Washington Wizards 2017-2018 Season Thread

[InTheHallway]

I assume everyone has had enough time to digest the moves and have come to the only reality you can at this point - we are the 2nd best team in the East ...

I've stated before, no one in the East has been successful the past decade unless they had Lebron ... Now with Lebron gone, the East is wide open, with an injury or two away from being the Wizards to lose ... Aside from Boston, who in the East is 8 as deep?

Wall
Beal
Porter
Kief
Superman
Rivers
Oubre
Green

Best team we have had in the Wall era ... I have super high expectations, flirting with 50 wins and top 4 in the East ...

 

[Methodical Management]

Let's take a step back and assess the trade that sent Dwight Howard to Brooklyn for a moment.

Charlotte was so sick of this guy that they were willing to take on a contract that was virtually identical to the one Ernie lavished upon Ian Mahinmi.

Mozgov is owed $16 million this season, $16.7 million next season.
Mahinmi is owed $16 million this season and $16 million next season.

Howard was owed $23.5 million this season, after which he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Brooklyn, in the New York Post's summation, "never planned to keep him, with his reputation for a bad locker room influence well-earned. They were never going to bring him into their culture and risk having a poor influence on 20-year-old building block Jarrett Allen*."


Here's the part that bothers me more than anything:

If the Wizards really wanted Dwight Howard, and the wisdom of that move is debatable, they could've picked him up while shedding Mahinmi's albatross contract. That would've been a win. The Nets were able to absorb Howard's ludicrous contract into their available cap space. The Wizards would've had to get creative and spend money to make it work. The Wizards have a cheap owner. The Nets do not.

So, at the end of the day, we wound up with a player that three different franchises have gone to great lengths to excise from their respective rosters in the past twelve months. If that weren't enough, we'll be introducing him into an already volatile locker room without a winning culture.

What's the over/under on the number of Wizards players who will be demanding a trade by February?



*The Nets acquired the pick used to draft Allen in the Wizards' disastrous Bojan Bogdanovic rental.

 

[InTheHallway]

But the team's Howard was on absolutely sucked ... That's the wildcard ... Winning cures everything and catching lobs from Wall while Beal and Porter space is going to be lovely for Dwight's psyche ...

 

[Methodical Management]

But the team's Howard was on absolutely sucked ... That's the wildcard ... Winning cures everything and catching lobs from Wall while Beal and Porter space is going to be lovely for Dwight's psyche ...

He's played on winning teams in the past. It's ended the same regardless.

Howard went to the Finals in Orlando. Pouted, wanted out.
Howard joined Kobe Bryant in LA. Pouted, wanted out.
Howard joined James Harden in Houston. Pouted, wanted out.

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/19/dwight-howard-discusses-kobe-bryant-james-harden

Howard was a bigger lob threat in Houston because teams couldn't just play under every time. You have to respect James Harden's midrange game. In this situation, teams will likely just drop and play under. Take the roll away from Dwight, make Wall a jump shooter. If you have visions of these JaVale McGee slip screens, you'll need to run them through Beal - not Wall, and it remains to be seen how willing Wall is to play off ball, or how effective he can be in that role.


For years, the Wizards have tried to force feed Gortat early in games because he checks out if he's not scoring. Howard has that same problem. He's a better rebounder than Gortat, but a worse passer. He won't be vocal on defense. His atrocious free throw shooting renders him a liability in critical moments. It's not 2009. He's not a dominant player. This isn't a huge upgrade.

Last season, Howard ranked 101st among centers in total points added.

He wanted to play for the Warriors and likely would've taken the minimum to do it. They didn't want him on their team.

Howard might be a worthwhile addition to a fantasy roster, but not a real one. If they do any better this year, it will be due to player health, not the addition of Dwight Howard or Austin Rivers. 46 wins and an appearance in the second round is the best I'd expect from them.

 

[InTheHallway]

He's played on winning teams in the past. It's ended the same regardless.

Howard went to the Finals in Orlando. Pouted, wanted out.
Howard joined Kobe Bryant in LA. Pouted, wanted out.
Howard joined James Harden in Houston. Pouted, wanted out.

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/19/dwight-howard-discusses-kobe-bryant-james-harden

Howard was a bigger lob threat in Houston because teams couldn't just play under every time. You have to respect James Harden's midrange game. In this situation, teams will likely just drop and play under. Take the roll away from Dwight, make Wall a jump shooter. If you have visions of these JaVale McGee slip screens, you'll need to run them through Beal - not Wall, and it remains to be seen how willing Wall is to play off ball, or how effective he can be in that role.


For years, the Wizards have tried to force feed Gortat early in games because he checks out if he's not scoring. Howard has that same problem. He's a better rebounder than Gortat, but a worse passer. He won't be vocal on defense. His atrocious free throw shooting renders him a liability in critical moments. It's not 2009. He's not a dominant player. This isn't a huge upgrade.

Last season, Howard ranked 101st among centers in total points added.

He wanted to play for the Warriors and likely would've taken the minimum to do it. They didn't want him on their team.

Howard might be a worthwhile addition to a fantasy roster, but not a real one. If they do any better this year, it will be due to player health, not the addition of Dwight Howard or Austin Rivers. 46 wins and an appearance in the second round is the best I'd expect from them.

Great points ... I'll remain optimistic ...

 

[mustbetheshoe58]

Great points ... I'll remain optimistic ...

same here

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

I'm not a fan of dude, but Gortat got way too much of the blame for their deficiencies last season. Replacing him with Howard doesn't change their weak bench, non existent defensive rotations, poor late game decisions, or Wall not moving off the ball.

 

[InTheHallway]

Troy Brown looking mighty nice ... Dont call him a steal yet ...

 

[mustbetheshoe58]

I hope Dwight Howard does something productive for the Wizards this season, slight upgrade over Gortat

I wished we got roster room for Devin Robinson and Thomas Bryant, they''ll have to earn their keep in training camp

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Watch "John Wall Crying?! MVP Declaration + Lebron/Boogie Trade Reaction!! Summer of Separation /// Ep 1" on YouTube

 

[jking0821]

I don't know how you guys are optimistic about his year. Gortat was a very good passer for a big man. Ran a lot of offense off the high post with him as the primary passer. Dwight can not do that at all. And like Meth said...Dwight can't shoot free throws. I guess he is a better rebounder and defender than gortat but i honestly don't see this as an upgrade. More just a lateral move. Which means we have another year of mediocre wizards basketball ahead of us.

 

[Kinfolk]

I don't know how you guys are optimistic about his year. Gortat was a very good passer for a big man. Ran a lot of offense off the high post with him as the primary passer. Dwight can not do that at all. And like Meth said...Dwight can't shoot free throws. I guess he is a better rebounder and defender than gortat but i honestly don't see this as an upgrade. More just a lateral move. Which means we have another year of mediocre wizards basketball ahead of us.

I want to preface what I'm about to say with--- I hate Dwight Howard for the way he acted with the Lakers. Simply put, he's an idiot.

Nobody in the league has ever had anything positive to say about him as a teammate except for former Wizards super star guard and Dwight's high school classmate, Javaris Crittenton, who is currently serving a 23 year prison sentence for killing a mother of 4.

Unrelated: Javaris actually showed up to my 21st birthday party uninvited, parked sideways in my driveway so that nobody else could park, and came in with a case of beer and 6 women and said "I heard we was turnin up in this Mutha *****". I hope he is somehow able to turn his life around...

With that being said, Dwight is a first ballot hall of famer with gas left in the tank at 32 years old.

He's been healthy in 4 of his last 5 seasons and he's still an elite rebounder.

I feel like there's a small chance that this works out for the Wizards, but several things have to happen:

- Dwight has to buy in and be ok with being the 4th option settling for garbage work around the rim. (unlikely)

- John Wall and Dwight have to get along. The second they have beef its over, no chance of recovery. (possible)

- Brooks has to increase Otto Porter's touches. 11 attempts per game last season on 50% FG...feed that man. (likely if Dwight buys in or ends up playing with the second unit more)

- Wall has to be more Rondo and less Westbrook. By that I mean anytime he wants to shoot from beyond 10 feet, he needs to get the ball to Porter in the corner or to Beal. Distribute, distribute, distribute. I know he's already up there in assists, but he can go higher and that will benefit everyone (unlikely).

- Oubre needs to make a leap and give them something off the bench because Austin Rivers is not the answer (50-50 chance of happening). Oubre didn't make the most of his opportunities when Porter was out of the lineup. The same energy he puts into fashion, needs to be put into hooping. Soldiers not clowns...

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Kelly has too much free time on his hands with all those wack tats

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Watch "Episode 1 - The Return of Agent Zero" on YouTube


Watch "Episode 2 - The Making of Agent Zero - Part One" on YouTube



Watch "Episode 2 - The Making of Agent Zero - Part Two" on YouTube

 

[Kinfolk]

Watch "Episode 1 - The Return of Agent Zero" on YouTube


Watch "Episode 2 - The Making of Agent Zero - Part One" on YouTube



Watch "Episode 2 - The Making of Agent Zero - Part Two" on YouTube

If he had never gotten hurt people would be much less impressed by what Curry does on a nightly basis.

I was at the game where Gil dropped 60 8 and 8 on Kobe. It was incredible (Kobe had 45 that night but it was Gil's night).

People tried to say that the only reason he did that was because that was the season that the NBA was experimenting with the new synthetic ball.

All I know is that Kobe had absolutely no answer for Gil.

The only other guy I've seen give it to Kobe like that was Brandon Roy and unfortunately his knees grinded to a fine powder prematurely.

Gil also had that ridiculous playoff series against Lebron that to this day was one of the best series I've ever seen.

 

[SupremeBeing5]

Let's take a step back and assess the trade that sent Dwight Howard to Brooklyn for a moment.

Charlotte was so sick of this guy that they were willing to take on a contract that was virtually identical to the one Ernie lavished upon Ian Mahinmi.

Mozgov is owed $16 million this season, $16.7 million next season.
Mahinmi is owed $16 million this season and $16 million next season.

Howard was owed $23.5 million this season, after which he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Brooklyn, in the New York Post's summation, "never planned to keep him, with his reputation for a bad locker room influence well-earned. They were never going to bring him into their culture and risk having a poor influence on 20-year-old building block Jarrett Allen*."


Here's the part that bothers me more than anything:

If the Wizards really wanted Dwight Howard, and the wisdom of that move is debatable, they could've picked him up while shedding Mahinmi's albatross contract. That would've been a win. The Nets were able to absorb Howard's ludicrous contract into their available cap space. The Wizards would've had to get creative and spend money to make it work. The Wizards have a cheap owner. The Nets do not.

So, at the end of the day, we wound up with a player that three different franchises have gone to great lengths to excise from their respective rosters in the past twelve months. If that weren't enough, we'll be introducing him into an already volatile locker room without a winning culture.

What's the over/under on the number of Wizards players who will be demanding a trade by February?



*The Nets acquired the pick used to draft Allen in the Wizards' disastrous Bojan Bogdanovic rental.

You’re a good writer. Almost as if you copied and pasted from ESPN.