Guessing the final Washington Wizards roster and rotation

by Mike Prada on Oct 19, 2010 12:42 PM EDT in Team Analysis

There's only one more preseason game to go before the Wizards must decide who makes their final roster, and as we hit the home stretch, I feel like I'm more confused than ever. Part of this is injuries, real or fake. Part of it is because people are working their way back from injuries they already suffered. Part of it is because Flip Saunders has done what he could to give everyone a chance.

Regardless, it's clear that the end result of Saunders basically declaring open competition on all roster and rotation spots is that ... those spots are still up for grabs. Here's what I think we know.

John Wall will start at point guard.
Andray Blatche will start at power forward.
Yi Jianlian will be at least the top frontcourt reserve.
Gilbert Arenas, barring a miracle, will start at shooting guard.

Otherwise? It's tough to tell. You'd think JaVale McGee is good as the starting center after a good game against the Knicks, but Saunders has called him out a couple times this preseason. Kirk Hinrich certainly fits in somewhere, but with Al Thornton struggling a bit (again, besides the Knicks game), will Hinrich really start? Where does Nick Young fit in? If Thornton does not start, where does he fit in? Who makes the final two roster spots among the group of Lester Hudson, Cartier Martin, Adam Morrison and Sean Marks?

These are all questions to consider. With that in mind, I figured I'd throw this out there before tonight's final preseason game.

Predict the 14 players who will make the Wizards' roster, and assign them a spot in the rotation, keeping in mind that it's not exact. In other words, beyond the starters, who will be the sixth man, seventh man, and so on?

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I predict

Cartier Martin will make the team…. Hamady Ndiaye will not be offered a contract in Europe – and the Wizards will be forced to keep him on the roster rather than lose his rights. The Wizards will go into the season with 14 players under contract.

Rotation
Wall – Starter
Arenas – Starter
Thornton – Starter
Blatche – Starter
McGee – Starter
Yi Jianlian – Key Reserve (all three front line spots)
Kirk Hinrich – Key Reserve
Hilton Armstrong- Key Reserve
Josh Howard – Will take over starting duties when healthy -making Thornton a reserve
Nick Young – sometimes bench scorer
Trevor Booker – sometimes bench muscle
Cartier Martin – sometimes bench defender
Kevin Seraphin – DLeague candidate
Hamady Ndiaye – DLeague candidate

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Oct 19, 2010 12:56 PM EDT reply actions

I think this is what they SHOULD do

But I think they’ll sign Hudson, and they might let Hamady walk.

One other prediction: Hinrich (off the bench) will play more minutes than Thornton or McGee.

by steadyhand on Oct 19, 2010 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed with both

Sadly, Seraphin won’t be going down though it seems

by qthaballa on Oct 19, 2010 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Starters:
Wall
Arenas
Hinrich
McGee
Blatche

Off the bench in order
Thornton
Armstrong
Yi
NY
Martin

On the bench:
Hudson
Booker
Seraphin

On the street:
Marks
Morrison
H

by MR on Oct 19, 2010 12:59 PM EDT reply actions

What it should be, not what it will.

PG: Wall
SG: Arenas
SF: Yi (Howard when healthy)
PF: Blatche
C: McGee

6th Man:
Hinrich

Rotation:
Thorton
Young
Armstrong

Bench Warmers:
Booker
Martin
Hudson
Seraphin

by B I G on Oct 19, 2010 1:17 PM EDT reply actions

D league or overseas

for Hamady, Seraphin and Booker.

The Wiz don’t have a starting 3 without Howard. I’d try Martin again tonight. If he can’t handle it, I’d go with Thornton.

Other than that, Wall, Arenas and Hinrich should split the minutes at the 1 and 2. Hudson, Martin or Young should get 5-6 minutes depending on what;s needed.

Yi, McGee and Blatche should split the minutes at the 4 and 5. Armstrong should get 6 minutes to foul out.

by Izman on Oct 19, 2010 1:21 PM EDT reply actions

here goes...

wall
arenas
hinrich
blatche
mcgee

howard
thornton
armstrong
martin
booker
morrison
hudson
seraphin

I do not hate nick young. I like nick young. In pre season I wanted to see how he would do on a off night shooting and what I saw leads me to say nick’s time as a wizard is done.

by spoooooon on Oct 19, 2010 1:24 PM EDT reply actions

Morrison makes the team

Cartier Martin has played better, but I think the Wiz likes Morrison’s size and will give him this year to see if he’s a player.

Wall
Arenas
Thornton
McGee
Blatche

Off the bench in this order
Hinrich
Yi
Armstrong
NY
Morrison

On the bench:
Howard (until healthy)
Booker
Seraphin
H

Cut
Martin
Marks

by Kryp on Oct 19, 2010 1:28 PM EDT reply actions

Cut - Hudson as well

by Kryp on Oct 19, 2010 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions

John Wall is a one man show he don’t need a team. Wall Lead the wizard to the promise land . Because Wall can do it all. And NICK YOUNG will not come of the bench not again this year. With the talent that Young have, the coach have Young coming off the bench behind those weak a$$ player is just wrong. Coach life is funny every one reap what they sow. Nick you will shine on another team, and Nick is going to kick the coach and the wizards behind. Just saying the ear’s hear’.

straight talk

by Mae.jude@yahoo.com on Oct 19, 2010 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Absolutely Right

NICK YOUNG will not come off the bench not again this year. He will stay on the bench where he belongs. He will sit there game after game, thinking how lucky he is to get a uniform and a paycheck.

by mrmadrew on Oct 19, 2010 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

LOL!!!!!

by ThePGPhenomenon on Oct 19, 2010 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Young needs learn see other players he can pass to Ammo get mad assists. Ammo is god-like super-scorer he dont need sub. You will realize Ammo better than kobe wade lebron durant even young and will win next 15 titles. Nick be sad when hes on another team.

by steadyhand on Oct 19, 2010 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

oh no.

oh yes.

by mogoman on Oct 19, 2010 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Love Mae.jude's passion and unorthodox opinions

Starters:

Wall
Arenas
Thornton
McGee
Blatche

Hinrich will start in place of Thornton depending on the opposition
Howard will start later in the year in place of Hinrich/Thornton
Arenas will wack out later in the year, come off the bench and Hinrich wiil start for him

Off the bench in this order
Hinrich
Yi
Young
Armstrong
Morrison

On the bench:
Howard (until healthy)
Booker
Seraphin

Cut
Martin
Marks
H

by tgmcgill on Oct 19, 2010 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions

So...

PG – Young
SG – Young
SF – Young
PF – Young
C – Young

Bench
-We don’t need no stinkin’ bench.

Final record: 79-3.

by sierradave on Oct 19, 2010 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions

LoL

Mae jude will be in your camp dude!

"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff

by Dutch Hoopfan on Oct 19, 2010 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions

If Morrison makes the team over CMartin

Ernie should be cut.

by DCrez on Oct 19, 2010 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Just a gut feeling about them keeping Morrison

by Kryp on Oct 19, 2010 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm thinking

Wall
Arenas
Thornton (short leash with Hinrich waiting)
Blatche
McGee

Hinrich
Yi
Armstrong
Young

I think those will get the most time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Young get a lot of DNPs though.

by gilsix on Oct 19, 2010 1:35 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

What has Nick Young done to deserve a rotation spot?

He doesn’t play defense, so he’s supposed to be this offensive master, but he’s not good enough of a 3-point shooter to be a specialist (38%), doesn’t drive to the basket and I’m not even sure if he knows what a free throw is. His A-T ratio makes Eddie Curry look like a HOF point guard because he does not pass the ball to open teammates. He definitely does not rebound. Anytime he comes in there is a very real chance that he takes a lot of bad jumpers and the Wiz have a prolonged scoring drought. Im not the first to say “Dude is a black hole on offense.” So again I ask, what does he do that would make him anything more than an occasional off the bench when the Wizards are already down 20-30 points?

Starters:
Wall
Gil
Howard (when helathy; doesn’t matter until then)
Blatche
McGee

Rotation
Hinrich
Yi
Thornton

Occasional use:
Armstrong
Booker

Rarely playing:
Young
Seraphin

Martin and Hudson will be there in street clothes.

by mrmadrew on Oct 19, 2010 3:09 PM EDT reply actions

He was born

Do not question. ;)

by wjb1492 on Oct 19, 2010 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions

When Nick Young is 40 yrs old

he will still be the same player……he’s not wine guys.

by jdgreger on Oct 19, 2010 3:41 PM EDT reply actions

Thorton is going to start tonight

Marks is going to play also

by wizardsfan1 on Oct 19, 2010 4:05 PM EDT reply actions

what happened to mardy collins

by wizardsfan1 on Oct 19, 2010 4:10 PM EDT reply actions

this is a stretch

I’d like to see…Starting
C- McGee
PF- Blatche
SF- Martin
SG- Arenas
PG- Wall

First Subs
C- Yi for McGee
SG- Hinrich for Arenas

Second Subs
SF- Thornton for Martin
PG- Arenas for Wall
PF- Armstrong for Blatche (Yi moving to PF and Armstrong moving to C)

I see Martin as being the Nicolas Batum for us. Minute distribution goes:
Wall- 36min
Arenas- 34min
Blatche- 33min
Hinrich- 30min
McGee- 25min
Yi- 24min
Martin- 20min
Thornton- 17min
Armstrong- 11min
Booker- 6min
Young- 4min

by DaGribb on Oct 19, 2010 4:30 PM EDT reply actions

with Lester Hudson making the roster

by DaGribb on Oct 19, 2010 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Starters

1-Wall
2-Arenas
3-Hinrich (replaced by Howard when he’s healthy)
4-Blatche
5-McGee

Bench

6-Yi
7-Thornton
8-Armstrong
9-Booker
10-Martin

Blowouts only

11-Young (his last year with the Wiz. A sad waste of talent)
12-Hudson
13-Seraphin

"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."

by Vanilla Gorilla on Oct 19, 2010 4:43 PM EDT reply actions

This is my guess of the final roster

PG – John Wall
SG – Gilbert Arenas
SF – Josh Howard
PF – Andray Blatche
C – JaVale McGee

Bench:
Hilton Armstrong
Kirk Hinrich
Nick Young
Yi Jianlian
Trevor Booker
Al Thornton
Cartier Martin

IR:
Lester Hudson
Kevin Seraphin

by ThePGPhenomenon on Oct 19, 2010 4:53 PM EDT reply actions

Kirk Hinrich – Sixth Man
Hilton Armstrong – Backup Center
Yi Jianlian – Backing 3/4
Cartier Martin – Backing 2/3

Everyone else will be bench warmers for most of the season

by ThePGPhenomenon on Oct 19, 2010 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

You think Josh Howard is starting on opening night?

by MR on Oct 19, 2010 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions

no but when he gets back he will eventually be the starting SF by default. I just put him in the starting lineup for that reason.

by ThePGPhenomenon on Oct 20, 2010 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

My take

PG – Wall
SG – Arenas
SF – Thornton (short leash)
PF – Blatche
C – McGee (short leash)

Rotation
-Yi (1st b/c McGee’s leash is going to be that short)
-Hinrich
-Martin
-Armstrong

Bench
-Young
-Booker
-Seraphin (often inactive)
-N’Diaye (often inactive/d-leagued)

Once Howard is back from injury, he bumps Thornton to the rotation and Martin to the deep bench

I think Morrison and Hudson both get cut

by sierradave on Oct 19, 2010 5:02 PM EDT reply actions

my turn

Wall
Hinrich
Arenas
Blatche
McGee

First off the bench:
NY
Yi
Thornton

Situational:
Armstrong (against big teams)
Hudson (we need one more guard on the bench)
Martin (spread the floor)
Booker (energy big)
Seraphin (developmental)
Howard (injury)

by Jheiser3 on Oct 19, 2010 5:56 PM EDT reply actions

What I think

Starters:
(Dear Lord hear our prayer and allow Gilbert Arenas to PLAY BASKETBALL!!!)
Arenas
Wall
Blatche
Young
Jianlian

That’s who I think should start… now I haven’t seen enough of Thornton, but I know Nick is hungry, and he’s playing well!
As for Jianian, I think he’s a touch better than McGee, but I don’t think he should take too much time away from McGee because McGee is awesome too!

by enterprizor on Oct 19, 2010 6:30 PM EDT reply actions

Why don't they keep 15 players?

by Siis on Oct 19, 2010 7:00 PM EDT reply actions

I guess they could

But I think they’ll want that spot in case there are injuries during the season.

SB Nation DC | Bullets Forever | SBNation.com | Twitter.

by Mike Prada on Oct 19, 2010 7:29 PM EDT up reply actions

And then do what if there are injuries?

by Siis on Oct 19, 2010 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Sign an Emergency Free Agent

Remember, there is no IR in the NBA. Also, EG may want to leave a roster spot open for flexibility in case he wants to make a trade, especially a BOYD trade in which the departing asset is a future 2nd round draft pick.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto

by cuppettcj on Oct 19, 2010 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Yup

EG may want to leave a roster spot open for flexibility in case he wants to make a trade

I think they’d be foolish to fill every spot, given the apparent need to trade Arenas. Being able to take an extra player back could be important to making that happen (or to facilitating another trade). Honestly given the guys we’ve got trying out I’d rather they keep two spots open and start trying out guys on 10-day contracts. I’m pretty sure they could do better than Hudson/Morrison.

by steadyhand on Oct 20, 2010 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions

The no-nonsense get in your grill team

Starters:

PG-Wall
SG-Hinrich
SF-Martin
PF-Blatche
C-Mcgee

Rotations:

1st: Arenas for hinrich
Thorton for martin

2nd: Armstrong for mcgee
Yi for blatche

I don’t know i’m drunk.

Geting it done.

by Knowledge92 on Oct 19, 2010 10:49 PM EDT reply actions

what i'm worried might happen

starters:

wall
hinrich
thornton
yi
mcgee

injury list:

arenas
blatche
howard

hopefully ted brings the good fortune and this doesn’t happen

by DarrellWalkerFan on Oct 19, 2010 11:43 PM EDT reply actions

Once Howard Comes Back

Starters
PG Wall – 37+ minutes
SG Arenas – 34-37 minutes
SF Howard – 30-34 minutes
PF Blatche – 32-36 minutes
C McGee – 27-30 minutes
Key Reserves
6 Yi – 24+ minutes
7 Hinrich – 20+ minutes
8Thorton – 10-15 minutes
9 Young – 8-12 minutes
10 Booker – 6-10 minutes
Bench
Armstrong
Seraphin
Hudson
Martin

by TyeBrown on Oct 20, 2010 8:55 PM EDT reply actions

Ohhh why not

FOR THE OPENING GAME (it’s Dallas and I will assume Hinrich can handle the Ballstopper at SF)

Wall 40 min
Arenas 32 min
Hinrich 30 min
McGee 28 min
Blatche 38 min

Off the bench (rotation)

Yi (first for McGee then rolling over to the 4 when Blatche gets a rest)
Thornton (when Marion subs in for Butler)
Booker (when Thornton cannot control Marion or hit his shots, and/or McGee gets winded or in foul trouble)
Young (with two simple instructions: (1) score and (2) smother Jason Terry)

In case of fire break glass and insert

Armstrong (if Chandler gets rolling)
Seraphin (hack-a-Dirk)
Martin (garbage time)
Hudson (garbage time)

When Josh Howard returns to form… he immediately steps in at the 3….

by khrabb on Oct 21, 2010 8:18 AM EDT reply actions