The NBA game has evolved. Have the Wizards evolved with it?

Bullets Forever founder Mike Prada joined me on the Bleav in Wizards podcast this week to discuss his new book, Spaced Out: How the NBA’s Three-Point Revolution Changed Everything You Thought You Knew About Basketball.

Per the book’s official description, “Spaced Out tells the story of what professional basketball looks like right now and how it got here. Taking a court-level view, Prada breaks down high-level play to elucidate the athleticism, strategy, and skill demonstrated on a nightly basis, while shining a light on the historical forces that dramatically altered the shape of the game and the role of its superstars.”

The book focuses heavily on the three-point explosion but also thinks like deeper threes, hand-checking, zone defenses, and much more. It also covers the teams who had the greatest impact on this revolution, specifically the Golden State Warriors and James Harden-era Houston Rockets. Because the book is focused on what makes modern basketball modern, I thought it would provide an interesting lens through which we could evaluate the Wizards.

Prada and I discussed Wes Unseld Jr.’s recent choice to play Anthony Gill over Deni Avdija and just how well players like Avdija fit in the modern game. We talked about which player archetypes could be most successful today and whether the Wizards have any that fit that mold. This required us to talk about the Wizards’ recent draft history and specifically Johnny Davis.

Prada raised some really interesting points about Kristaps Porzingis and how he’s a prime example of the evolution of the game. We also talked about whether you need a traditional, pass-first point guard today and how the “Point Beal” and “Point Kuzma” experiments have played out so far. If you’re at all interested or have spent time thinking about the direction the Wizards are moving in (or lack of direction in this case), I would encourage you to not only check out the entire podcast but also get a copy of the book!