Washington Wizards

So, here's the thing about the idea that the Washington Wizards should trade their draft pick to receive some immediate help, an idea promoted by several of their players ... King said it was difficult to give up the pick, but "in meeting with our scouts, we felt the player that we may draft beyond the protection would be somebody that would probably take a couple years (to develop), and at this point, we're trying to speed the process up a bit and start winning (more). "I can understand the fanbase (wanting us to keep the pick), but I'd rather try to balance the roster, add a piece and still have cap flexibility," King said. A team source told ESPN.com's Chad Ford the Nets were willing to part with their top-3 protected pick because there are only three players in the upcoming draft the Nets covet -- Kentucky'sAnthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Kansas' Thomas Robinson. That's ESPN.com on the now-Brooklyn Nets' decision to trade a top draft pick for Gerald Wallace. That pick could have become Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes or Andre Drummond. And, of course, there was the Wizards' transparent desire to trade the No. 5 pick in 2009 for veteran help, which landed them Randy Foye and Mke Miller. I bring these up not to rule out trading the pick. If I were Ernie Grunfeld, I'd be open to pretty much any means to improve the team. I bring these up because those are the kinds of decisions that get made when a team makes an assumption about a draft class and seeks out trading the pick. The default position for any team should be to keep their draft pick and use any other scenarios as alternatives, not the other way around. No matter how deep the draft class may be, it still offers clubs their best chance to receive cheap talent with upside that can be molded into core players. Prospects have a clean slate and rookie contracts. Players already in the league often don't. More importantly, every time someone telegraphs their interest in a trade, it devalues the pick as an asset. To be fair, based on Grunfeld's appropriately-vague comments to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, that appears to be how the Wizards are handling things this time around: When asked whether he feels as compelled to keep the pick as in past seasons, Grunfeld said: "Everything is on the table. We're going to explore our options and prepare for any scenario. I think it's a little bit different [this year]. We'll see what's out there for us. But at the same time, regardless of where we end up, we'll be prepared to make a pick." Grunfeld also said that while you can never "depend" on a rookie having an immediate impact, the Wizards will "try" to get a player that can "help us down the road, if not next year." Back in 2009, Grunfeld was using that rhetoric as a reason not to make a pick. Here, it does seem a little different. Nevertheless, I do hope the Wizards continue to assume they will be using whatever pick they get unless something better comes along. There are a lot of reasons why more young talent is needed on this roster. Namely: Outside of John Wall and Bradley Beal, the Wizards lack any building blocks for the future. The 2011 draft appears to have been a disaster, and the frontcourt is getting older. When the Wizards think about their future by the time Wall and Beal both are on their second contracts, who else will be joining them? There isn't anyone on the roster that can stand side-by-side with them as an additional core piece. Draft picks are cheaper, which matters because the Wizards are right at the level of the salary cap, likely need to save a big chunk of their mid-level exception if they want to keep Martell Webster and have an owner that has publicly stated he has "no intention" of going over the luxury tax. While this draft is weak in high-level talent, there isn't a huge difference between picks 3 and 8. A lot depends on development, finding the right fit and the like, but there's no reason the No. 8

The 2013 NBA Draft lottery is tonight, and chances are, the Washington Wizards will land exactly where they started the night. The Wizards finished in a tie for the seventh-worst record in the league and lost a tiebreaker with the Detroit Pistons, so they'll enter the night with the eighth-most ping-pong combinations. But there is still a chance that something better happens. Two years ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers were armed with the Los Angeles Clippers' unprotected No. 1 pick thanks to taking on Baron Davis' gargantuan contract. The Clippers finished with the league's eighth-worst record that season. A month later, the Cavaliers had won Kyrie Irving from that Clippers pick. Of course, given the Wizards' lottery luck outside of the two years they won the No. 1 pick, there's always a chance things end up worse than expected. Even last year, they finished lower than their draft position to select Bradley Beal. We don't need to go through all the other times things ended up even worse than that. To get you ready for tonight, here are the numbers you should keep in mind: 35: That's the number of ping-pong combinations, out of 1,000, that the Wizards have. The machine has 14 balls numbered 1-14, which are drawn one-by-one. Once four are taken out, the combination is read to determine who gets the No. 1 pick. After that, the same process repeats itself for the No. 2 and No. 3 pick. (If a combination assigned to a team is drawn for the second time, it is tossed out and the drawing occurs again). Intrepid mathematical minds would note that gives Washington a 3.5 percent chance to win the No. 1 overall selection. 12.4: That's the percentage chance the Wizards end up with a top-three pick. Normally, the chances would be a bit slimmer, but because the Wizards tied with the Pistons for seventh, they essentially get the same odds. The Pistons have a slightly higher chance (12.7 percent) at moving up. 70.2: That's the percentage chance the Wizards stay at No. 8. Like I said, chances are the Wizards will stay right where they are. 17.4: This is the chance something bad happens and the Wizards move down in the draft order. This would require 1-3 of the following teams to move up: Minnesota, Portland, Philadelphia, Toronto, Dallas and/or Utah. There's less than a one percent chance that more than one of those teams gets into the top three, so realistically, the worst-case scenario for the Wizards is ninth. 2: That's the number of times, based on my research, that a team that had a current player as their representative won the lottery. The Blazers sent Brandon Roy in 2007 when they won the Greg Oden sweepstakes, and the Rockets sent Steve Francis when they won Yao Ming in 2002. (I couldn't figure out who the Kings sent in 1989 or the Hornets sent in 1991). The Wizards will be sending Bradley Beal, so hopefully they can buck the trend. 58: The number of times it took me playing ESPN's draft lottery simulator to get the above screenshot. Hopefully the Wizards have better luck tomorrow. All this will be decided at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Good luck,

The Wizards’ odds of winning the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday are slim and the actual prize isn’t obvious, since no player has distinguished himself as the unquestioned No. 1 overall pick. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any intrigue … Continue reading →

Here's a report that could concern some people. Bradley Beal, who was shut down for the season due to a stress injury in his right fibula about seven weeks ago, has yet to be cleared to resume basketball-related activities, according to CSN Washington's J Michael. He is supposed to abstain from activities for six weeks (42 days). Monday marks the 48th. The Wizards' athletic trainers must clear him first but they have not, a team official told CSN Washington. You'll recall that Beal was dealing with injuries on both ankles prior to being shut down, both of which reportedly contributed to the fibula injury. It's not the end of the world that Beal is past his timetable, of course. He has a whole offseason left, every player's body heals differently and it behooves the Wizards to make absolute sure his fibula is sound before letting him put pressure on it again. But it's still always a concern that an athlete is still injured past his initial timetable. The longer this lingers, the more it could potentially cut into Beal's offseason program. Hopefully, this will be resolved soon.

Most NBA fans probably know this, but it seems to me that there are a couple of misconceptions by a number of people about the NBA Draft Lottery – which takes place next Tuesday, May 21 – and how it relates to the Wizards’ chances. The “lottery”  really only pertains to the first three picks. As explained in this Inside Hoops post, …the first three picks in the Draft will be determined by the lottery and the remainder of the “lottery teams” will select in positions 4 through 14 in inverse order of their consolidated standings at the end of the regular season. What does this mean for the Wizards? Well, currently they sit in the eighth spot in the lottery. The team has a 2.5 percent chance at the number one pick, but could still end up in the top three. If they do not end up in the top 3, the best they can do is pick eighth, because the order is basically reset after the top 3 picks are in place. The Wizards, however, can end up picking lower if one or more of the six teams under them (slots 9 – 14) end up in the top 3 and they don’t. As a quick example, the Portland Trail Blazers currently sit in the number 10 slot. If they move into the top 3 (and the Wizards or no other team below them end up in the top 3), the Wizards would end up picking ninth. If the Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors (12 slot) both end up in the top 3, the Wizards would end up picking tenth. Clear as mud, right? It’s somewhat tricky, but not really.  It was made public earlier this week that Bradley Beal will represent the team at the lottery. Maybe he’ll end up making the Irene Pollin face. So Wizards fans, on Tuesday, the rooting objectives are, in order: Win the lottery, get the top pick; If they don’t win the lottery, win a top 3 pick; If no top 3 pick, hope that none of the 9-14 teams win top 3 picks.

With the NBA Draft Lottery just one day away, we’ll take a look back when the Washington Wizards selected Bradley Beal third overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. Prior to getting selected by the Wizards, there were reports of the Cleveland Cavaliers possibly trying to move up in the draft in order to snag Beal before it was Washington’s time to pick. Luckily, the Cavaliers failed to strike a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats, and as fate would have it, Beal would ultimately end up in a Wizards uniform. I’ll never forget how ecstatic the Wizards fan base was, especially right after the Bradley Beal selection became official. As John Wall established himself as the face of the franchise, Wizards fans couldn’t wait to watch the young duo work the backcourt. Unfortunately, the NBA had to wait before the John Wall-Bradley Beal backcourt tandem came to frution, as Wall rehabbed the stress injury to his knee. With the season over, and the time to reflect has begun, Wizards fans can finally sit back and realize the special backcourt they have in the nation’s capital. There aren’t many instances in which players as dynamic as John Wall and Bradley Beal get to share the floor together, especially since their games mesh so well. Bradley Beal has now been selected to the All-Rookie first team, making fans even more excited for the future. Hopefully the Wizards can have similar luck tomorrow night, possibly moving up in the draft and securing another young piece to build their franchise around.

ALERT: A Wizards NBA Draft Lottery Viewing Party in D.C. on Tuesday, May 21? Isn’t that #SoWizards?  Why, yes… Click here for more info. [Wizards 2012-13 Player Reviews from the TAI crew are going down; let's reflect--- index so far: Jannero Pargo, Jason Collins, Shaun Livingston, Shelvin Mack, Cartier Martin, Earl Barron, Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton, Trevor Booker, Garrett Temple, Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, Martell Webster, A.J. Price, Jordan Crawford, Kevin Seraphin.] Kevin Seraphin 6-9 : Height 275 lbs. : Weight 23 : Age 3 : Years NBA Experience 1 : NBA Team Drafted 17th overall by the Chicago Bulls in 2010 and traded to the Wizards along with Kirk Hinrich and cash for Vladimir Veremeenko on draft night. Time as a Wizard in 2012-13 79 : Games 8 : Starts 1,721 : Minutes 1.56 out of 3 stars Average Truth About It.net DC Council Game Rating {Seraphin evaluated over 26 games}  10.3 PER NBA historical PER contribution equivalent: maybe Joel Anthony for the 2011-12 Miami Heat (10.3) maybe Francisco Elson for the 2008-09 Milwaukee Bucks (10.3), maybe Johan Petro for the 2011-12 New Jersey Nets (10.3) .004 Win Shares/48 Minutes NBA historical WS/48 contribution equivalent: maybe Isaac Austin for the 2001-02 Memphis Grizzlies (.003), maybe Stacey King for the 1994-95 Minnesota Timberwolves (.003), maybe Othella Harrington for the 2006-07 Charlotte Bobcats (.003) With Kevin Seraphin on the Court… The Wizards offense scored 5.0 points less per 100 possessions (OffRtg) The Wizards defense allowed 1.0 point more per 100 possessions (DefRtg) Plus/Minus per 48 minutes: minus-7.4 Numbers : Per 36 Minutes 15.1 : Points 7.2 : Rebounds 1.2 : Blocks 0.5 : Steals 1.2 : Assists 2.7 : Turnovers 4.4 : Fouls 0.80 PPP Seraphin had 888 offensive possessions with the Wizards that ended with a FGA, TO or FTs, and he scored 0.80 Points Per Possession (PPP) on those, ranked 371st in the NBA (via Synergy Sports Technology). Defensively, he allowed 0.86 PPP over 385 possessions, ranked 171st. Shooting 46.1% Field Goals (330-716) 69.3% Free Throws (61-88) [stats via NBA.com/stats and Basketball-Reference.com] #13 Kevin Seraphin in 2012-13 with the Wizards: #KevinSeraphinLife Heads Off Track by Adam McGinnis (@AdamMcGinnis) Of the four young Wizards who seemed to regress during 2012-13 season, Kevin Seraphin stands out as the most disappointing. Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton saw limited playing time, and Trevor Booker suffered injury set-backs once again. Seraphin, on the other hand, was completely healthy and got consistent minutes, but delivered an inconsistent dud. There were high hopes for the big man from French Guiana after he blossomed at end of the 2011-12 season. He was inserted into the starting lineup in March and averaged 14.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 21 starts. Seraphin then spent last summer practicing and playing with Team France, and he gained valuable experience as a rotation player during the London Olympic games. Kwame Brown, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee never lived up to their true potential in Washington. Followers of the Wizards have been excited because Seraphin, at times, has shown legitimate promise that he could break the franchise’s bad streak of developing young bigs and become a building block for the future. His personality was also refreshing via active social media accounts and high accessibility to fans. The story of naming his snake “Snakey” and pictures of Sponge Bob buckled up in his car were hilarious. The “#SeraPhans” Twitter hashtag was created by his admirers, and his desire to be an apprentice of Nene was endearing. Unfortunately, the optimism surrounding Seraphin began dissipate as he morphed into a one-dimensional shot-jacker on the court, while his self-created “#KevinSeraphinLife” hashtag plummeted into deserved mockery. The acquisition of Emeka Okafor last summer meant that Seraphin would become a top reserve. He started out the

Our prospect profiles on the top players in the 2013 NBA Draft continue with UNLV's Anthony Bennett. Team: UNLV Class: Freshman Position: Power forward FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG 2012 - Anthony Bennett 35 27.1 5.8 10.8 53.3 1.0 2.7 37.5 3.5 5.1 70.1 2.5 5.7 8.1 1.0 1.9 0.7 1.2 2.3 16.1 College career: Bennett arrived at UNLV with incredible fanfare. The latest in a line of well-known basketball recruits at prestigious Las Vegas school Findlay Prep, Bennett ultimately decided to stay in the area. He warded off offers from Florida and Kentucky and finally settled on UNLV over Oregon after getting a push from former AAU teammate Khem Birch, who was about to transfer into the program. UNLV had signed kids from Findlay Prep before -- the school's founder was a former UNLV player and is a longtime booster -- but Bennett was the symbol of their return to national prominence. UNLV had been in the NCAA Tournament for the previous three years under Lon Kruger and Dave Rice, but Bennett was their top recruit since ... Stacey Augmon? Larry Johnson? It had been a long time since UNLV had reeled in a top-10 guy. With Mike Moser returning to school, UNLV was poised to ride their two forwards to glorious places. Things started off well. Bennett dropped 22 and 10 in a 83-79 loss to the Ducks in November, showing them a glimpse of what they missed. A couple weeks later, he had his true national breakdown, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a tight win over California on the road. Bennett became a fixture on the national highlights when he slammed down this thunderous right-handed dunk with the game in the balance. Unfortunately for the Rebels, Moser suffered a gruesome elbow injury in this game. He rushed back a few weeks later, but was not the same player. Dreams of pairing Moser and Bennett never materialized, with the two often playing separately rather than together. Bennett-mania faded a bit after that December game, as the freshman was more inconsistent in Mountain West play. He had some fantastic games, dropping 17 and 12 in a home upset win over New Mexico and 21 and 12 in a victory over fellow draft prospect Jamaal Franklin and San Diego State. But he also struggled at times, particularly in road losses to Colorado State and Fresno State. A shoulder injury suffered in late February against Wyoming -- the same one he had surgery to repair -- inhibited him late in the year, and his season ended meekly in the NCAA Tournament at the hands of the same California zone defense he dominated in December. Other reports: Ben McLemore Nerlens Noel Alex LenOtto PorterShabazz Muhammad Offense: Bennett is an explosive two-foot jumper with an array of perimeter and post skills that should make scouts drool. His broad, wide shoulders allow him to power through contact, and his soft hands allow him to catch and finish almost any pass around the rim. Watching him, it's immediately clear why he evoked comparisons to LJ from UNLV faithful. Bennett is most devastating when turning and facing on a slower big man. His perimeter game and footwork are extremely advanced for someone his age. When he's isolated on a player 17 feet from the hoop with a live dribble, he's incredibly tough to stop. He has an excellent turnaround and pull-up jumper that keeps defenses honest and is really good at using his jab steps to get separation. His long strides lunging to the rim ensure that he'll get past his defender if they are off-balanced, and he can elevate over defenders or power through them. His signature move against Cal was a wing isolation in this manner. He used a shot fake to get the defender off-balanced, then took a long stride with his right foot out of the triple threat position to get to the rim for the one-handed finish. Bennett is also a really good finisher around the basket. When used in th

This time last year, Shabazz Muhammad probably thought one year at UCLA would give him the chance to showcase his scoring ability and mature game, building upon his hype as the prohibitive favorite to go No. 1 overall in the … Continue reading →

ALERT: A Wizards NBA Draft Lottery Viewing Party in D.C. on Tuesday, May 21? Isn’t that #SoWizards?  Why, yes… Click here for more info. [Wizards 2012-13 Player Reviews from the TAI crew are going down; let's reflect--- index so far: Jannero Pargo, Jason Collins, Shaun Livingston, Shelvin Mack, Cartier Martin, Earl Barron, Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton, Trevor Booker, Garrett Temple, Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, Martell Webster, A.J. Price, Jordan Crawford, Kevin Seraphin.] Jordan Crawford 6-4 : Height 195 lbs. : Weight 24 : Age 3 : Years NBA Experience 3 : NBA Teams Acquired by the Wizards along with Mike Bibby, Mo Evans and a 2011 first round pick (Chris Singleton) from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong on Feb. 23, 2011 Traded by the Wizards to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Jason Collins and Leandro Barbosa on Feb. 21, 2013. Time as a Wizard in 2012-13 43 : Games 12 : Starts 1,127 : Minutes 1.5 out of 3 stars Average Truth About It.net DC Council Game Rating {Price evaluated over 33 games}  14.7 PER NBA historical PER contribution equivalent: maybe Ronald “Flip” Murray for the 2008-09 Atlanta Hawks (14.7) maybe Charlie Bell for the 2005-06 Milwaukee Bucks (14.7), maybe Latrell Sprewell for the 2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves (14.7) .058 Win Shares/48 Minutes NBA historical WS/48 contribution equivalent: maybe Carlos Arroyo for the 2002-03 Utah Jazz (.058), maybe Haywoode Workman for the 1990-91 Washington Bullets (.058), maybe John Bagley for the 1986-87 Cleveland Cavaliers (.058) With Jordan Crawford on the Court… The Wizards offense scored 8.4 points less per 100 possessions (OffRtg) The Wizards defense allowed 0.2 points less per 100 possessions (DefRtg) Plus/Minus per 48 minutes: minus-7.4 Numbers : Per 36 Minutes 18.1 : Points 4.3 : Rebounds 0.2 : Blocks 0.9 : Steals 5.0 : Assists 3.1 : Turnovers 1.9 : Fouls 0.87 PPP Crawford had 640 offensive possessions with the Wizards that ended with a FGA, TO or FTs, and he scored 0.87 Points Per Possession (PPP) on those, ranked 279th in the NBA (via Synergy Sports Technology). Defensively, he allowed 0.87 PPP over 296 possessions, ranked 196th. Shooting 41.5% Field Goals (211-508) 34.5% 3-Pointers (59-171) 82.1% Free Throws (87-106) [stats via NBA.com/stats and Basketball-Reference.com] #15 Jordan Crawford in 2012-13 with the Wizards: Steez-less in DC by Rashad Mobley (@Rashad20) At the beginning of the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season, Jordan Crawford was named Washington’s starting two-guard. This was mainly because Nick Young didn’t accept the one-year qualifying offer until right before the second of only two preseason games. But by game three of the regular season, Young returned to the starting lineup, and Crawford did not start again until two months later when Randy Wittman decided that Young (and JaVale McGee) were not getting the job done. In mid-April, with Crawford starting and thriving after the departure of Young in late-February via trade, Washington Post writer Michael Lee asked Crawford about when he lost his starting job at the beginning of the season: “It wasn’t my job at all. I didn’t get a chance to lose it. You could all kind of see that I was just holding a position. It wasn’t that they really wanted me to start. That was more disappointing than anything, the fact that I came in wanting more and I was trying to show them that I can bring some winning here, too.” Three months later, before the start of the 2012-13 season, Crawford found himself in a similar situation. The Wizards drafted shooting guard Bradley Beal with the third pick in the 2012 draft with the hopes that he and Wall would share a backcourt for 10-12 years. Crawford, who had every right to be annoyed that his starting job was under siege again, handled the situation with class: “We had to get him. I think he was the best available. He’s the best player, got an NBA body and we needed a guard. We