Speaking today to reporters, Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said that Spencer Dinwiddie is further along in his recovery from an ACL tear than Thomas Bryant is, as Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Dinwiddie sustained a partially torn ACL in late December, while Bryant suffered the same injury just a couple weeks later.
According to Sheppard, Dinwiddie is on track to progress to 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 scrimmages, while Bryant has not been fully cleared for basketball activities yet.
“I can’t see Thomas necessarily being in our first game,” Sheppard said.
A previous report indicated that the Wizards may be targeting a December return for Bryant.
Here’s more out of D.C.:
- Sheppard confirmed a report that the Wizards tried to trade for Aaron Holiday in the past before acquiring him this offseason. “Usually, trade deadline calls, trades that don’t work out kinda resurface in the summer,” Sheppard said (Twitter link via Katz).
- Sheppard was asked today about whether the roles for young forwards Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija will changes in 2021/22 as a result of the Wizards’ influx of depth. As Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington relays (via Twitter), the Wizards’ GM said he thinks Hachimura will remain in the starting lineup, but Avdija – who started 32 of his 54 games as a rookie – is more likely to be part of the second unit.
- Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, acquired from the Lakers in the Russell Westbrook blockbuster, will bring specific skill sets to a revamped Wizards roster, writes Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post. Caldwell-Pope, in particular, is the kind of three-and-D wing the team has been lacking.
Always felt Rui should have been developed as a 3. It seems Wash sees him more as a 4. Deni is not ready to start. So I see Kuzma and Rui starting at wings. Which makes Harrell a rotation guy. But with no center healthy on roster. Means Harrell starts at C. They should of kept Robin. Lot of ifs on this team. I can see Wash redoing roster again during season or at TD.
I’d bet Gafford is going to start even when Bryant is healthy.
Gafford will start at Center
Forgot about him. He gave good mins last yr. Just looked it up.
So there’s still no extension for Beal, which essentially means he’s now on an expiring contract.
I think Shepherd has completely dropped the ball here. A starting lineup of Dinwiddie, Beal, Rui, Kuzma, Bryant w/ Holiday, KCP, Montrez and Deni off the pine is kind of intriguing? Just not when your franchise player can leave for nothing in less than 12 months.
Because if this team is on the outskirts again (which is a real possibility, as 40% of the starting 5 is coming off an ACL, while an additional 20% is Kyle Kuzma), and Beal says, “That’s enough now,” then guess what? Now you’re getting pennies on the dollar for him bc he’s a potential rental for any team acquiring.
Bottom line: Beal under contract was a great trade asset. This team with Beal as it’s best player has peaked at a less than frisky 8 seed. Losing him for nothing or next to nothing will literally put Washington back in the stone age. No surplus of picks and no truly high upside young guys.
Bertans, Neto, Gafford… prob two starters there. Bertans being overpaid does not reduce his oncourt contribution, which w/o Russ should be more like 19/20. Still, him & Neto are 40%3 shooters.
Nice descriptions, ‘frisky 8th’ & ‘intriguing’, and even at 5th the Beal problem remains, except the deadline is sooner. But it should play out to the DL.
Good catch, forgot about those three. They do have some nice depth around Beal now, I’ll give Shepherd that much.
Oh Krispert too. I think Sheppard figured him as a Bertans replacement… That seems a stretch.