Wiz of Awes
Fansided

Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: DeMarcus Cousins To The Wizards, Otto Porter’s Role, and More

By Ben Mehic

facebooktwitterreddit

We’re back with the April 20th edition of Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday.

Today’s questions come from Twitter and Reddit.

Without making any moves, it doesn’t look like the Washington Wizards will have enough room to add Kevin Love, especially since they’re avoiding the luxury tax.

Still, I’m a firm believer that if a player wants to play for a certain team and there’s enough space to make it happen, then it will happen. In this case, I don’t think that applies.

Washington needs a stretch four and there’s arguably no better fit for Love than the nation’s capital, where his father Stan played back in the day.

Love would be a tremendous compliment to John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Marcin Gortat. Wall’s ability to drive and Beal’s outside shooting would give Love so much room to operate.

But, I don’t think Love was a huge fan of playing under Randy Wittman in Minnesota, who told him to stop shooting threes.

Basically, I don’t think Kevin Love would ever willingly leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for Wittman’s Wizards.

This might sound crazy, but right now, I’d probably take DeMarcus Cousins.

We’ve lived through the Gilbert Arenas injuries and Kevin Durant‘s issues scare the hell out of me.

Durant is obviously the better player. When healthy, he’s arguably the second best player in the NBA. Personally, I’ve never seen a scorer quite like Durant. He’s a great person off the court too. Oh, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s from Washington.

Boogie Cousins, though, is one of the most talented big men in the league, if not the most talented.

More from Wizards News

Having a little-man, big-man combination could be deadly. John Wall and Cousins played together at the University of Kentucky and their relationship has continued in the NBA.

Some will argue that Wall’s quickness and Cousins’ game don’t mix, but I’d disagree. Having athletic wing players to run along side Wall is more important.

There’s only a handful of big men in the NBA that are capable of keeping up with Wall in transition. Cousins isn’t one of them and it wouldn’t be a problem.

Adding a stretch four along side Cousins would probably solve Washington’s offensive problems. Wall has never played with another All-Star before, and certainly hasn’t played with someone he’s already built a friendship with like Cousins.

The Sacramento Kings are a mess, so adding DeMarcus Cousins would probably be more likely than adding Kevin Durant. If you get the chance to add someone like Cousins, you at least have to pick up the phone.

Washington could offer something like Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter, and a couple of first round picks for Cousins. I don’t know how appealing those pieces are, but if Cousins wants to play in D.C., then it could be doable.

Given their connection, I’d be surprised if Wall and Cousins don’t team up in the future. Having that duo in D.C. could propel the Wizards into championship contender status.

Injuries scare the hell out of me, man. We’ve dealt with injured superstars in the past. I’d obviously take Durant, but if there’s a chance to get Cousins, you have to snatch it.

in my opinion, Otto’s biggest strength is defending bigger wings/guards. He’s agility and length just annoys them. This was evident when Otto shutdown Derozan. In your perspective, what is Otto’s biggest strength? -via Gr8WallofChinatown

There isn’t a lot of things that Otto Porter does extremely well. With that said, he does a lot of things competently, which cannot be said for the rest of Washington’s backup small forwards.

His length and ability to get inside the passing lanes is certainly one of his biggest strengths. Porter still lacks the physical strength to defend the likes of LeBron James or even Joe Johnson, but he’s long enough to disrupt players that don’t necessary use their physical strength.

I thought he did a great job defending DeMar DeRozan, and it should be interesting to see how things change when Dwane Casey gives James Johnson some minutes.

Porter’s basketball I.Q. and movement without the ball is probably his most consistent strength, if that makes any sense. Even though his outside shooting will continue to be up-and-down, you could always depend on Porter to be at the right spots, and his cutting gives Washington a different look offensively.

Porter is very Tayshaun Prince-ish. He’s probably the most versatile player on Washington’s offense. He doesn’t do anything great, but he does a lot of things well. Let’s hope he continues to play well against Toronto, because it could earn him more playing time in his third season.

Who is the “X factor” player for each team, Wiz and Raps. My pick goes to Otto for us and Lou for them -via Boymankid

Louis Williams, who just won Sixth Man of the Year, is definitely Toronto’s x-factor.

There’s a lot of players that carry the “Wizard Killer” label, but there’s none more feared than Williams. He knocked down multiple clutch shots in Game-1 that helped Toronto complete their late comeback. I still thought the Wizards did a good job defensively on Williams, and that will continue to be a key to their success against Toronto.

As for the Wizards, I’d probably pick Ramon Sessions to be their x-factor.

We’re going to see Sessions share the court with John Wall, but when he’s coming off the bench, his role becomes even more important. The Raptors have a few reserves that are capable of lighting it up, and Sessions has to stay ready, especially defensively. He’ll probably end up defending Lou Williams during certain points in the game, too.

Sessions has been a lot better than expected. Stabilizing the second unit and giving Washington a spark on both ends of the floor is another key to their success against Toronto.

Thanks for the questions! If you’d like your question featured on the next Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday, feel free to tweet us (@WizofAwes).

Next: Wizards 2014-2015 Season Review: Player Grades

Home/Wizards News