Wizards Offseason Recap

Sorry for such a long break, but three weeks at sleep away camp prevented me from blogging.  Now that the draft is over, and the bulk of off-season signings has ended we can recap what happened.  To recap the Wizards offseason:  Wizards trade Rashard Lewis for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza,  Wizards draft Bradley Beal and Tomas Satoransky, Wizards re-sign Cartier Martin.

Trading Lewis for Okafor and Ariza tightened up the Wizards cap space for the next two seasons, but also added considerable talent to the team.  With that trade the Wizards adopted a "win now" attitude that doesn't necessarily suit them.  Since trading Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler in the 2009-2010 season the Wizards had been patiently rebuilding.  The rebuilding effort was not going very well as none of the young talent they acquired was excelling.  This past season they traded Javale Mcgee for Nene in a surprising move.   The Wizards lacked veteran leadership and scoring so they gave up one of their best young assets.  At the time a "win now" move like that was highly questioned because it still did not push the Wizards to a playoff team level.  With the Lewis trade and the drafting of Beal the Wizards have become a fringe playoff team that looks like it can finish anywhere between 6th and 10th in the conference.   The problem with this whole strategy is that unless either Wall or Beal turn into a superstar the Wiz will never be better than a fringe playoff team.  I don't think either Wall or Beal will be a superstar, and by tightening up the Wizards cap with this acquisition that prevents them from ever acquiring a superstar.  This trade has pitted the Wizards in that dreaded zone where you can never quite contend for a championship, but you still have a good team that you don't want to blow up.  Many Wiz fans will be content to be a decent team that is not most well known for it's blooper real, but others will be left wondering whether the Wizards could have pursued a superstar with cap freedom and young talent on the table.   TRADE GRADE: B+

Drafting Bradley Beal with the third overall pick filled a need at shooting guard, gave the Wizards a good talent, and got a player that fits in perfectly with John Wall.  The problem with Beal is not that he is not going to be good, the problem is that he is not going to be great.   Beal will probably end up as a not quite all-star level talent that average 14-18 points 4 assists and 5 rebounds while playing above-average defense.  The other high end talents that the Wizards could have taken at this pick were Dion Waiters, Thomas Robinson, Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, and Harrison Barnes.  Lillard seems like he is going to be a good player, but the Wizards would not be willing to spend their first pick on someone who plays the same position as their star.  Drummond was also not being considered because he has potential character issues, and the Wizards were committed to steering clear of players like that.  Robinson might have been in consideration, but with Nene, Okafor, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely, and Kevin Seraphin all around his size the Wizards were looking to fill their need at shooting guard.  That leaves the Wizards with Beal, Waiters, and Barnes all as high caliber shooting guards.   Beal is a great shooter who seems to have a very solid all around game.  Waiters is a 230 pound wrecking ball who attacks the rim, but is an only mediocre shooter.  Barnes is a 6-8  athletic shooter who has had questions about his aggressiveness and assertiveness.  The Wizards knew they needed shooters so they didn't look into Waiters too closely and it ultimately came down to Barnes and Beal.  Barnes seems to have more questions about his work ethic and intangibles so the Wizards played it safe and took Beal.   The Wizards did not draft Beal thinking he would be a superstar, and based on his last two years in the pros John Wall doesn't look like he will ever be considered a superstar.  Without a superstar the Wizards current squad will never contend for a championship, and that is why the Beal pick was a good not great one.  Barnes is four inches taller, longer, more athletic than Beal, and has all-star potential.   The Wizards didn't have the balls to take a risk and it cost them the potential chance at really mattering in the NBA.  PICK GRADE: B-

By taking Bradley Beal the Wizards filled their need at shooting guard, but depending on your opinion of Shelvin Mack and Chris Singleton they still lacked depth at point guard and small forward.  In terms of talent I would say Singleton showed more promise in his rookie year, but not by that much.  So it would really come down to the talent available as to which need to fill.  At point guard there was Tyshawn Taylor and Doron Lamb as the only two viable options.  There was much more depth at small forward as Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller, and Khris Middleton were all taken in the ten picks after the Wizards selection.  Because the Wizards played it safe with Beal it would makes sense if they took more of a risk with this pick.  Of the potential selections Green, Miller, Taylor, and Lamb were the only ones who were considered to have first round potential.  6-8 Czech shooting guard Tomas Satoransky was another player who had been mentioned in the first round who was still available.  Satoranksy is an athletic guard who can handle the ball well, attack the basket, distribute the rock, and do a lot of the "little things."  His biggest question was his lack of shooting ability,  the little amount of improvement that he has shown over the past couple years, and his only middling success on a relatively low-level European team.  Otherwise though he seemed like a great choice for the Wizards, I mean whenever you can draft someone with the same questions as the guy who you used a top ten pick on last year and couldn't start over Rashard Lewis you have to do it.  Instead the Wizards should have went with one of the other four options.  Doron Lamb was the leading scorer on a team that produced the first, second, 18th, 29th, and 46th picks who could shoot the ball well and was a good decision maker.  Lamb played mostly off the ball though in college, and I'm not sure if he really will play the point at an NBA level.  Taylor on the other hand is an explosive point guard with streaky but sometimes deadly shot that has had effort questions in the past.  He's basically a better shooting, but obviously not as athletic John Wall.   Both backup point guards seemed to be late first round talents, and their upside was not as high as I would like.  Draymond Green is a leader who can shoot the ball, attack the basket, dish out dimes, post up, crash the boards, and do anything you want basically.  One problem, he's not a good athlete.  He has quick feet and good hands, but is not very fast, and is not a good leaper.  Due to his lack of athleticism there are questions about whether his game will translate to the NBA.  Personally I think he would be a great locker room presence who can space the floor and make the team more exciting to watch.  Ernie Grunfeld likes to draft athletes though so maybe it is inconceivable that he drafts Green.  In that case we are left with Quincy Miller.  Miller is a 6-10 small forward that can shoot the ball.  He can score from anywhere on the court and with his 7-1 wingspan he blocks shots and wreaks havoc on the defensive end.  He didn't do just that in his one season at Baylor, but he was coming off an ACL surgery so some of his athleticism may not have been there.  Coming out of high school many considered him a potential top ten pick, and even after a relatively weak college season Chad Ford still had him ranked No. 17 on his big board on draft.  He's had questions about his effort and his tendency to shoot tough shots instead of attacking the basket.  It is clear that at 215 lbs he also needs to bulk up, but his most frequent comparison is Kevin Durant and that alone should warrant a first round pick.  If the Wizards had taken Miller they would have filled a need, and also potentially taken the steal of the draft.  Miller has the potential to be a 20 point a game scorer who also rebounds and blocks shots while spacing the floor offensively.  How Tomas Satoranksy is a better option than him or any of the other players mentioned above cannot be explained without a) not being able to keep a straight face  b) having a severe head injury or c) being the same organization that took Kwame Brown first overall (oh wait...).  PICK GRADE: D-


OVERALL DRAFT GRADE: C

The only post draft move that bears any notice is the signing of Cartier Martin.  He will be a swing 2-3 who plays behind Beal, Jordan Crawford, Ariza, and Singleton.  Otherwise known as he will be the Wizards resident bench warmer.  I still love you though Cartier, you were one of the few players to ever be the best shooter on a team, and still not play.  I actually think you deserved to play more, but I don't think re-signing you will affect the team in anyway.  So instead of giving your signing a grade I'll give the whole offseason a grade (because I love you Cartier I'm going to give you a picture though).


OVERALL OFFSEASON GRADE: B- (For getting considerably better, but still not reaching the potential that was there)