Wizards projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
Washington Wizards starting shooting guard: Jordan Poole
The Wizards aren’t going to pay Jordan Poole $32 million annually to sit on the bench. Poole was the perfect trade target to kickstart the Wizards’ rebuild. He’s definitely overpaid, but the Wizards received assets to take on his money. Washington won’t be spending big on free agents for a while. In the meantime, Poole has four years to restore his reputation and carve out a featured role in the nation’s capitol.
Poole is an undeniably talented offensive player. It’s a matter of whether or not he always puts that talent to good use. There aren’t many guards who can move and shoot like Poole. He’s a handful to guard off the dribble, blessed with twitchy handles and the ability to shift gears on a dime. He changes speeds and direction better than most, and he’s an absolute buttery shooter. So, why was he so bad last season?
It’s mostly to do with decision-making. Poole has a bad habit of tunnel vision and his shot selection didn’t always fall within Golden State’s prescribed game plan. He will have far more freedom to operate in Washington’s offense, free of the shackles of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Steve Kerr’s notoriously complex system, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Washington will need Poole to embrace more than just a higher volume of shot attempts. He needs to leverage his shooting gravity to create opportunities for teammates. If Poole can make a leap as a passer, then he has genuine All-Star potential. The percentages weren’t great, but his jumper passes the eye test with flying colors and he learned from the best in the business when it comes to off-ball movement and stretching the defense. He should have no trouble playing off of Tyus Jones and Washington’s other playmaking valves.
Defense is another matter of concern here. Poole does not defend his position well. He’s a plus athlete with decent physical attributes, so there’s potential. But his effort and concentration levels tend to waver far too frequently.
Primary backup shooting guard: Landry Shamet
Landry Shamet has bounced around a bit during his NBA career, but the appeal here is rather simple. He’s a tremendous movement shooter who sharpened his skill set working behind J.J. Redick in Philadelphia as a rookie. He averaged 8.7 points in 20.2 minutes with Phoenix last season and hit 37.7 percent of 5.0 attempts per game from 3-point range.
The Wizards have a few genuine game-changers in the shooting department. Shamet will demand constant attention and keep his man occupied off the ball. Running him through a maze of screens while Jones, Deni Avdija, and others create could pay dividends. Again, there’s a good chance Washington doesn’t run into problems scoring the ball, so long as everyone buys into their role.
Other players who could receive minutes at shooting guard: Johnny Davis, Corey Kispert
It’s way too early to give up on Johnny Davis, the No. 10 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. His rookie season was mostly dreadful and he spent the majority of it with the G-League squad, but there were enough flashes down the stretch to reaffirm Washington fans. Davis was a talented shot-maker in college and he could provide necessary bursts of shot creation and floor-spacing off the bench. Unfortunately, the Wizards do have more established guards in front of him.