SB Nation Reacts: Most fans feel encouraged by the Wizards’ better-than-expected start

Thank you for your responses to last week’s SB Nation NBA Reacts survey! The results are below!

Most Wizards fans are confident in the team’s direction

SB Nation

We had over 200 responses if my math is serving me correctly, And 63 percent of you are confident that the Wizards are headed in the right direction. Considering that most of you graded rookie guard Johnny Davis’ Summer League as a D or F back in late July, I’m surprised.

Why are you confident? Here are some answers:

• “The Wizards actually look like a professional basketball team. You can see clearly defined roles for players and attempts to run a mix of offensive and defensive sets catered to players weaknesses and strengths. Like whoa, it seems organized. I’m not used to this.”
• “The Wizards have 10 players who give them a competitive rotation, a big man who creates matchup problems, and additional players who care enough about defense. Plus additional depth with Corey Kispert, Vernon Carey Jr. and Taj Gibson that can help them make overcome injuries and make changes when players in the rotation (e.g., Rui Hachimura) play poorly. And their head coach is no longer a rookie, seems to have taken some lessons from last season and gotten through to many of the players.”
• “The starters look like they are coming together well if we can keep it up.”

And why are some of you not confident?

• “It’s the beginning of the season.”
• “I’m not confident or worried. It’s too early in the season to be either of those things. There’s a lot to like, such as our improved team defense and the play of our starters. There’s also a lot to criticize, such as our bench performance, lack of offensive organization at times, and our penchant for taking our feet off the gas when we have a lead. We also can’t discount that so far, we’ve had the good fortune of playing Indiana without Myles Turner and Chicago without Zach LaVine. And both games were too close for comfort despite most of our team being healthy and key players for our opponents sitting.”
• “Do the numbers 10-3 mean anything to anybody? I’m happy we’re 2-0 but they’re both narrow wins against comparable East opponents.”
• Multiple people wrote that Ted Leonsis owning the team and Tommy Sheppard being the GM alone was sufficient for them to give a vote of no confidence in the Wizards.

So you know. I voted that I was not confident that the Wizards are headed in the right direction. While they are 2-1 at the moment, last season’s 10-3 start was fool’s gold, and Kyle Kuzma’s Belgian pink sweater will live in infamy in this fan’s eyes.

I get that the Wizards (and Monumental) want to get some of Emma Meesseman’s fanbase in Belgium with the pink sweater’s origins. But the Wizards started L-O-S-I-N-G after Kuz wore it. And many of our active readers seem to H-A-T-E Meesseman’s fickleness before she left for the Chicago Sky. Yet ... Kuz’s Belgian sweater still gets a bobblehead giveaway?

Okay, that’s enough about the pink sweater.

MOVING ON!

Most of you figure that Rui Hachimura will be back next season

SB Nation

The Washington Wizards forward is entering his fourth professional season and without a sophomore contract extension. Gabe Ibrahim laid out the pros and cons recently which you can read here.

Hachimura will enter restricted free agency after this season and 55 percent of you believe he should come back. To me, I think Hachimura is coming back regardless. The Wizards have invested a fair amount of their international efforts on him from a marketing perspective. And he is showing potential as an offensive player in his own right. Finally, it makes no sense to let Hachimura go for nada, nix or nothing. If he isn’t playing for the Wizards next season, then it’s all but a net loss for Washington.

Most think Hachimura should earn between $10-15 million with his next NBA contract

SB Nation

Hachimura is earning about $6.2 million this season on his current rookie scale contract. If he were to be on a qualifying offer next season, Hachimura will earn about $8.48 million.

Most of you, about 52 percent, believe Hachimura has done enough to earn $10-15 million for his next NBA contract, whether it’s with Washington or elsewhere. About 20 percent of you believe his next contract will earn him $15-20 million in the 2023-24 season, while only four percent believe that Hachimura will earn over $20 million in that season with his next contract.

When I get a prompt to get another SB Nation Reacts survey (and I’m talking to you MeToo!), I will focus a bit more heavily on Johnny Davis, who has yet to play a single second in an NBA game....

Until then, enjoy the last week of October!