C-Gortat
F Nene
F Pierce
G Beal
G Wall
C Humpheries
F Blair
F Porter
G Rice
G Miller

Thats as good and deep as any team in the east

yellowboy90 wrote:Is Pierce starting and what happened to Webster

back probs, out 3-5 months

callmened wrote:wizards are an up and coming team. lets see how beal and wall continue to develop

They already developed. It's playoff experience now they need to gain. Paul pierce will pricier that vet leadership. While Otto Porter is waiting his turn.

franco12 wrote:Right now, I'd say the Wizards have as good a chance of any team in the East to make it to the finals.

They're up there with Miami, Cleveland, Chicago & Indiana. Sure they have question marks, but so do those other teams.

They added nice interior depth--their high draft picks look like they all are on pac e and Glenn Rice may be a super uber steal of a player. They have a nice balance of vets and youth and have a deep tea,m that now has playoff experience + added a guy who has been a playoff warrior for year in pierce.

MaTT4281 wrote:The Kardashian was a good addition, but Ariza to Pierce is a pretty decent downgrade right now.
The team will be as good as Wall lets them be.

no he isn't a downgrade he is a lateral move at worst. in fact where pierce's value comes in is in the playoffs as a superior halfcourt player to ariza. his defense is also underrated. wall and beal stand to learn a great deal from pierce. pierce plays with poise and is cluuutch. he just needs to have fresher legs come playoff time. his shot was flat last season in the postseason.

fishmike wrote:Ernie Grunfeld still run that team?

yep. On the surface his transition from ownership seems clumsy but the fact is Lenosis wanted the young team against Grunfelds advice. Owners call the shots, not GM's.
When the owner is wrong its dumb to fire the GM. When its the GM's at "Fault/Blame" then can his ass.

With some veteran infusion the team got much better.

dk7th wrote:

MaTT4281 wrote:The Kardashian was a good addition, but Ariza to Pierce is a pretty decent downgrade right now.
The team will be as good as Wall lets them be.

no he isn't a downgrade he is a lateral move at worst. in fact where pierce's value comes in is in the playoffs as a superior halfcourt player to ariza. his defense is also underrated. wall and beal stand to learn a great deal from pierce. pierce plays with poise and is cluuutch. he just needs to have fresher legs come playoff time. his shot was flat last season in the postseason.

Totally disagree on this one, it really depends on which Ariza is the REAL Ariza
However, Pierce at his age is a shell of his former self
While he can still hit BIG shot's at times, he just cannot be relied on to contribute consistently
But with Wall/Beal/Nene/Gortat, he could possible be the 4th/5th option and that could really help him, just like it helped Ariza excel as a ROLE player

Ariza's value is in his versatility on OFF and DEF, because of his athleticism/length/ability to spread the floor and dribble to the rim and finish with contact
Pierce at his age now is far from this, however, it could also be that Ariza was playing for a contract it could also regress, especially playing with a PG like Wall, 2 mobile skilled BIG's in Gortat/Nene and a shooter like Beal that can put the ball on the floor and isn't selfish

Maybe I am biasist, I have been a HUGE Ariza fan the day he was drafted as a Knick, he just was never able to develop with the horrible lack of leaders/vets
I was always hoping we would one day be able to get back Ariza/Wilson Chandler/ and Lee because I believe these are B+ role players if in on the right system with the right talent around them with their versatility/skills, unfortunately another 4 years of Ariza and I doubt I would be interested in role with his age and lack of athleticisim to go with it

Add in

Seraphin
Humphries *great signing at risk and reward*

Blair *great signing at risk and reward*
Gooden great vet min player

Porter *showing potential on his 2nd year*
Webster *if recovers, if not stretch candidate*

Glen Rice JR *who I thought is the better pick to Tim Hardway JR at the time of the draft*, could take up after Ariza's OFF's ability to spread the floor though not the same defender
Andre Miller *stoppage back up PG*, I think they need to add in a another PG/SG that has the ability to play PG at a FAST PACE rather than just a backup up at Millers age despite his lack of injuries through out his entire career

Cartman718 wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:Pierce and Miller have to be at the top of their "age limited" games,

Nene has to stay healthy,

Humphries must play up to potential,

Porter must play well enough to justify his draft position,

Blair continues to play his blue collar game

Rice shows flashes

Gortat repeats last year, at least, and maybe exceeds it

Wall and Beal continue to mature on the court and play smart, team ball

If a majority of these things happen, the Wizards will be a very fun team to follow. Nice balance of youth, young vets, near prime guys, and crafty vets.

Would be nice to see them get through a year major injury free.

They now have some good playoff experience to look back upon. Of this list, only Rice (?) is without playoff experience.

Have not really seen Porter- does he have the ability to actually contribute this year?

I would actually root for this team against most other teams that are not the Knicks in the EC playoffs.

Porter and Rice looked really good in summer league. Many would argue that they looked better than THJ. Pierce can replace Ariza's scoring. But the team's wing defense will suffer, especially with Webster out. Not sure if I like them more than the Cavs, Chi, Indy and a healthy Atl, but I wouldn't be surprised d if the Wiz snuck into the top four.

wasn't Glen Rice second round? i mean what the hell 25+ points on 46.9%, 7+ rebounds, almost 3 steals!