Wizards forward Deni Avdija practiced on a limited basis on Monday after missing the last two games with lower back soreness, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Avdija is the only player on the injury report and he’s listed as questionable, the team tweets. Will Barton, who has also battled back soreness, practiced on a limited basis as well.
We have more on the Wizards:
- With Rui Hachimura and guard Delon Wright back in the rotation after missing significant time due to injuries, the team’s defense should be on the improve, Ava Wallace of The Washington Post notes. Wright could be the team’s best perimeter defender. “We’ve talked about at length his ability to contain one-on-one,” head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “Hopefully, that helps minimize some of the points in the paint. He’s got great size, hand activity.”
- Two-way player Jordan Goodwin is expected to remain with the team for the time being despite the return of Wright, Wallace reports in the same story. The Wizards want to avoid overloading Wright, starter Monte Morris and the other guards. Goodwin has a solid grip on the third-string point guard spot over No. 10 pick Johnny Davis, who has appeared in 14 games with the G League’s Capital City Go-Go.
- Hachimura has been indispensable to the Wizards’ second unit this season because of his ability to provide instant offense, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Despite missing 16 games, Hachimura leads the Wizards in double-digit scoring games off the bench with 14. It’s a pivotal season for Hachimura, who’s headed for restricted free agency next summer with a current qualifying offer of $8,486,620.
Tommy Sheppard can’t draft, so a rebuild with him at the helm doesn’t give me any confidence that the Wizards can do it successfully. Johnny Davis was a horrible pick in this year’s draft. The pick should have been Jalen Williams, who went 12th to OKC, has started 16 of 29 games, is averaging 11 ppg, 3.4 rpg and 2.7 apg. He’s 6-6 and would be a perfect fit alongside Beal. They’ve needed a playmaker since a healthy Wall played for this team. Denver’s backup PG from last year, Morris, is not the answer, certainly not long-term. They missed on Haliburton in the 2020 draft, selecting Avdija instead. The list goes on and on. My recommendation is to try and package 2-3 of the former low lottery picks and get the best player you can for them. Davis is probably a lost/sunk cost.