New Washington GM Tommy Sheppard indicated during a press conference this week that the Wizards will be giving a lot more minutes to younger players this season, relays Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Sheppard said the organization wants to have each rookie play at least 1,500 minutes between the NBA and the G League. That represents a significant change from last season, when seventh-year pro Bradley Beal led the league in minutes played and coach Scott Brooks relied heavily on his veterans.
Washington has a pair of rookies with guaranteed contracts in forward Rui Hachimura and forward Admiral Schofield, so they should see plenty of time on the court this season. Guard Garrison Mathews, who has a two-way deal, and guard Justin Robinson, who wasn’t drafted but has a chance to make the final roster, could both wind up at Capital City. Forward Troy Brown, center Moritz Wagner, point guard Isaac Bonga and forward Jemerrio Jones, all second-year players who didn’t see much time last season, may spend time there as well.
“We’ve got to show them why and how it’s good for them,” Sheppard said about selling the approach to veterans. “But I think they’re active participants in it, and I think everybody appreciates that we’re trying to prolong careers. You make a bad decision on a player — they go out, and they pop a hamstring, or something happens which could’ve been avoided because of fatigue factor we didn’t recognize — that’s on us.”
There’s more from D.C., all courtesy of Katz:
- John Wall is serving as a virtual assistant coach while he waits to return from a ruptured Achilles that may sideline him for the entire 2019-20 season. Sheppard said Wall is helping to teach the younger players, and the team won’t pressure him to return too soon. “We’re not waiting on a calendar. There’s not a clock when he comes back,” he said. “He comes back when he’s 100 percent.”
- The Wizards have 13 players with guaranteed contracts and may opt to go with a 14-player roster rather than the maximum of 15. “If you have 15 players and one gets hurt, (using a two-way player) is the only way you can plug it,” Sheppard said. “You have 14 players; you can sign somebody and bring them in that’s not in the G League. It gives you optionality. … My vision, putting rosters together, it doesn’t make a lot of sense not to hold back a roster spot for the competition, for the inevitable injury, something.”
- Guard Jordan McRae, who has a $400K guarantee, is considered likely to earn a roster spot, according to Katz, but injuries to Wall and Isaiah Thomas increase the need for another point guard.
- Brooks, who is entering the fourth year of his five-year contract, will be judged on building a positive culture rather than wins and losses, Sheppard adds.
