March 22, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Aaron White (30) moves the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Wizards’ Forgotten Two

The Washington Wizards‘ season was certainly up-and-down, and with the firing of Randy Wittman last week, most of the chatter surrounding the team is covering which coach is best suited to take over the team.

While we wait for more word on whether the team will actually hire Scott Brooks, Tom Thibodeau, or another top coach, I took a look at what’s been going on outside of most fans’ views.

We’ve talked extensively about the spotty work of Ernie Grunfeld, and this certainly includes the lack of production the team has gotten from second round picks and international players under his regime. Obviously, not every second draft pick works out, and apparently 80% of second rounders end up being non contributors, but to stick around the league for a long time you have to be above average.

Grunfeld has been general manager of the Wizards for 14 years, and the team’s group of late draft picks has certainly been average at best.

Looking at international players as well, Ernie’s draft resume includes the likes of Peter John Ramos (2004), Oleksiy Pecherov (2006), both only 30 now, Vladimir Veremeenko (2006), Jan Vesely (2011) and Tomáš Satoranský (2012).

This group of five players has played a total of 258 games for Washington. The most recent pick, Satoranský, still has an opportunity to add to the total, although it’s always seemed like he never would.

Last summer, he told reporters he planned on coming over to the NBA for the 2016-17 season, however, last month he signed a four year extension with FC Barcelona, which has an NBA opt out after the ’17, ’18, and ’19 seasons. With Washington only having five players (plus Bradley Beal in all likelihood) under contract for next season, Satoranský will be an interesting 24-year-old prospect to add to the team.

Two summers ago he was interested in coming over, but wanted the mid-level exception, which the Wizards ended up using to sign Paul Pierce. More from Opinion Washington Wizards: 3 things that will be crucial to a 2021 playoff run

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Obviously that was the right move, and Sato ended up staying with his team for two more years.

So what has he been up to so far this season?

As of April 19, FC Barcelona has a 16-11 record in the Euroleague, and is 25-2 in the LIGA ACB.

Currently in round 1 of the Euroleague playoffs, FC is ahead 2-1 in a best of five series against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar.

In the second game, a 92-66 win, Sato posted 13 points and 10 assists in 28 minutes, shooting 2/2 on three pointers.

In 14 games during top 16 play, he averaged 10 points and 4 assists, with 37% shooting from behind the 3-point arc in 26 minutes.

Game 4 of the first round series will be on Thursday.

At 6’7″ Satoransky would certainly be a great addition to the team.

He’s more experienced than a lot of 24-year-old point guards, having played professionally since 16, and his height, athleticism, and passing vision would surely help a team lacking creators off the bench, where he could play either guard spot.

It still appears that Sato will spend at least another year in Europe, in part because of the rising salary cap. As we know, the cap is increasing to about $90-92 million this summer, but should rise again to somewhere in the range of $108 million in the summer of 2017-18, meaning he has a significant financial gain at stake by waiting the extra year.

In addition, he’s one of FC Barcelona’s best players, and as he’s shown since being drafted, he values playing time and his role on the team he’ll join in the NBA.



It’s probably benefited both sides so far to have him continue to develop on one of the best teams in Europe, rather than riding the bench for the Washington Wizards the last few seasons. More from Opinion Washington Wizards: 3 things that will be crucial to a 2021 playoff run

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Now that he’s 24 and he could conceivably take command of the backup point guard position, the writing should be on the wall for his eventual move to the NBA.

The other player to monitor is Aaron White, the Wizards’ 2015 second round pick from Iowa, who spent this past season playing for Telekom Baskets Bonn of the German Basketball League.

In his senior season, White was named to the Big 10 All-Conference 1st Team, and posted averages of 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

White came into the draft described as an athletic player who can play either forward spot and rebounds and passes well for his size, although many times the competition isn’t aware because of his appearance.

White averaged three points and four rebounds per game in the 2015 Summer League.

This season with Telekom, which ended in December, White played in all 10 games, starting 6. Because the team finished 2-8, last in their group, they did not advance to play in the round of 32, meaning that White wasn’t able to get as much experience as he probably would have in the D-League, but this allowed Washington to use all 15 roster spots on players who could contribute if needed, especially useful with the amount of injuries the team sustained.

With Baskets Bonn, White averaged 12 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes, while shooting 61% from two point range. He also led the team in rebounds and minutes per game. His two best games came in games three and four when he posted 20 points and seven rebounds and 23 points and 6 rebounds, respectively.

He struggled from 3-point range, shooting 25%, which was down from 36% his senior year at Iowa. In his first three years in college, White shot 27, 22, and 25 percent from three point range so hopefully this year wasn’t a regression, and rather an abnormality, seeing as he attempted only 12 threes on the season.

He was compared in his Basketball Insiders draft profile to Nick Collison and Omri Casspi, and while certainly vastly different players, someone with a similar game to either would be beneficial to the Washington Wizards moving forward.

To continue creating a strong organization in Washington, the high level officials have to get better results from developing players in house. Even if Satoransky and White aren’t on the active roster next season, monitoring their development will tell us about the team as a whole. Hopefully we’ll see White again during the 2016 Summer League, if not on the 15 man roster.

The Wizards currently don’t have a draft pick in the upcoming draft, and while White or another draft pick won’t be on the same growth timeline as Wall and the core, they would provide cheap talent, which could be beneficial if the team uses up the majority of its cap space chasing free agents this summer.