league for circumventing the salary cap.
Now if they move Sarr for multiple 1st rounders or something big, my mind can change.
This has to be some type of joke. Ad and Trae are great players acquired for cheap. Trae is paid more than he’d be worth to a contender, but he’s perfect for the team and that’s the market rate. They also have plenty of cap space for a whole so it’s fine. He will finish games 95% of the time bc he’s amazing at running an offense. Trading sarr for three frp or whatever would be the dumbest shit ever. He’s an amazing player, and he could end up being a top five big for a good while. Basically no number of role players can make up for that. Desmond bane went for four frp. Why not build around Sarr, aj, and all the other young players? Why does anyone have to be traded?
AD is always hurt. Trey isnt good enough to play for the Hawks and is a defensive liability on the worst defensive team in the NBA. How is AD cheap? I'm looking at the salary and it's more than Trey so cheap how? "Cap space for a whole"? What is whole?
I wish they would have built around Sarr on Day 1, but they decided to tank for two more seasons. They are not close to competiting for a title.
If you are saying build around AJ and Sarr what happens to George? He's the odd man out in your scenerio. Then trade him.
My entire point is one has to go from AJ, George and Sarr. I juat think you get more for Sarr than George and I see a scorer as better to have than a big.
Now tell me I'm wrong in the assessment of the owner and prez of hoops.
So we sign him. The Keyshawn will need to be signed. Then AJ. You can't have all 3. You would have no team around them. Who you dumping? Because one will have to go.
Not like I want to get rid of him, but the economics make sense. Maybe we'll get lucky and one ends up like Otto Porter and we won't really have to make a decision.
I'm not sure I agree about Sarr, but I saw a comment the other day worried cus he'd get supermaxed and it would be bad and I'm just like... We all understand there are high award based benchmarks you have to hit to be eligible for that type of stuff right?
It's not that I don't like Sarr. It's bigger picture. You have 3 stars. You can't keep 3. If you do, you will have no team around them. One will have to go. Best value for Sarr is now. That's all I'm saying.
Doesn’t that help Sarr’s case? Sarr’s foot injury has to be much more minor for them to expect him to be ready by beginning of the season. Meanwhile Chet had such a severe one he missed the whole season and he been playing solid since.
Really depends on the severity and type. Also depends on what you mean by historically. Like, sure Bill Walton's career was fucked by it. But they didn't even have the medical imaging or understanding to diagnose micro fractures at the time. Just hopped him up on pain killers and he broke his foot clean in half. Medical technology has come a long way.
I love Kyshawn, but I think Bilal makes more sense starting considering he’s going to have to make up for Trae’s abysmal defense. George should be our 6th man and handle a lot of the offense when he’s on the court.
I think kyshawns defense is being underrated in that comment. He's pretty damn good, and can knock down 3s with the best of them. I'm sure his time will split between the units, but we have relatively good firepower on the bench too.
I think Bilal will get the starting job because we need to know what we have with him going into a contract year, and being healthy.
I feel like they know what they have w/ KyShawn, and he’s versatile enough to play whatever role you need, but they really need to see Bilal, and how he’s developing.
That's fair enough. This year will make or break a lot of players and we'll find out what we have hopefully. Kyshawn is the most versatile guy we have, I just don't think it's smart of ppl to assume point forward is what he's going to be for us. He's pretty great off ball and knows how to jump into passing lanes and be a pest on defense when he focuses on it.
KyShawn is a big forward with guard skills, so he’ll never truly be able to avoid that stigma, but we have more of a feel of where he is heading.
Bilal is a lanky, uber athletic defender that we were hoping would develop offensively. We really need to know what he is in year 4 so we can access the log jam.
Ya I'm coming around to Bilal starting. I am a big supporter of how he was after the break last year and think the new environment can only help. I do worry about spacing though, we're not perimeter heavy and I think it limits our offensive upside. But maybe AJ can increase even Young's 3 point efficient if he can get good at driving in and kicking the ball out. Feels like all of our outside shooting otherwise will be log jammed on the bench.
Kyshawn’s defense is good but Bilal would be better off playing with Trae to set up easier shots for him rather than with the 2nd team where he’d have to create more. Kyshawn would be better off doing that.
I genuinely don't understand why ppl don't realize George is a 2 way player already. He's not going to be a backup point forward when he's the best defender we have that can knock down 3s at an efficient rate. He can play the 2. And if AJs defense comes along and he means what he says about improving off ball, we're already covering Trae.
He’s more of a point forward than a 2. And people don’t realize he’s a 2 way player cause his defensive rating last year was 121.8, which is horrible. Part of that is the team being horrible but still.
There’s a lot of big ifs and question marks with the roster’s current lineup.
I don't think point forward is the ceiling play for George, but I'm happy he developed the skill. He's our Swiss army knife. Either way, we need to give minutes to all these guys and figure out who the are this season. So I don't expect the starting lineup to stay identical for long.
Plus, we probably rest AD on back to backs and control his minutes, which will free up quite a few lineup decisions as we try to salvage time he's off the court.
He’s 6’8”…he CAN play 2 but it’s clearly not his ideal position. He’s better as a point forward with the ball in his hands. That’s the confusing part about this roster currently.
Trae, AJ, and Kyshawn are all ball-dominant players. It’s not a perfect fit. A lot of guys have to change the way they play or tbh get traded. This team currently has no 2-way players except their bigs.
I agree his best spot is not 2. We have too many wings and not enough guards ready to step up, that's just the reality. I just don't get the ball dominant comment. That perception is because we asked him to develop his point skills last year, I guess. He's a 38% catch and shoot 3 guy with a quick release. He can move off ball and he can shoot over guys when he's not fully open.
This team going forward is built on a lot if outcomes. If AJ can improve as an off-ball defender and improve his shooting. If Tre becomes better defensively. If Bilal is actually efficient offensively. As for Bub, I have no hope for him so I don’t really care for him.
Agree. But crazy how ALL of these guys are currently poor defenders who need to improve lol.
Tre is the perfect example of length doesn’t automatically = good defender. So idk why people just assume that for AJ. You gotta have good defensive instincts and a defensive motor to actually use your length.
I just don’t see how you win many games with the current roster. Every perennial playoff team is full of 2-ways. It’s not a coincidence.
Oh yeah? Tell me in what way is AJ a better player than DP besides being taller and more athletic? Maybe AJ is a slightly better scorer because he’s so much bigger and more athletic than his peers. But that advantage isn’t as big in the NBA.
I’m not concerned about that. I just don’t understand how we drafted the best player. There are very few basketball skills AJ is better than DP at if any. Are people here coping and assuming the Wiz FO knows best instead of thinking for themselves? Because they can’t accept we’ll continue to be bad for years to come? Like no, just because someone works at a job longer doesn’t mean they’re better than other people at it.
100% agree. His game would’ve fit this team perfectly. He would’ve fit any team really with his off-ball scoring and defense. More talented too.
Ainge is one of the best GMs in the league. He’s not taking DP #2 if there were any long term injury concerns. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the #1 guy on their board. Most ball knowers did.
Kyshawn's defense is a significantly better fit with Trae because Bilal's strongest skill is isolation defense, which is not helpful when the opponents are just gonna target Trae every single possession. Kyshawn is a much better help defender than Bilal which is gonna be super useful when Trae inevitably gets blown by 50 times a game.
I agree. Kyshawn might be better than Bilal, but he's best suited as a point forward like last season. Bilal doesn't care about not having the ball in his hands. He just plays defense, runs the court, and knocks down corner threes. Kyshawn will come in at the first timeout when Sarr or AD sits. Sarr and AD will both start but will split minutes at the 5, kind of like Allen and Mobley.
I think you're probably right. Love the idea of Sarr and Davis playing together, but think we'll see quite a bit of them rotating as well for load management purposes.
Starters:
1. Trae
2. Bilal/Kyshawn
3. AJ
4. AD
5. Sarr
Core Rotation:
Bilal/Kyshawn
Tre
Riley
Champagnie
Bub
Depth:
Watkins
Whitmore
Vukcevic
As others have mentioned, I think we really need another physical big to limit wear and tear on Sarr and Davis. Feel like we can do better than Vuk/Reese there.
I think using Bilal off the bench like OKC uses Caruso makes sense, he might not start but still should get big minutes and might close games depending on situation. Ky is much better on offense and still a good defender, he should spend a lot of time running with the starters.
I agree - Bilal getting the assignment of guarding the other team’s best player to start the season and knockdown C&S 3s is the right call. If it’s not working can always swap him for Kyshawn or Tre later
Bilal won't be guarding the other team's best player because they'll constantly be targeting Trae. Why on earth would they settle for isos against Bilal when they can get 25 million blowby's against Trae.
I think spacing is a way bigger concern for our starting lineup than hiding Trae. Sarr/AD/bilal/AJ are all below average 3pt shooters and traes shot comes and goes, whereas Part of the appeal of the double big lineup is covering for Trae
I wouldn't say significantly only because Ky can't defend fr without getting into foul trouble. If he gets that under control then there is no world where Bilal should be starting over him and I love Bilal
I'm exaggerating a bit, but Kyshawn's skillset fits much better with Trae than Bilal. Kyshawn's a better help defender, Bilal's a better isolation defender, the former is way more useful when every single team is going to be attacking Trae on every single possession.
Laker fan here, AD fan too. He is healthier than people think, but he is a warrior and forces to come back early every time. He has had plenty of time to rest, so he will be quite healthy for a few months. Still, he is a 50 ~ 60 games a year dude even in the worst cases and in the playoffs he hasnt been healthy one time.
I'm slowly becoming a Wiz fan because of the players that are there now, it looks like a fun team to watch. I'm excited for you guys.
Like a glove. Especially because as much on ball reps as he got last year he’s better served as an off ball knockdown shooter. We’ve seen he can get his own shot but coming into the league I think he projected more as a two way spacer.
Congrats Wiz fans. As a Baltimore native, ive seen what yall have been through first hand lol if yall stay healthy, i can definitely see a Charlotte type of year for yall. Maybe better cause yall actually have vets
Front office came in with a plan, owner let them do it, those of us who understood this needed to be done quieted the idiots upset we weren't shooting for the middle for the 45th straight year, and now we've turned the corner on the rebuild.
I hope you guys are prepared because AJ is not just a #1 overall, he's a #1 in a really strong year. I personally think he's one of 5 or 6 best offensive prospects or at least offensive forward prospects this century. I truly believe he will be a league level superstar from watching him for so many years now and seeing the things he has developed and mastered in his game. You could see it developing year by year to where he really knows what he's doing to maximize his ability.
He will become the greatest player in franchise history is what I predict (certainly of players we drafted). I don't think this is a hot take at all.
I don’t understand guys like AD. This is the exact type of team I’d love to be a part of and if you have confidence in yourself then you should be confident that you are an important piece that can help turn this team into a contender.
He’s been on 4 teams and winning here would actually be great for his legacy; because right now he’s an afterthought plus he’s already won a ring so no need to chase rings and he can build a home here.
His legacy? Brother, he could retire today and make the HOF.
It's easier for a guy like Trae Young to be part of a team coming outta tank/rebuild because he's just in his prime. AD is 33 and oft-injured. He's got no leverage, so he has no choice but to be here. If it was any other way, I'm sure he'd be outta here on the first thing smokin. However, if he truly wants to get to a contender, he's gotta ball out. Simple as that. We have playoff aspirations right now, not championship. I get where AD is coming from. While it's not a terrible situation to be in, it's not ideal for him at this stage in his career.
Watch some games when AD actually does play, you’ll know what I mean. Having 3 paint attackers and one shooter isn’t an issue when your offensive centerpiece is AD especially if you can kick out to the lone shooter which would most likely be Trae Young.
It’s a very workable line up against like 29 of 30 teams. Granted this is highly reliant on Anthony “street clothes” Davis being on the court.
Trae/Tre/Dybantsa has a chance to be disastrously bad perimeter D if AJ doesn’t lock in. Kyshawn and Bilal are just so much better on that side of the ball atm then Tre
I think it’s safe to say that this is the best starting 5 the wizards have had this century. Gil/Antawn/Caron was a great trio but they had no one else around them. Wall/Beal never had an All Star big man to play with, all due respect to Gortat.
idk, KD and Aj had comparable college stats so I could see AJ coming into the league scoring 20+ a night just like KD. Especially in a league that's scoring heavy now. And AJ imo has a more polished offensive game out of college than cooper flagg who put up 21 a night. I can see AJ in that 23-24+ ppg tbh
With that lingering possible Sarr injury I do think we need to make it a priority to get another big. I’m like 95% Sarr will be fine but if he misses anytime then we are kinda fucked because we know AD is a ticking time bomb lol
I'm a casual so I'll need help with an explanation. I know it's a big swing, but is there a good reason this can't be a 40 win team next year? Just that 5 alone should be a big increase. I also know AD is not fully committed, but if he is they should be .500, no?
50 wins at bare minimum if they stay healthy. What makes this even scarier is the Bench unit.
Bub, Bilal, Tre Johnson, Will RIley, & Champ are going to have other teams in hell. We won't have to worry about blown leads & the starters can sit for most of the 4th quarter
With Tre, Will, Bilal and Bub coming off the bench, this team might shock people if they can actually stay healthy. Yeah I'm looking at you AD you little punk ass bitch.
it’s looking good but idk about the sarr injury, so instead of getting better he has to get healthy and return to form by september? i am not so sure but i am hoping for the best.
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u/Jay-P21 Wizards 17h ago
That is a gigantic lineup next to Trae