January 2022 mailbag, Part 2: Cassius Winston’s future, and the Wizards’ need for shooters

Here is the second part of our mailbag. The first part can be found here. We’ll have the last part out tomorrow. Thank you, and our apologies for the delays!

With Beal’s missed games, Cassius Winston has only appeared in two games. With the Wiz’s issues at Point Guard, is there a realistic possibility he will get more playing time or will he end up trade bait? (SkullDog)

Matt Modderno: Winston has been hurt and even limited in his G League appearances. He’s been largely ineffective at the G League level, shooting a pretty poor overall percentage (although it was trending up a bit before getting hurt again) and not playing much defense. I don’t expect him to be in the NBA next year unless he makes some quick, drastic improvement. I wouldn’t hold my breath that he plays or anyone would trade for him.

Renzo Salao: I wouldn’t hold my breath over a Cassius Winston renaissance. Even in the G League, his shooting splits are of below average efficiency and doesn’t really bring anything to the table that either Raul Neto or Aaron Holiday can’t handle.

What do the Wiz need to do to increase their 3 Point Shot Production? (SkullDog)

Modderno: Get players who shoot better at the trade deadline. But also can defend a bit so they’re actually playable, unlike the Wizards’ current high-priced shooter.

Why doesn’t the team pass the ball to the open man? I have never seen so many ball hogs in my life. They could be so much better. (Randy Scott)

John Morrow: There is much, much better ball movement on this team than we saw last year. The guards are still prone to extra dribbling and tunnel vision but I would say the group passes the ball an appropriate amount. If anything, the team could be a little more selfish in spots with Dinwiddie being the main player who is guilty of too much deferring.

Renzo: This could be a byproduct of not having adequate shooting throughout the roster. The Wizards are in the bottom three in the league in three-point percentage, makes and attempts.

Aside from KCP (37.7%) and Aaron Holiday (38.2%) on less than two attempts per game, the Wizards have no above-average shooters on this roster. Even those two aren’t exactly shooting the lights out.

A player would probably be more willing to make the extra pass to a shooter they’re more confident is going to make it rather than calling his own number. Simple as that.

The Wizards are dead last in 3 Point Shots Made and ranked 26th in 3 Point Shot Percentage. They are ranked 5th in Field Goal Percentage. This indicates that the Wiz shoot short and midrange shots well, but struggle to make 3 Pointers.

What do the Wiz need to do to increase their 3 Point Shot Production? While not the only factor, the higher FG% is also bumped up a bit by the fact that we take the fewest threes in the NBA. (SkullDog)

Renzo: The small sample size has gotten significantly larger in terms of the team-wide career-lows shooting from distance. At this point, trading for a bona fide shooter seems like the quick and easy route to address the issues. The fact that we only have two rotation guys who aren’t well below league average from three is just not going to cut it and we’re too late into the season to hope that the law of averages saves us from our shooting woes.