Welcome to ZardCast: Previewing the 2016-17 Washington Wizards

ZardCast

Today on ZardCast, CT, Dave and Gary gather for the first show of the season to preview the 2016-17 Washington Wizards.

Topics discussed include:

• The guys return from a long, hot offseason
• Wizards were perfectly average last year at 41-41, had a very active offseason. The guys give their 30,000 foot views on the team
• Randy Wittman was sacked, Scott Brooks is the new boss in D.C.
• Early takes on Brooks’ suit game
• John Wall has surgery on both knees during the offseason. Had the best statistical year of his career, but also had to carry the team for a lot of last season
• Dave is no longer friends with Wall, he’s now closer with Bradley Beal
• Wall was not efficient, true shooting percent last year was garbage. He can be better if his teammates are better. Gary makes a good LeBron James-Miami-Big Three comparison
• Wall was roasting people on Twitter over the Cowboy jersey flap, Dave is terrified of being owned online
• The guys revisit the “John Wall and Bradley Beal aren’t the best of friends” story from the summer
• Gary thinks Wall shouldn’t have used the word sidekick
• The Wizards signed Beal to the max, the weight of the franchise’s imminent future is kind of on his shoulders
• Dave thinks the Beal injury talk is a little overstated, Gary wishes he wasn’t quite a max player so he could avoid some of the flack that comes with that
• What’s the outlook for Otto Porter? What’s free agent Porter look like? He came on really strong after the All Star break, but he was also very much a one half player
• There’s talk of Porter playing more power forward, opens the door to a lot of interesting lineups. We’ve been seeing Markieff Morris at center, too
• Ian Mahinmi is the Wizards big free agent signing, but he’s out for the first 4-6 weeks of the season with a meniscus tear. Whenever he returns, he will be a big boost off the bench
• Tomas Satoransky finally joins the Wizards, looks good, very intriguing addition to the team
• The guys think Marcin Gortat will have a spring in his step with Wittman gone. Those two constantly clashed
• Why do people hate on Gortat so much?
• If Beal can stay healthy, it will be helpful for everyone’s offensive game, including Gortat’s
• Markieff Morris is the team’s draft pick. Everyone is excited to have him after a preseason with squad. Also nice to have a legit power forward. Haven’t had one in recent years. Got lost in last year’s attempt to make the playoffs
• Kelly Oubre is set to become a factor on this team. Dave likes his defense and that he’s learning not to jack up a bunch of shots
• Though the guys didn’t know who Andrew Nicholson when he was signed, they now they feel like he could be a useful backup to Morris. Gary isn’t confident in him, thinks he’ll have minimal impact
• Nobody likes Trey Burke
• Marcus Thornton didn’t even make the note sheet
• We’re going to see a lot of Jason Smith with Mahinmi out
• The Vegas win total is 42.5 – What’s everything think?
• Wizards have a tough 8 games to start the season
• Predicting end of season awards, Dave is still haunted by his selections last season
• Gary gushes about Joel Embiid
• Other thoughts on the Eastern Conference