Jerome Robinson is out to prove that the Washington Wizards made a smart move acquiring him via trade last season. Here are three goals for him next season!
Jerome Robinson is out to make a name for himself coming into his third NBA season and his first full season with the Washington Wizards. The Wizards acquired Robinson in a three-team deal on February 6. In the deal, Washington sent guard Isaiah Thomas to the LA Clippers and the draft rights to Issuf Sanon to the New York Knicks. New York received Moe Harkless, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 second-round pick, and a 2021 protected first-round pick swap from LA, while the Clippers took Marcus Morris from New York.
For the Wizards, this trade did not garner much media attention. Essentially, Washington just needed to unload Isaiah Thomas because he just never fit with the team. In 40 games with the Wizards, Thomas averaged 12.2 points and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 40.8 from the field and 41.3 percent from three. He only played 23 minutes per game in 37 starts, and while his per-game averages weren’t bad, Washington performed better as a team in the minutes he was off the floor. Wizards GM, Tommy Sheppard, was highly complimentary of Thomas but he had to pull the trigger on this deal. The opportunity to add a young, second-year player with untapped potential for an aging veteran was a no-brainer for Washington.
The Wizards had their eyes set on Jerome Robinson well before they pulled this trade off. Washington initially targeted him in the 2018 NBA draft but unfortunately, the Clippers snatched him up two picks before the Wizards were on the clock. Although it came via trade, Washington still found a way to get their guy without giving up valuable assets. Like most teams, Washington was intrigued by Robinson’s ability to score the basketball from every area on the court. Now, Jerome Robinson is out to prove that the Wizards made a smart decision adding him to the squad for the foreseeable future.
Here are three goals for Jerome Robinson next season.
Goal #3: Score, score, and score some more!
When the Wizards acquired Robinson, General Manager Tommy Sheppard made it very clear why they brought him in. Sheppard said, “Jerome was a lottery pick for a reason… He is in need of an opportunity to prove himself and we are in the position to provide him with that.” During his tenure with the Clippers, Robinson played less than 12 minutes a night due to their deep, veteran-filled roster. In Washington, he’s in a more favorable circumstance because the Wizards are in a position to let their young players develop. He can come in and immediately carve out a role for himself.
Jerome Robinson is a much better player when he’s aggressive and in attack mode. If he wants to make an impact on this Wizards team, then he has to bring the same scoring mentality he had at Boston College.
At the collegiate level, Robinson was first in the ACC in total points scored with 725 and was named All-ACC First Team as a junior. That year, he averaged 20.7 points while shooting 49 percent from the field and 41 percent from three. It’s not realistic for him to average 14.7 shot attempts as he did in college if he’s coming off the bench for the Wizards. But Robinson can’t be afraid to let it fly with the minutes he’s given. He’s a rhythm player and if he heats up, it can be a long night for the opposing team.
During the Wizards’ time in the bubble at Orlando, Jerome Robinson took full advantage of the extra freedom on offense. Bradley Beal could not make the trip with the team due to a shoulder injury, so that meant more shot opportunities for Robinson. In 13 games with Washington, before the season was suspended, Robinson averaged 6.1 points on six shot attempts per game. When the Wizards returned to play in the bubble at the end of July, Robinson nearly doubled his shot attempts and averaged 11.7 shots over the team’s final eight games. More shots led to more points. Robinson averaged 14.8 points per game in the bubble.
It was a small sample size of only eight games, but he showed how effective he can be with more touches and was much more impressive than he was in his first 13 games with the Wizards.
Goal #2: Defend at a higher level
In order for Jerome Robinson to be a more dependable player moving forward, he has to improve defensively. Yes, he can score the basketball at a high clip, but the Wizards need more than scoring. Last season Washington finished the year with a 114.7 defensive rating, which ranked 29th in the league. On the offensive end, however, they were 16th in the NBA with an offensive rating of 110.2. The Wizards scored 114 points per contest last year, so clearly putting the ball in the basket is not the issue. If they want to make it back to the playoffs then they must defend at a higher level. The bench in particular has to be better.
For Robinson to get consistent minutes on the second unit, he cannot be a liability on the defensive end. He doesn’t have to be an elite defender next season, but he has to stay in front of his man and limit penetration from the perimeter. As long as he’s engaged and active, he’ll put himself in positions to succeed. There were times last year when Robinson would lose focus and get beat off the dribble or on backdoor cuts. He needs to limit the number of easy baskets he gives to opponents before the coaches lose faith in him on the defensive end.
Production on the offensive end alone will not be enough to keep Robinson in the game. He needs to be impactful on defense, as well. Whether that’s deflections, steals, drawing charges, whatever. He has to find a way to make plays on that end of the floor because the Wizards don’t have many reliable defenders at the moment. Washington needs growth from its entire roster to fix their bottom-ranked defense from last year.
Goal #1: Build chemistry with the team
For a number of reasons, Jerome Robinson was never really able to build chemistry with the Washington Wizards.
He was traded right at the trade deadline, and then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Less than 40 days after Robinson joined the Wizards, the NBA suspended the season.
Robinson was averaging about 20 mins per game for his new squad before the season shut down on March 11. He didn’t start to build comradery with the team until they all entered the bubble in Orlando. It’s hard to fully assess his play there because the Wizards were without Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans, and John Wall. Someone had to pick up the scoring. But it was encouraging to see Robinson was the one to heat up.
The key will be whether Robinson can continue playing like he did without Wall and Beal once they return. Those two, along with Davis Bertans (if he returns), will garner a lot of attention from opposing defenses. If they choose to leave Robinson open, he must make opposing teams pay like he did in the bubble.
After finishing the season 25-47, it’s clear that Washington needs to improve in a lot of areas. Surprisingly though, the Wizards actually had one of the top-ranked bench units last year. They were second in the entire league behind the Clippers in total bench points per game. The only person who spent time on both of those benches was Jerome Robinson.
Washington averaged an impressive 48.3 points per game off the bench this past season. Jerome Robinson, who came off the bench for 16 of his 21 games with Washington, averaged 9.4 points in his short time with the team. He’ll be looking to boost that average next year.
The league has not declared an official start date for the upcoming season yet. Many people are predicting the 2020-2021 season will start sometime in January or February. That gives the Wizards two to three full months to gel as a team before things get going again. This time will be crucial for Jerome Robinson to integrate himself, especially on the second unit. Robinson won’t get as many looks as he did in the bubble once Washington’s offense brings backs its big guns. But Robinson’s smooth scoring touch, especially from behind the three-point line, can still be utilized off the bench. He just has to continue to stay confident and fire whenever he’s open. Whether he’s off or not, the Wizards need Robinson to keep shooting and not worry about percentages.