Why the Wizards won’t contend - but could have hope

Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor is joined by David Thorpe to discuss Washington’s outlook and why the team’s young pieces has an opportunity to prove their potential this season. Check out the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

This Wizards team, they’re not gonna be good.

They’re in the tanking tier, I’d say, they’re so young, unless Chris Middleton has a huge bounce back here, and Chris, unless CJ McCollum takes a step now in his 30s, this team is not gonna be good, but you look at the names on the roster, David.

I like a lot of the young guys.

I really like a lot of the young guys on this roster, and, you know, I think with Trey Johnson, Cam Whitmore, Will Riley, Keyshawn George, Bob Carrington, all five guys I have listed in the bench column, they’re all kind of guards and wings.

There’s a lot of minutes to distribute to some of these guys, and I think with them, maybe you’ll see this team play a lot of small lineups this coming season, but we’ll see how that all plays out.

Bottom line though, I like the youth, it’s just nowhere near ready to do anything of substance, even in the Eastern Conference.

Who are the young guys that you like and dislike on this Wizards team?

Leave, if you don’t mind, leave that roster up, I’ll go right through it.

That’s what I was gonna do.

I think Sar is super talented, big, big fan of his potential as a rim protector, as just an athlete, he’s a foreign guy, he’s young, but I think he’s got a chance.

Coulibaly showed real signs last year on and off, he certainly looked, there are times he looks like he’s gonna be a star player, but he really struggled in Eurobasket.

Small sample, but he really, really struggled.

Yeah, but that’s a more cramped game.

It’s gonna get like that.

I could see that he’s still so young.

I don’t know Will Riley, but I talked to some teams who worked him out, they absolutely loved him.

I’ve watched Trey Johnson since he was a high school player and watched him play for Team USA, really liked him a lot.

I think he can be very good.

I don’t know George so well.

I thought Whitmore had a chance to be really good, the whole draft debacle and nothing’s really kind of come around since then, but, I mean, I thought he had with Washington.

It’s a good situation for him, I’d say.

Yeah, and, and you didn’t mention AJ Johnson, who was picked by the Bucks.

I did not like him coming out.

He is talented.

I just think he’s a long way away, but the thing about it is if they could just get a few of those pieces to play.

By the way, I like Kispert, he’s not so young anymore, but I think he’s a fine role player.

If Khris Middleton could play well, you know, move him to a contender and get some assets for him if you can make that happen, that would be great to see.

I, if, if, if, if I was, like, I like to think of it this way, at year’s end, if, if, if, if A happens, then what’s next?

Well, if Sar looks like he’s a keeper and you keep the ball, then keep a keeper.

Any of the guys they drafted, touch or trade, all right, we got, we got some cooking here.

Why the Wizards won’t contend – but could have hope

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