Washington Wizards | Jonas Valanciunas | Malcolm Brogdon | Team Development vs Player Development
Dissenting Opinion
During the Second Offseason of their Rebuild, the Washington Wizards acquired two veterans. They signed Jonas Valanciunas for $30M over 3 Years and brought back Malcolm Brogdon in a trade for Deni Avdija. To put these decisions into context, Jonas Valanciunas was a key component of the competitive New Orleans Pelicans and before that the Memphis Grizzlies. Just two years ago, Brogdon won the Sixth Man of the Year Award playing for the contending Boston Celtics. Before that, Brogdon was part of the foundation in Indiana. On the surface these decisions seem to be driven by the CBA (Regulatory Framework) and the potential to trade these players for Future Assets. While that is clearly one angle, there are other angles to consider and learn from.
Rebuilding Teams in the NBA normally lose games unabashedly to put themselves in a position to acquire high value assets. The NBA’s Regulatory Framework incentivizes this Approach. Secondly, because Rebuilding Teams have little incentive to win, they allow talented younger players on their existing roster to operate with freedom. Freedom can be valuable, because it allows the player to explore the full extent of his capabilities. This is often justified in the name of Player Development. One Derivative Element of Player Development that is often ignored of these Rebuilding Teams is Team Development. What is Team Development?
Team Development includes but isn’t limited to things like Establishing a Culture, Developing a Style of Play, and Ensuring Organizational Alignment. That is in my opinion one of the many value propositions of Acquiring Players Like Malcolm Brogdon and Jonas Valanciunas. For example, the presence of Brogdon and Valanciunas on the court provides an Organizing Principle to Run a Functional Offense. Valanciunas offers a Post Option, a Pick and Pop Options, and he can theoretically stretch the floor. Brogdon is a Good Scorer and a Forgotten Good Decision-Maker. Their presence immediately gives the Wizards at least theoretically a Functional Starting Lineup. I say this understanding that almost every NBA Team Runs the Same Stuff and Plays an Indiscernible Style of Basketball.
Offensive Initiator - Malcolm Brogdon
Athletic Wing - Bilal Coulibaly
Shooting Wing - Corey Kispert
3/4 Forward - Kyle Kuzma
BIG - Jonas Valanciunas
It is wholly possible that this isn’t going to be the Wizards Starting Lineup, but this makes far more sense at least on the Offensive End than what they were doing last year. That Functionality will allow them to better develop Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Dillon Jones, and Melvin Ajinca. It will unlock their skills in a more efficient way and give the Wizards Front Office the opportunity to evaluate progress and audit the upcoming season from a better base. Better Functionality can also enhance the value of specific players on the roster. For example, at the moment Jordan Poole and his Contract seem like a Sunk Cost. But can he rehabilitate his value by becoming a Scoring Offensive Initiator Off the Bench. These Signings should also help First Year Head Coach Brian Keefe.
While I am vehemently against the Idea of Rebuilding, if you are to Rebuild, this approach is value-additive. Portions of Chris Paul’s Long Career are a Good Model for this Approach. His One Year in Oklahoma City clearly helped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander become a better player and it revitalized Dennis Schroeder’s NBA Career. The San Antonio Spurs are doing something similar this year with a 39 Year Old Chris Paul. The Rockets did it last year with Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.
One More Thing
I am opposed to Rebuilding because I believe you should always be Building, even those teams that are waiting for Future Assets to materialize. For me, this season is a great opportunity for the Washington Wizards to begin developing a Rules-Based Framework on Offense and Defense. This approach in my opinion is far more durable than Total Freedom.
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