#SoWizards

In this episode of the #SoWizards Podcast, I’m joined by Troy Haliburton to discuss all things Wizards — everything from the season opener to player development and the team’s long-term competitive strategy.

Our conversation covered:

Along the way, we discovered definitive statistical proof that Troy is more optimistic than I am (he took the over on six of the 11 players we discussed, while I went over on just three).

Interestingly, while we noted that last year’s team was the worst in franchise history, and this year’s team is probably worse, we’re both more optimistic about the team’s direction than we have been in years. That’s because the losing is part of a long-term strategic plan to build a future winner.

They may fail to build that winner, but they’ve chosen a direction, and it’s not on the treadmill of mediocrity they’d been on for so long.

Listen here, below, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Washington Wizards have launched into a busy and somewhat perplexing offseason. Joining me to help make sense of the team's roster moves and long-term plan is my former cohost and longtime friend, Ben Becker.

Ben is a stalwart member of the Wizards' online community from message boards to Bullets Forever to Twitter, X and podcasts.

In this episode we discuss:

The Washington Wizards made one deal at the trade deadline, sending starting center Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a first round pick and center Richaun Holmes.

Holmes is on the wrong side of 30 and hasn't been much good in a few years now. Gafford is pretty good and just 25 years old, so what gives?

Ben Becker and I break down what the Wizards front office is likely thinking and discuss what the lack of trades involving Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, Delon Wright, Landry Shamet, and Corey Kispert says about the state of the Wizards.

The Washington Wizards replaced Wes Unseld Jr. as head coach, moving Unseld into a front office advisory role, and promoting lead assistant Brian Keefe to be interim head coach. When the team makes a big move, there's no one better to discuss it with than old friend and podcast partner Ben Becker.

Ben and I have been talking and analyzing the Wizards for 20+ years now. This conversation is the latest edition of what a listener once described as what it might sound like if NPR had a show about the Washington Wizards.

In this episode, we talk about Unseld, the challenge of rebuilding a franchise as decayed as the Wizards had become, and the long-term strategy the team's new leadership — Michael Winger, Will Dawkins, and Travis Schlenk — are pursuing as they attempt to resuscitate a long moribund franchise.

Just past the midway point, the Wizards are bumbling through what's likely to be the worst season in franchise history. To discuss the biggest issues the team faces as they attempt to rebuild, I invited on veteran Wizards observer and reporter, Troy Haliburton.

We began with a couple big NBA stories — the Milwaukee Bucks firing newly hired head coach Adrian Griffin, and the Miami Heat trading for Terry Rozier.

Then we talked Wizards, touching on:

This was a fun conversation between a couple long-time Wizards analysts and reporters who don't agree on everything.

Make sure to check out Troy's excellent Substack.

With the Washington Wizards set to face the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night, it seemed like a great time to catch up with current Pacers journalist and Bullets Forever alum Tony East. In this episode, we talked about what makes Tyrese Haliburton special, Haliburton's hamstring injury, and what the Pacers do well and not so well before diving into the Wizards.

Tony's attention is primarily on the Pacers, but he watches a lot of Wizards basketball, which leads to some great insights into how Washington's rebuild is going. We hit on a number of Wizards topics, including:

This was a fun conversation about two teams going in different directions.

In this episode, I'm joined by Bullets Forever's Osman Baig to discuss the state of the Wizards. As I wrote in my big picture check-up on January 3, they're still bad.

Oz and I drilled into concerns about how the Wizards are managing the development of French rookie Bilal Coulibaly. Suffice to say, we have concerns, specifically about his lack of involvement in the team's offense.

As we discussed during the podcast, of the team's 11 rotation players, Coulibaly is 11th in per minute touches. In other words, he gets the ball less frequently than any other player in the rotation.

We also delved into the team's odd focus on forcing turnovers defensively. Reportedly, this is because the front office, coaches, and analytics staff believe this is because it emphasizes being in the right place defensively. I tried — and failed — to recreate their work on this.

Last, we talked about Corey Kispert and driving to the basket.

Why has the Wizards defense been so bad this season? I put the question to Coach Nick from BBALLBREAKDOWN, and the answer leapt off the screen: they're helping from one pass away. That's the team's scheme this season, and it's the root cause of giving up open threes, and the mad scramble that gives opposing teams easy scores and domination on the offensive glass.

This is an in-depth discussion of head coach Wes Unseld Jr.'s defensive scheme, the theory behind implementing it, and what's going wrong. We also touch on "soft switches," and what the team can do to be better this season...even as they strategically lose to increase chances for a high draft pick.

We touch on their offense a bit, as well as what's going wrong with Jordan Poole, and the development of Bilal Coulibaly.

My favorite part is our discussion of Coach Nick's "Chase Defense." This is a new defensive system he's invented to address modern offenses that are built on three-point shooting and pick-and-roll actions. Coaches are experimenting with it at lower levels, and the results are promising.

We talk about the concepts and theories underpinning Nick's defense, as well as what it will take for an NBA team to give it a shot.

Brian McCormick has coached at an array of levels in leagues around the world and has written books about basketball fundamentals, skills development, how to become a great shooter, running practices, and building an effective offensive system.

I invited him on to discuss the unique challenges faced by Wes Unseld Jr. and his staff as they attempt to lead a team at step one of a total rebuild.

We delved into the problems Jordan Poole is having as he tries to make the Washington Wizards "his" team, how Unseld and the assistant coaches can help him, and the delicate line they have to tread between correcting mistakes and expanding possibilities.

We also talked about how coaches approach a rebuilding situation like the Wizards where the players know they're going to lose and that most of them won't be around in a few years when the team is ready to compete.

Last, we touched on some ways outsiders can assess how good a job a coach is doing.

This conversation expanded how I think about coaching and player development. Coaches have to balance an array of competing forces as they try to help their players improve and guide their team to wins. McCormick helped unpack what some of those competing forces are and what coaches to do to manage them.

The Wizards are off to a 1-5 start, which is to be expected from a team that lacked talent in recent years and traded away its two best players.

In this episode, I'm joined by Osman Baig from Bullets Forever to discuss the team's start, what we're seeing on the floor and from the coaching staff, and what the team needs to build a future winner.

Along the way, we hit topics like:

We also analyze the development of Bilal Coulibaly and Deni Avdija, and dig into the play of the team's veterans.

This one gets nerdy at times (the whole time?), especially when we get into pick-and-roll coverages, X closeouts, and offensive system design.