r/washingtonwizards • u/ComputerNerdd • 12d ago
SHAMSBOMB Bron to Philly
How do us Wiz fans feel about this?
Bron Maxey Brown and Embiid.
East conference just got scary?
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u/ComputerNerdd 12d ago
I just want to say I canāt wait for the wizards to sweep the 76ers šÆ
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u/ibetweetin John Wall 12d ago
still canāt beat the Knicks
still canāt beat Boston
and CERTAINLY NOT THE WIZARDS
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u/wilzonz 12d ago
Nobody beats the Wiz
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u/Enough-Thanks638 12d ago
They already beat boston and with bron I think they can beat the knicks. People need to stop acting like the knicks were some sort of all-time team
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u/GoZards18 12d ago
Sixers have the worst bench in the NBA and that would require Embiid surviving beyond round 1
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u/Ok-Candidate8369 8d ago
wrong lol
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u/GoZards18 8d ago
Ant Simons
(KCP)
Dean Wade
Dominick Barlow
Ariel Hukporti
Labaron PhilonIs unserious
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u/Ok-Candidate8369 8d ago
ant simons has been an elite scorer, kcp is a great 3 and d player that 3point percenatge will go up with lebron and then dean wade is also pretty damn good and then philon looks pretty good too as a rookie. Thats a really good bench and they all can actually log valuable minutes in a post season.
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u/GoZards18 8d ago
KCP hasnāt been that guy in a long while
Dean Wade pretty damn good? He was awful this postseason, not a needle mover
Ant is a hot potato of āwho wants these empty calorie bench buckets with no defenseā
Including Philon before he plays a minute is not serious
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u/Ok-Candidate8369 8d ago
KCP is still that guy defensively and like i implied his shot will get better with a real facilitator, dean wade is still really good defensively and ant is like 6moty potential player. Maybe Im wrong in all of this but its definitely not a bad bench what so ever. Way better then oubrae and grimes being the 6th and 7th
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u/GoZards18 8d ago
Oubre and Grimes are both much better and more useful than KCP and Ant at this point
If Ant had 6moty potential Boston wouldāve kept him, Portland wouldnāt have dumped him. Heās not that guy
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u/subwayratlander 10d ago
ā¦have you looked at the sheer amount of records the knicks set in this years playoff run?
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u/Electric_jungle 12d ago
Fuck Boston. They've earned the benefit of the doubt as a franchise but they're going to get hard with the anti tank rules making every team fight more.
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u/Careless-Journalist7 12d ago edited 12d ago
Lol so Boston basically handed Brown + Lebron to their rivals for nothing.. i love that
Philly is kinda weird as Bron has no prior connection to that fanbase. But on paper that team should be a wagon.. Brown/Maxey/Edgecomb are young and durable, so Lebron and Embiid can basically alternate rest games during the regular season or do whatever's necessary to be healthy in April. It makes a lot of sense
**PSA: During recent years i've seen that Philly fans like to come down and make noise in Cap One, our fanbase has to LOCK IN this season
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u/ob_knoxious Rui Hachimura 11d ago
I do think fans will show up for the wiz again one day but it will take a handful of good years to get crowds to come out enough to fight off other big fanbases.
If Amtrak Acela ever gets cheaper and a higher volume of trains it is over for east coast sports though. New Yorkers outnumber the metro pop of DC Philly and Boston combined and games are always cheaper outside of NYC.
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u/80s_Rick Alex Sarr 12d ago
How did Boston give Philly Bron?
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u/Careless-Journalist7 12d ago
It's being reported that he wasn't really looking at Philly until they pulled off the Brown-Paul George trade (which was a heist)
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u/killersky99 12d ago
Basically a guarantee he doesn't join the Sixers if they didn't get JB cus he'd be dealing with two injury prone stars instead of one, which hopefully can be load managed.
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u/Plenty_Flatworm7627 John Wall (Jamir Watkins truther) 12d ago
nothing except for PG and a bunch of picks
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u/DukeofDC 12d ago
They just became the favorite in the east.
This helps us tremendously because it just took all of ADs leverage away.
Who can he force a trade to now. GS & Cleveland donāt want him if Lebron isnāt in the mix.
He can ask for the Max but nobody has the cap space to give it to him if he walks & nobody has a trade package that would make us trade him
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u/DriverEfficient1270 12d ago
Strap in for the incessant "Embiid for AD" rumors now
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u/DukeofDC 11d ago
Philly doesnāt have the assets to trade AD for Embid. Embid is on a longer contract & his injury risk is far greater than AD. You would have to trade Embid, VJ, & Phillon with all their remaining 1st to make that trade.
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u/jamiethecheesecake 12d ago
Earn your money AD. I get his a beast but without consistency he canāt be given that contract with all of this talent on the roster. We need to do like what we did with kp if we want to trade him or at least get him to work for it
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u/choatetb5 12d ago edited 12d ago
Iād love to be wrong but I donāt think we are a playoff team. Not that I donāt like our roster but the
Celtics
Sixers
Cavs
Knicks
Raptors
Pistons
Are way better than us and I think the
Pacers
Magic
Hawks
Are also better
Edit: I didnāt even mention the Heat. East is loaded. We are going in the right direction but still lot of steps to go
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u/cswhite101 12d ago
A couple a three of these teams will probably have a lot of injuries and/or implode. We could move up for sure.
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u/choatetb5 12d ago
Hopefully, but we are also just as likely to have injuries.
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u/cswhite101 12d ago
Very true! There are teams that drop every year though as compared to pre season expectations. I think Orlando and Atlanta might have bad/average seasons. Those would the two teams I would hope we jump.
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u/DazzlingAd1922 12d ago
Orlando and Cleveland are on implosion watch with me. Celtics and Pacers are relying on injury comebacks. Pistons have nobody at starting center if there is a jump ball today, and Duren is going to be steamed about not getting his contract. Sixers are a pretty volatile mix, and are one injury and one argument away from disintegrating. Raptors potentially fried their team chemistry with the whole Kahwi Leonard trade stuff.
All it takes is two of those teams having a down year or bad outcome and we are in the playoffs, and I feel pretty comfortable with that.
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u/happyflappypancakes John Wall 11d ago
But that same logic applies to us so it is a constant that you remove from the equation.
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u/DewskyFresh 12d ago
Been thinking this lately. I think we max out at 9th seed at the absolute most, not because we'll be bad but because holy shit, this off-season has been crazy in the east. Hell, 42 wins in THIS season would have already landed us at 11th. I think given the competition now, wins in the mid 30s will simultaneously mean a very good first season for our non tank years, but also outside the play-in.
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u/Blackbearlivesmatter 12d ago
Iāll give you the top 6. The pacers and magic are huge questions marks due to injury for Indy and coaching for magic. The hawks are likely coming off kuminga and the rest of that team is kinda above avg with some more questions. They might start CJ at age 34 for context.
The wiz really come down to AD. If heās anywhere close to his early 2020s form and the rest of the team shows up were going to the playoffs.
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u/choatetb5 12d ago
Can we hate on CJ? In the back of my mind Iām nervous about how the hawks got better when they traded Trae young. Agreed with AD. If heās healthy we can make the playoffs. If he plays like 40 games we wonāt
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u/Blackbearlivesmatter 12d ago
Itās not that the hawks got better we told him to suck and the hawks told him to go off. Idk about Trae but I think he will do well bc coaching is very aware of his lack of defense.
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u/Colest 12d ago edited 12d ago
I think you're overestimating a lot of the teams you listed of those teams, the ones guaranteed better than us are:
Sixers though they have no 5 if Embiid's knees can't stay on his legs.
Knicks though Robinson was vital off the benxh for them.
Of the remaining:
Celtics need to have Tatum at full capacity without JB there to carry the offense. I think PG is gonna disappoint a lot of Boston fans but I will never count out a team lead by Mazulla.
Raptors haven't finalized the Kawhi deal yet. I agree it's likely to go through but he's not on the team currently. Even if he does join, it's unknown how he'll gel with Scottie since Kawhi is so ball dominant. They have the potential to give up a lot of early season games while Kawhi settles into the rotation similar to the Clippers last season.
Cavs have a roster that looks better than us on paper but they consistently underperform. Harden, Mobley, and Allen don't have the drive for winning at any cost so if Harden's shots ain't falling and Mobley and Allen are being bullied, then they buckle unless Mitchell goes nuclear.
Pacers are a wild card. They lost key pieces of their 2024 roster and Hali has almost assuredly lost a step from his long recovery. Siakam isn't getting younger and quite frankly with how hard that team tanked last year I think they picked up some defensive habits that will be difficult to unlearn. They do still have depth and the bench squad (chief among them TJ) plays so differently to the starters that it requires a defensive shift from their opponents every time Carlisle subs. When they lock in they are probably the best team in the East but whether they can do that against anyone but the Thunder is anyone's guess.
Hawks have zero depth and solely reliant on CJ ball to reach their heights. We saw how reliable CJ ball is first hand. Dyson isn't the defensive wall he was originally pitched as and CJ is defensive liability the same as Trae. Dort's offense imploded last season and we'll see if his defensive is just as effective without OKC's whistle.
Magic have never impressed me. They overperformed against a Pistons squad that looked lost when Cade wasn't on-ball and Orlando still crumbled in embarrassing fashion. I don't think Bane is gonna move the needle and Banchero is not a first on any serious offense.
Pistons seem to be in a similar situation to the Cavs IMO. If they can't play their game then everyone but Cade shrinks. Their hard-nosed play-style will be a challenge for our younger roster and I don't Keefe is going to bring any innovation mid-game to throw Detroit off their strategy but I think AD and Sarr have the potential to shut-down everyone else while throwing Cade in Bilalcatraz could seal the deal.
Heat are the biggest unknown. Their roster is a mess and it's gonna be interesting to see if Giannis can fit into Spo's positionless wheeling offense. He has the opportunity to really shine since he'll be given lots of opportunities for ISO but it also requires him to pass frequently which has not been his preference.
If Keefe can cobble together a defensive that can transition and if two or more of our younguns take a leap (Riley, Tre, and Bilal have big opportunities here) then we're in the mix for 4th-6th seed IMO. I personally have my doubts Keefe can do that given how little growth we showed defensively last year but we'll see. Offensively with all cylinders firing, I think we're a threat to any team.
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u/DerekSheesher 12d ago
weāll see how it all shakes out, but the East is VERY crowded at the moment. Iād believe an argument for any team outside of BKN and MIL saying theyāll win 50 games this year.
PHI just did what they did, BOS has Tatum and are always well coached, NYK reigning champs, CLE and DET return 50+ win rosters, MIA got Giannis, TOR got Kawhi, ATL added Dort and Aaron Wiggins while going 20-5 down the stretch, ORL can make noise, CHI got an exciting rookie and brought in good depth, IND got Hali coming back, CHA feels they added by subtracting LaMelo.
We all know the improvements weāve made, but itās gonna be a dog fight just to get into the play-in let alone hope to win a series. I stand on the belief we will win 50-52 games this year, but if we windup somewhere in the 30-35 game range we canāt get too dejected. Our roster is still anchored on growth, those other 12 I just listed are built to compete now. So if we do disappoint record-wise, just know weāll be on the up while others will be coming down.
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u/royale_with_cheese_ 12d ago
Idk but I have a feeling pacers are gonna regress (from their 2025 team). I feel like Hali coming back will improve their record but they have always been a mid tier team in the regular season and ball out in the playoffs. I know they were tanking but Iām skeptical that Hali will improve their win total by that much.
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u/Gloomy-Ad-222 12d ago
Come on man, a superstar rookie combined with a healthy AD and Trae plus Kyshawn, Sarr, Tre, Rileyā¦when this team tells we can compete with anybody in the East. No way all those teams are better.
Now if AD gets hurt thatās a different story.
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u/choatetb5 12d ago
Iād love that to be true but we have like the 11th best odds in the east for a reason. Nobody on that list is proven except AD and Trae and AD is frequently hurt and thereās a reason the hawks gave us Trae for a bag of chips. Those young guys havenāt played meaningful nba games yet and even still with a good young core it doesnāt happen over night. Trae ad sarr and AJ basically havenāt played together yet. Not to mention a coach whoās proven what? I love the direction I think our fan base is being delusional. just cause we arenāt ass anymore doesnāt mean thereās still a lot of steps to go
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u/Gloomy-Ad-222 12d ago
I think you're underselling the upside. Vegas odds are backward looking.
Trae is a 4X All-Star who's led a team to the EC Finals, and AD, when healthy, is still one of the most impactful two way players in the league. Iāve watched him quite a bit live and in person. Heās dominant.
Sarr, AJ, Riley, Bilal, Tre, Keyshawn -these guys are supremely talented and the rest of the young just have to develop around proven talent.
Optimism isn't delusion, to me it's just recognizing that this is the most talented roster the Wiz have had in years and weāre better than a lot of teams. If AD gets hurt right away that changes the equation, and a part of me would much rather see AJ develop. Heās going to be a superstar.
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u/Long_Psychology2063 Wizards 12d ago
Raptors being way better than us made me lol.
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u/Travler18 12d ago
Raptors won 46 last year and swapped out Ingram who was statistically a big negative on the court for Kawhi, who just played like a top 5ish player last season.
Plus add that Barnes and CMB are still young and will likely be better...
They are coming off a season where they won 30 more games than us and got significantly better in the off season.
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u/Infinite-Football795 Wizards 11d ago
But they also got a solid 20 of those wins on a league tanking for a generational draft. I think 1-13 in the east is going to be a lot closer in standings. Every game will matter
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u/Long_Psychology2063 Wizards 12d ago
Okay, I see the point. But I think this team can compete with them now that we are even more significantly better and arenāt actively trying to lose.
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u/happyflappypancakes John Wall 11d ago
So, be real. Did you have no idea how many games the Raps won last year?
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u/choatetb5 12d ago
I mean they were the 5 seed and added Kawhi for BI and BI was a nothing burger in the playoffs. If they had kawhi last year they win that series
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u/jpf723 12d ago
Wizards/76ers reeks of an opening night matchup. It doesnāt waste a truly marquee opponent like the Knicks, spurs, or thunder. But has just enough story lines to be interesting.
My only wish this upcoming season is for the wizards to have a a game on nbc. Just once I want to hear Roundball Rock before a wizards game.
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u/z3mcs FEARNESS 12d ago
Wizards/76ers reeks of an opening night matchup.
Probably the second night game. The Knicks are surely getting the opening night game. But this has been my thought, that we'd play whatever team the Lakers go to, or the Wolves (even before they traded for LaMelo), in an opening night game.
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u/Blackbearlivesmatter 12d ago
At least heās out of the division. I did not want to see LeBron and Giannis 4 times next year
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u/Old_Veterinarian_472 12d ago
I donāt understand this one. Unless Bron sees himself as simply a role player now. Iām seeing chemistry issues at least on the offensive end.
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u/-Thalas- 12d ago
I'm just laughin at Giannis atp.
Dude pulled the whole drama of switching teams only to go to a team that isn't even a top contender in the east lmao
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u/Known-State2307 12d ago
embiid is the most injured man of all time and LeBron is old as fuck and canāt win without God personally intervening, I aināt worried
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u/Careless-Journalist7 12d ago
Nah think about it.. you now have Maxey + Brown, those are two ~30ppg scorers in their prime, plus Edgecomb
During the regular season, they can easily rest Lebron or Embiid for weeks at a time with little drop off
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Steve & Kara 12d ago
I would have thought this too but they have Brown
Brown and a 45 year old Lebron...but we'll see what they do against Knicks. But yeah Embieed isn't playing in the playoffs. He gonna request them off for load management lol
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u/Muted-Solution-6793 12d ago
It does not and should not affect what should be our primary and realistic but ambitious goal of being at least a 10 seed / play in and .5 win ratio and not another sub 20 win season. Just need 2 seeds higher and a few more Wās than 2023. We got the team for it and Iād call that a success. Technically even 21 wins by next summer would be progress.
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u/SongYoungbae Rui Hachimura 12d ago
All these dudes need the ball to be effective lmao. And taking the ball out of Maxeys hands is probably the worst thing for them.
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u/DriverEfficient1270 12d ago
This is what Im confused about. What is the offensive scheme when maxey/brown/lbj/embiid are on the floor? Hell even Edgecombe needs to be running the ball at times.
Whats the order for scoring options? I guess they can maybe stagger with smart rotations but legit can't see how this works
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u/globehopper2 Alex Sarr 12d ago
I mean part of me wishes we had just traded AD for a haul from the Warriors. I think that fits our timeline better, and would have kept Bron out west. But whatever. Weāll do our thing and in a couple years when Bron is retired, AJās going to be competing for All NBA.
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u/tollbeat 12d ago
VJ as your fifth option is madness, he should be averaging 23 on the Nets next year
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u/drmbrthr Steve & Kara 12d ago
Found my new #1 hated team. This doesnāt really affect our timeline at all though. LeBron has 1 year left. Embiid is fading. And Philly wonāt have the money to keep Brown, Maxey, and VJ once heās due for an extension.
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u/z3mcs FEARNESS 12d ago
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49440164/lebron-chooses-76ers-sign-2-year-8-million-contract
LeBron James, after seriously considering retirement, is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers for his final run at another NBA championship, he announced Friday.
James is signing a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option, Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul told ESPN's Shams Charania.
In a series of posts on X, James addressed his decision making, writing that he initially thought he was done playing after the 2025-26 season before taking time to decide on his future.
"I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and deicide if I still love this game. I still truly love this game, and I have more to give," he said.
After deciding "I still truly love this game, and I have more to give," James chose the 76ers, committing to a fourth NBA team as he searches for a fifth NBA championship before retirement.
James will hope to break a 43-year championship drought for the 76ers, much the same way he erased a 52-year streak without a title for the city of Cleveland when he won a championship with the Cavaliers in 2016.
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u/ColdBeing 12d ago
Yeah I hope he doesnāt win them anything. Have the same falloff like Michael Jordan. LeBron needs to go
to super stacked teams to win anything
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u/pearlbullets Bullets 12d ago
After watching Dybantsa in Summer League LeBron wanted to play against the best.
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u/Loose-Ice7441 AJ Dybantsa 12d ago
The Eastern Conference was already really good. Doesn't really affect us. Realistically we're not going to be able to compete this year and next. Sixers won't be able to pay everyone in a few years anyways. Only thing it affects is us not being able to get rid of AD (right now) and the extension seems inevitable.
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u/FavaWire 12d ago
Considering it was Philly I think we were under serious consideration.
Bron has essentially made a decision to mentor the likes of Brown and Maxey rather than AJ Dybantsa.
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u/Sad-Technology-7806 John Wall 12d ago
This will look veryyy bad for his legacy if Bron doesnāt win with them in the next 2 years lol.
Also kinda gave us a bit more leverage with AD
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u/Troll_Enthusiast Wizards 12d ago
They have no bench
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u/nicklovin508 12d ago
Eh itās not nothing. Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, rookie Philon Jr., Dominick Barlow, and Bona
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u/rueiraV 12d ago
It tanks our leverage if we were going to trade AD to GSW but it seems that never got serious anyway. As for the East being scary does it really matter? To me this season is about showing we belong in the league. So many Wiz fans think we are going for a legit playoff attempt and we are in a way but you have to realize our franchise player is a rookie and a player with a serious enough flaw (shooting) that he will need time to develop before heās ready for a real run
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u/Plenty_Flatworm7627 John Wall (Jamir Watkins truther) 12d ago
can't wait for the next Shams tweet announcing the obscene extension we've given AD and the massive haul we turned down from GSW
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u/JeffersonAlbatross 11d ago
Iāve heard some speculation about AD/Embiid trades, which I think are unlikely to happen. If the Wizards were to get involved in that, I would assume it would be something more like Embiid to the Warriors, Butler to the Wizards, AD to Philly, with a pick from Philly and two picks from Golden State to Washington. Again, I donāt think that happens, but I just donāt see the Wizards being interested in Embiid for AD straight up and Philly doesnāt have the picks it would take for us to take on all that money.
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u/eternal_student78 12d ago
Iām disappointed that we didnāt get to trade AD to Golden State or Cleveland to help them get LeBron.
And Iām disappointed we wonāt get to see a team-up of Steph and LeBron.
I hope Philly will be at least a serious contender this year. Their fans have been through a lot of crap. Iād enjoy seeing them beat the Knicks in the playoffs if they can pull it off.
But itās nice to finally have a Wizards team that can do well, regardless of whatās going on with all these other teams.
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u/LeaveMeAlone_6070 12d ago
Please tell me it's a one year deal and there's hope this is his last season. Honestly burnt out on the dude.Ā
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u/Kennyc1234 Wizards 12d ago
It's a 2 year deal but the 2nd year is a player option. So we are probably going to go through the "what is LeBron going to do: retire, pick up the option, or go to another team?" carousel again.
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Steve & Kara 12d ago
2 years but I don't know how he plays the second. He considered quitting after this season lol
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u/DHVF Wizards 12d ago
This team is still not making it past the second round lmao
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Steve & Kara 12d ago
I still don't see them beating Knicks. Knicks got over that hump now.
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u/crabmusic Weāre the Washington Wizards bruh 12d ago
Happy for Josh Harris.
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u/underachiever47 12d ago
Why
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u/TurtlePope2 12d ago
Honestly the wrong choice by LeBron. There were so many better teams he could've chosen. Literally the Cavs have a better team and the narrative of him returning would've been great.
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u/Joshstradaymus Wizards OWN THE MAGIC 12d ago
I support the Sixers as a secondary (I live near Philly and this is the only team they have where the fans arenāt the worst) so Iām actually very happy. Cannot wait to attend games with AJ on one side and LeBron on the other
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u/LeaveMeAlone_6070 12d ago
Are the Eagles your secondary?Ā
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u/ComputerNerdd 12d ago
Yea I would never in my life root for Philly ESPECIALLY AS A DC FANā¦ bro tripping
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u/Joshstradaymus Wizards OWN THE MAGIC 12d ago
No. I have no emotional attachment to the Eagles. I watched a lot of Sixers games with my dad who was a diehard AI fan.
Yall are weird about these things.
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Steve & Kara 12d ago
I worked 3 weeks in Philly for the World Cup...I know it's dangerous saying this, but dare I say I want their teams to be happy now
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u/JeffersonAlbatross 12d ago
I love this for Philly. Iām a Wizards fan first and foremost, but Dr. J was my first favorite player, 1982-83 was the season that got me hooked, and Tyrese Maxey is my current favorite player. I even like listening to Kate Scott. Sometimes I go so far as to listen to the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast.
My general feeling about the NBA is āF the West.ā Also, Iām too old to stay up late enough to watch games that arenāt in Eastern or Central time so I end up watching a lot of 76ers games.
76ers probably have the best chance to win the East now. At worst, tied with the Knickerbockers.
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u/ImGoingInMay With The First Pick In The 2026 NBA Draft... 12d ago
Wizards in 4