#SoWizards

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.

For this episode, Kevin cracked open the mailbag and answered some questions, including:

Next episode: forecasting the upcoming season with Osman Baig.

In this episode, Kevin takes a deeper dive into a couple somewhat related articles he published recently on Bullets Forever, including Is Tyus Jones a major upgrade at guard? and Will the Wizards' offense be any good this season?

In the articles, Kevin wrote that the Wizards offense figures to be among the NBA's five worst because of its expected heavy reliance on Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. In this episode, he examines some of the key reasons given for optimism: the commitment to playing faster, Poole being freed from Stephen Curry, and the "upgrade" from Morris to Jones.

What are the most likely pathways to a better offense?

After a discussion of the relative merits of Dallas and Houston, we got down to talking hoops. We kicked around our impressions of the Wizards' summer league performance, whether Corey Kispert can be more than a specialist, and our divergent thoughts on how the team will perform relative to the Vegas over/under of 24.5 wins.

Along the way, here's a partial list of basketball names mentioned: Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Gilbert Arenas, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell.

We got into some history in this one.

In this episode, Ron and Kevin analyze the Wizards draft, including trading up a pick to select 18-year old French wing Bilal Coulibaly, and moving back in round two to land Serbian big man Tristan Vukcevic.

They also talk summer league, the state of the roster, how good/bad the team will be next season, and the vision of new executives Michael Winger, Travis Schlenk and Will Dawkins.

In a move that was only a minimum of three years overdue, the Washington Wizards traded guard Bradley Beal. Because of the preposterous no-trade clause team president Tommy Sheppard gave to the team's "franchise player," Beal had the power to dictate his destination AND the compensation package the Wizards would receive.

The result? Beal goes to the Phoenix Suns where he'll team up with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, and Washington gets back the salaries of Chris Paul and Landry Shamet, as well as first round pick swaps in 2024 and 2026, as well as up to six second round picks.

In this episode are two conversations: the first between Kevin and former podcast partner Ben Becker. Ben is a big picture thinker, and the discussion focuses on strategic considerations, the potential for future moves, and what the trade signals about the new executive team.

The second conversation is a look at what the trade means for the teams on the court next season, and looks ahead to the types of players the Wizards should prioritize as they seek to build a championship contender.

With the numbers crunching in Ye Olde Draft Analyzer (YODA for short) nearly complete, Kevin and fellow draft nerd Matt Modderno got together to discuss the prospects giving them the most heartburn during the evaluation and ranking process. The two come at the draft from different perspectives — Kevin through the lens of stats and combine measurements with adjustments for age and level of competition, and Matt through watching loads of college games every season.

We will be joining forces for additional predraft podcasts, as well as a live-streamed show during the draft (along with Osman Baig). This episode focused on players we have questions about or where we differ most from the consensus view, including:

We'll probably record a similar episode in the days ahead — we both had other guys on our lists to discuss.

When Ron and Kevin last talked, the Washington Wizards had just parted ways with previous team president Tommy Sheppard. Now the Wizards have found Sheppard's replacement — Michael Winger, a 43-year old NBA executive who gained experience with three successful franchises over the past couple decades.

The resume version of his background would highlight the fact that he's been part of executive leadership groups that reached seven conference finals and two NBA finals over the past 13 years. Winger's signature transaction as general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers was the mammoth trade that netted the team Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

The non-resume version would include the realities that he was part of the executive leadership group that made the Cleveland Cavaliers roster so bloated and expensive that LeBron James decided he couldn't win in his home state and bolted for the Miami Heat. And, Winger was part of choosing Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka over James Harden in Oklahoma City. And, with the Clippers, he oversaw the unwieldy and widely lampooned load management system, and benefited immensely from the unlimited resources provided by Steve Ballmer.

That said, there are a high number of crimes Wizards fans would commit to see the team reach seven conference finals and two NBA finals over the next 13 years. After all, this is a franchise with four series wins (no more than one in any season) over the past 40 years.

We discuss all this and much-much more in this episode.

Rate, review and subscribe.

Ted Leonsis and the Washington Wizards surprised outsiders by firing team president Tommy Sheppard after missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons and failing to produce even a .500 record in his four years at the helm. In this episode, Kevin and Ron break down the Sheppard era, including best and worst moves, and the biggest reasons the team failed under Sheppard's leadership.

In this reason, Kevin and Ron delve into some of the reasons the 2022-23 Washington Wizards failed to achieve their goal of reaching postseason play. They also end up in a discussion of efficiency in basketball and whether Bradley Beal and Delon Wright need to change their diets as they move past 30.