#SoWizards

Kevin Broom
  • 4.3 (8)
  • BASKETBALL

I considered making a podcast the Washington Wizards franchise deserved, but that would be #SoWizards.

  1. 10/11/2025

    Player Development: How the Washington Wizards Can Help Their Youth Improve, with Brian McCormick

    We're back! The first episode of the #SoWizards Podcast in nearly a year is a fun one -- an in-depth conversation with coach Brian McCormick about player development strategies and techniques, and how those might be applied by the Washington Wizards and other NBA teams with young players. McCormick has coached CYO, AAU, high school, junior college, and college basketball and worked as a strength and conditioning coach for two junior-college basketball programs. His coaching career has landed him in Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, and Sweden, and he's directed clinics in Canada, China, Greece, Ghana, Kenya, India, Macedonia, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, and throughout the United States. McCormick completed his PhD in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Utah, and has had peer-reviewed papers published in the International Journal of Exercise Science, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning Journal. He has spoken at coaching, strength & conditioning, and sports psychology conferences in the United States and Canada. He's also the author of several books to help players and coaches improve in their craft. Check them out on Amazon or wherever you get books.

    1h 13m

  2. 10/24/2024

    Washington Wizards 2024-25 season preview with Troy Haliburton

    In this episode of the #SoWizards Podcast, I’m joined by Troy Haliburton to discuss all things Wizards — everything from the season opener to player development and the team’s long-term competitive strategy. Our conversation covered: Last season’s performance The coaching change and the emphasis on teaching and development Roster changes — who left and the new arrivals Jordan Poole’s role and realistic expectations for him this season Corey Kispert’s new contract and NBA future Over/under predictions for the team’s rotation based on my preseason PPA forecast What to expect from the rookies, and Final predictions. Along the way, we discovered definitive statistical proof that Troy is more optimistic than I am (he took the over on six of the 11 players we discussed, while I went over on just three). Interestingly, while we noted that last year’s team was the worst in franchise history, and this year’s team is probably worse, we’re both more optimistic about the team’s direction than we have been in years. That’s because the losing is part of a long-term strategic plan to build a future winner. They may fail to build that winner, but they’ve chosen a direction, and it’s not on the treadmill of mediocrity they’d been on for so long. Listen here, below, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    1h 17m

  3. 07/02/2024

    Offseason smorgasbord with Ben Becker

    The Washington Wizards have launched into a busy and somewhat perplexing offseason. Joining me to help make sense of the team's roster moves and long-term plan is my former cohost and longtime friend, Ben Becker. Ben is a stalwart member of the Wizards' online community from message boards to Bullets Forever to Twitter, X and podcasts. In this episode we discuss: The Wizards' 2024 draft, and the team's overall draft strategy The art of building a competitive roster that's designed to help young players grow while continuing to lose Roster moves, including signing Jonas Valanciunas and re-signing Richaun Holmes Predicted trade values for the team's veterans, and Notable or surprising moves around the NBA so far this summer.

    1h 14m

  4. 02/09/2024

    Trade Deadline 2024: A Dose of Reality with Ben Becker

    The Washington Wizards made one deal at the trade deadline, sending starting center Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a first round pick and center Richaun Holmes. Holmes is on the wrong side of 30 and hasn't been much good in a few years now. Gafford is pretty good and just 25 years old, so what gives? Ben Becker and I break down what the Wizards front office is likely thinking and discuss what the lack of trades involving Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, Delon Wright, Landry Shamet, and Corey Kispert says about the state of the Wizards.

    52 min

  5. 01/25/2024

    Wizards big picture as team replaces Unseld as coach with Ben Becker

    The Washington Wizards replaced Wes Unseld Jr. as head coach, moving Unseld into a front office advisory role, and promoting lead assistant Brian Keefe to be interim head coach. When the team makes a big move, there's no one better to discuss it with than old friend and podcast partner Ben Becker. Ben and I have been talking and analyzing the Wizards for 20+ years now. This conversation is the latest edition of what a listener once described as what it might sound like if NPR had a show about the Washington Wizards. In this episode, we talk about Unseld, the challenge of rebuilding a franchise as decayed as the Wizards had become, and the long-term strategy the team's new leadership — Michael Winger, Will Dawkins, and Travis Schlenk — are pursuing as they attempt to resuscitate a long moribund franchise.

    58 min

  6. 01/24/2024

    Halfway through a #SoWizards season with Troy Haliburton

    Just past the midway point, the Wizards are bumbling through what's likely to be the worst season in franchise history. To discuss the biggest issues the team faces as they attempt to rebuild, I invited on veteran Wizards observer and reporter, Troy Haliburton. We began with a couple big NBA stories — the Milwaukee Bucks firing newly hired head coach Adrian Griffin, and the Miami Heat trading for Terry Rozier. Then we talked Wizards, touching on: Jordan Poole Wes Unseld Jr. and the coaching staff Michael Winger, Will Dawkins and the front office Bilal Coulibaly what the Wizards will do at the trade deadline This was a fun conversation between a couple long-time Wizards analysts and reporters who don't agree on everything. Make sure to check out Troy's excellent Substack.

    1h 9m

  7. 01/10/2024

    Pacers, Wizards, Haliburton and more with Tony East

    With the Washington Wizards set to face the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night, it seemed like a great time to catch up with current Pacers journalist and Bullets Forever alum Tony East. In this episode, we talked about what makes Tyrese Haliburton special, Haliburton's hamstring injury, and what the Pacers do well and not so well before diving into the Wizards. Tony's attention is primarily on the Pacers, but he watches a lot of Wizards basketball, which leads to some great insights into how Washington's rebuild is going. We hit on a number of Wizards topics, including: the struggles of Jordan Poole who the Wizards are likely to trade whether "showcasing" players makes a difference the improvement of Deni Avdija the puzzling approach to developing Bilal Coulibaly into a future NBA star. This was a fun conversation about two teams going in different directions.

    51 min

  8. 01/05/2024

    Are the Wizards blowing it with Coulibaly?

    In this episode, I'm joined by Bullets Forever's Osman Baig to discuss the state of the Wizards. As I wrote in my big picture check-up on January 3, they're still bad. Oz and I drilled into concerns about how the Wizards are managing the development of French rookie Bilal Coulibaly. Suffice to say, we have concerns, specifically about his lack of involvement in the team's offense. As we discussed during the podcast, of the team's 11 rotation players, Coulibaly is 11th in per minute touches. In other words, he gets the ball less frequently than any other player in the rotation. We also delved into the team's odd focus on forcing turnovers defensively. Reportedly, this is because the front office, coaches, and analytics staff believe this is because it emphasizes being in the right place defensively. I tried — and failed — to recreate their work on this. Last, we talked about Corey Kispert and driving to the basket.

    1h 9m
See All (62)

4.3
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

I considered making a podcast the Washington Wizards franchise deserved, but that would be #SoWizards.

Information

  • Creator
    Kevin Broom
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Kevin Broom
  • Show Website
    #SoWizards