National Basketball Association

Washington Wizards: Kelly Oubre Jr., Tomas Satoransky Keys To Team's Bench Production

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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As the Washington Wizards look to bounce back from a lackluster season last year, the team hopes to shore up their bench depth with the prospective emergence of two versatile young wings.

No one will second guess that the 2015-16 season was a nightmare of a campaign for the Washington Wizards faithful.

After performing admirably during the postseason prior, famously sweeping the Toronto Raptors in the first round before bowing out to a 60-win Atlanta Hawks team in the conference semis (in which they were a John Wall injury away from pulling off an upset), expectations were sky high for the Wiz Kids this time last year.

Then-head coach, Randy Wittman, had seemed to stumble upon a deadly small-ball formula by shifting Otto Porter Jr. to the 4, and although they had lost veteran forward Paul Pierce to free agency, they seemed to have found an apropos replacement in Jared Dudley.

Spearheaded by an uptempo style that fits coherently with their franchise player’s chief strength, a top-5 defense, and a Bradley Beal due for a breakout, it was the Washington Wizards — and not the Raptors or the Celtics — who were expected to take the next step and emerge as Cleveland’s fiercest conference rivals.

However, everything turned south, and it turned south quickly.

By playing small for the entirety of a season, and playing at a breakneck pace no less, Wittman’s Wizards sacrificed the one thing the team had hung their hat on over the past few years — their defense.

In fact, they allowed more than 2.8 points per 100 possessions more, dropping them from the fifth stingiest D in the league to the 14th, per Basketball-Reference.

Beal struggled once again with a wide of array of injuries, and the team lacked the bench depth to really sustain such a helter-skelter style of play.

Fast forward to present day, and the Wizards have newfound hope — not hopes of contention (or a Kevin Durant homecoming), but hopes of returning back to the playoffs.

Randy Wittman is out, and incoming to serve as the new head man is Scott Brooks — not the most creative offensive mind, if his days as the coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder serve as any indication, but his teams have historically over-performed on the other side of the floor.

Health, though, remains a lingering issue.  Their star player, John Wall, is still recovering from surgery on both knees during the offseason, and as mentioned before, Beal has had a hard time staying on the floor in his brief NBA career.

With the status of their two best players in perpetual doubt, the Wizards and Brooks must turn to their bench to carry a heavier load during the season in an effort to save Wall and Beal for an extended postseason run.

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Accordingly, during the offseason, the front office tried to address such concerns by signing Trey Burke to command the second unit offense, and Ian Mahinmi to anchor the backup D.

Thus far in training camp, and through the first couple of preseason games, though, it has been their two gangly wings that have impressed the most.

It is hard to miss Kelly Oubre Jr. when he’s out on the floor. For one, he looks like he belongs more on a Paris Runway rather than an NBA court, and his shorts are generally two inches shorter than his contemporaries.

At 6’7″, and blessed with a Kawhi Leonard-esque 7’2″ wingspan, Oubre has all the tools to be an elite defender down the line.  But, last season, Kelly — like most youngsters — suffered from repeated mental lapses on the defensive end that limited his floor time.

And while, for the most part, Oubre has still looked lost in his two preseason games, he’s managed to average 20 points per game on 69.9 percent true shooting percentage, purely on his frantic athletcism, silky smooth spot-up shooting, and relentless activity — whether it be his timely cuts or aggressive pursuit on the offensive boards.

Defensively, opponents have a tough time scoring on him in an isolation setting, driven in large by his physical gifts. Although he is still a major work-in-progress as an off-ball defender, his length and motor enable him to accumulate a ton deflections, steals, and the occasional block.

Whether or not Kelly can break into the rotation and challenge Porter for minutes on the wing and backup small-ball 4 will hinge largely on his capacity to play within the system.

Oubre has a tendency of trying to do too much, too fast — often barrelling into a sea of defenders with no real recourse.  To make matters worse, he’s not exactly the most talented ballhandler, and when you couple that with his tunnel vision when slashing to the hoop, he’s basically a charge waiting to happen every other time he puts the ball on the floor.

Spatial awareness is another factor the coaching staff will have to monitor.  The careless turnover and foul he committed to give the Sixers the lead at the end of regulation during their second preseason game really summed the 20-year-old heartthrob’s deficiencies at this point in his career.

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If he can concentrate on playing astute man-to-man D, helping the helper in their pick-and-roll schemes, and picking and choosing his spots on offense — with his ability to nail an open 3 and inherent aggressiveness to draw fouls — Oubre can gradually evolve into a valuable, and highly versatile, piece for the Wizards’ bench going forward.

Tomas Satoransky, on the other hand, will never be mistaken for a male model.  In fact, he looks more like Pau Gasol‘s malnourished little brother rather than someone who can replicate Zach LaVine‘s off-the-bounce east bay extravaganza.

On the court, Satoransky plays with a poise and pace that is wise beyond his years.

At 6’7″, the Czech native has legit point guard skills with his ability to negotiate and make poignant decisions out of the pick-and-the-roll.  He may not look like he’s going all too fast, but he always seems to be able to slither into the teeth of the defense with a bevy of change-of-pace moves, and unlike Oubre, make the right pass more often than not when he sucks the defense in.

Off the ball, the 24-year-old former Euroleague star plays with just as much savvy and awareness.  He is a terrific cutter in constant motion — which is extremely important as a two-guard without a reliable three-point shot.

However, he has been prone to getting flustered with extended ball pressure and defending the point of attack. In addition, he lacks the wiggle and elite quickness needed to excel in isolation setting.

But, keep in mind, Satoransky has played point for much of the preseason due to John Wall’s absence. He will, alternatively, find the majority of his minutes at the backup 2/3 once the season commences.

On paper, Satoransky’s playmaking and poise should complement Oubre’s tenaciousness and chaos perfectly.

If Brooks and the Washington Wizards can somehow mend the synergistic elements of their two 6’7″ wings over the course of the next five and a half months, they can potentially provide the rest Wall and Beal needs and save them of the wear and tear in preparation for an overdue postseason run.

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