Wizards Balancing Act -- Prioritizing Player Development and Becoming More Competitive

Three goals for the season: "Make sure we continue to develop the entire roster ... We want to increase the moments of competitive basketball that play in the season ... and be in more competitive situations [and] Take meaningful strides as an organization towards ... sustained success. Will Dawkins, September 24 press conference

But what will the product look like on the floor for the first 20 games? Dawkins talked about having a lot of players that can initiate and the proliferation of that skill throughout the lineup gives coach Keefe "a lot of optionality for lineups and for minutes when Trae Young isn't on the floor. The Wizards organization has been sanguine about the absences of a pure point guard to backup Young and delighted about having three good bigs instead of just one for much of the past season. 

How could Keefe manage the minutes? Will some players get 10-12 minutes one night and DNP/CD the next? Given the signs that Keefe will be experimenting beyond training camp into the first 20 games I'd say that the odds the lineup will be unsettled is very high. Seeing who plays well with whom is hard to judge in camp/practice. Preseason games help but there are only four.  Given the changes to the roster, likley changes to the offense and defensive schemes, injury/age management, player improvement over the summer, and high-quality roster depth, it's almost a guarantee that some players will be unhappy (some nights) about PT during the first 20 games. 

Given the great depth Keefe now has at his disposal I expect 10-11 players to get PT frequently. Check out this example (remember minutes have to total 240)

You'll notices that in this example, minutes for AD and Champagnie only total 35 and that minutes for Sarr and Ayton total 51 -- more than 48. This means that Sarr and Ayton might share the floor some and that Kyshawn might be at a small-ball 4 sometimes, just like Champagnie. As the team becomes confident that Sarr's foot and conditioning are 100%, his minutes will increase. 

At the wing, see the minutes balance between George, AJ, and Coulibaly minutes. That make sense to the degree they are interchangeable. George is  the more proven two-way player, Coulibaly, the better on-ball defender, and AJ, like all rookies will have some struggles on the defensive end. And don't be surprised if Tre Johnson gets plenty of run at the 2-guard. I expect his defense will improve from his rookie year. Bub Carrington may get shorted on minutes to start the year but don't be surprised if he stays ready and gets his chance, especially if a spark is needed on offense in any given game. Same with Middleton -- you never know when Keefe wants to teach the younger wings something and puts Kris in to show how it's done. 

Can't wait for the season to start!