BCH

I have mentioned a few times about what I view as the direction the Wizards management seems to be taking with the team. They seem to have a purpose in who has been drafted, and who has been pursued. I think we are about 2 years away from realizing much of what we are doing now.

What do you think? Do you think they are moving in the right direction? What should be the plan from here until we are "ready'? I am curious as to what others think.

local_sportsfan

I believe the Wizards are finally moving in the right direction. Of course, its going to take alot of time, dedication and practice, but it seems as though Wiz managment has finally decided to make a plan for the future rather than keeping the "win now" approach that has set the franchise back. I'm not going to claim the Wiz are the next great dynasty like fans of some other teams, but its not hard to see the Wiz have got some talent to work with unlike previous yrs.

Currently, the Wiz have 3 top ten lottery talents (Kwame, Rip, Hughes), two low lotto talents (Etan, Jeffries), and two solid mid first round talents (Haywood, Dixon). IMHO this is more than enough to build a great team. Management has done a great job in assembling these guys...now its the coaching staff's duty to mold them into great players.

With the added caproom next season, hopeully the Wiz can add another top tier free agent like an Andre Miller or Baron Davis. If not, the Wiz have a good backup plan in Hughes and/or Dixon. Another good thing is that Wiz management has decided to go 2-deep at every position, and they have versatile players that can play more than 1 pos. This means we won't have a huge hole on the near future if a player doesn't pan out.

All in all, things are looking bright in DC. The signing of Hughes shows that the Wiz are commited to winning, and other players and teams are noticing. The best we can hope for now is the playoffs...that would be the only thing that could top this years great offseason for the Wiz.

BCH

Good to see you LSF.

I am thinking that the Wizards have made a commitment to Hughes at the PG position, unless Rip comes up lame. For that reason I am thinking that next offseason the Wizards will be focused on a SF type player. I know we just drafted Jeffries but I think the commitment right now ti Hughes, Rip, and Kwame is a little bit higher.

I am not sure if any decent SFs are going to be available next year either.

We shall see what happens. I would not be surprised to see some sort of trade next offseason to possibly consolidate our talent a little more. I think we are young with many possibilities but a little diffuse. That is a good plan for the current situation but we need some time for the guys we have to come into focus.

I wish we had more than this season for that to happen. I feel that one year is not going to be enough. I sort of with the big FA markert was 2004 rather than 2003. I think the guys will have set themselves apart a little and we can avoid a Ben Wallace type mistake.

ANyone got a relevant list of FAs for 2003 and 2004 showing guys who have Player Options?

local_sportsfan

Ditto BCH. If we we're to make a trade for an established all-star calibre player, would you rather try for a sf (Marion, Lewis) or a pg (Davis, Miller)?

BCH

I would rather have Davis or Miller over Marion or Lewis but if Hughes works out, I say go for the SF.

jazzy1

I think the Wiz are heading in a direction that is recognizable for a change we finally have young talent that needs time to mature and jell , I don't think we'll get any top flight free agents and I don't want to trade away any of the young talent to get a young star because I don't believe that puts us any closer to being serious contenders, I'll like to see us wait it out keep our cap room to lure one of the young clipper sf,Q Richardson,D miles, Mike has a relationship with the guys through his Jordan Gear business deal and they could fill that role if JJ doesn't pan out but really guys I think Jefferies is the real thing I think we have our sf, Point guard is my concern, Hughes maybe fine I think more of a stop gap, I'd wait to draft one out of college the next couple of years,supposedly there's alot of good prospects the next couple of years, Hinrich from Kansas,Ridenour from Oregon,Duhon from Duke, we should wait for one of them.