The Wizards got off to one of the hottest starts of any NBA team in 2021/22, winning 10 of their first 13 games and claiming the No. 1 seed in the East after the first four weeks of the season.
Washington’s impressive run to open the season looked like a vindication of the team’s offseason moves, including its decision to hire Wes Unseld Jr. as head coach and trade Russell Westbrook for a package that included Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell. Head of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard received a promotion and an extension following the club’s 10-3 start.
Things took an unfortunate turn after that, however. The Wizards went just 25-44 the rest of the way, falling not just out of a playoff spot but out of the play-in picture too — they ultimately finished 12th in the Eastern Conference, eight games behind the 10th-place Hornets.
The Wizards’ poor finish to the 2021/22 season doesn’t mean the organization was wrong to hire Unseld, trade Westbrook, or extend Sheppard. After all, the slump could be attributed in large part due to an injury that sidelined star Bradley Beal for over half the season. Still, even when Beal was healthy, there wasn’t enough talent on the court to consider the Wizards a legitimate threat in the East.
It wouldn’t have been out of the question for the Wizards to take a hard look at the roster this offseason, acknowledge its flaws, and commit to a retooling or rebuilding project, the way the Jazz have done. But with Beal eligible for free agency, getting a huge return back in a sign-and-trade deal would have been challenging, and Washington didn’t have a ton of other valuable trade chips to cash in for future first-round picks.
Instead of blowing things up, the Wizards doubled down on the current group, signing Beal to a record-setting five-year contract that will pay him more than $50MM per year and includes a full no-trade clause. The club traded for Monte Morris and Will Barton, signed Delon Wright and Taj Gibson, and used its lottery pick to select guard Johnny Davis.
With those new additions, a healthy Beal, a full season of Kristaps Porzingis, and further development from recent first-rounders like Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, and Corey Kispert, it’s easy to envision the 2022/23 Wizards taking a step forward.
But there’s not a whole lot of margin for error — if Beal and/or Porzingis battle injuries again, there may not be enough firepower on the roster to make up for their absences. And if at least one of Hachimura, Avdija, or Kispert doesn’t take a significant step toward becoming a reliable starter, it’s hard to see where the internal growth is coming from.
We want to know what you think. Is this Wizards team headed in the right direction, or is still a borderline play-in contender that will be treading water until the franchise commits to a more drastic overhaul?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on the outlook in Washington!
I’m surprised Gafford wasn’t mentioned bc he’s prob their most important player. If/when he cuts down on the fouls he could be as good or better than guys like Rob Williams & Jarrett Allen who public opinion is extremely high on rn. Having that anchor down low for 28-32mins/gm would help this team A LOT. And ofc having their best player on the court will also make a huge difference. I feel like they should’ve been the most aggressive bidders for KD but with him not being available I still think this can def be a playoff team if Beal plays 60+ gms. If Deni hasn’t outplayed Rui or Kuz enough to earn a starting spot by Feb I’d definitely put him on the block
Take it from a Bulls fan, Gafford is NOT more talented than Allen, and the fouls are a result of not being a smart player. He is pretty much a leaper, but unlike, say, Jaxson Hayes, he has no situational awareness on the court. He is an athlete who has always relied on physical gifts and never felt the need to improve his fundamentals.
The Bulls traded him and Carter Jr because they were flip sides of a coin and could not magically be combined into one player, and Vucevich was in a higher tier offensively.
So if DC is waiting for Gafford to blossom and take them over the top, they are in trouble. He will show flashes, but continue making the same mistakes, and coaching has not improved this.
Bulls made a big mistake letting Gafford go. He’s been much better in DC than he was in Chicago & he was getting better & better even then. The fouls are a result of being young & inexperienced just like it was with JAllen, RWilliams & most every other big in nba history. He’s cut down on them every yr… Vooch is def much better offensively than Gafford will ever be but Chi has plenty enough scoring already. They need a defensive anchor down low & Gafford would be perfect if they hadn’t given up on him so quick.
The Bulls mistake was letting Bobby Portis go!
There is no way that Daniel Gafford is more important to this team than Brad Beal. It’s not just his obviously better numbers, his impact on this team goes far beyond that.
Facts, Beal & KP are more important. Gafford 3rd tho
facts lol! It wasn’t “facts” two posts ago!
Wizards have chosen a middle approach since they traded Wall. I thought they would be forced to rebuild at some point but as the article mentions they wouldn’t have been able to aquire much in a fire sale at any time in the last few year so staying the course is a better short term option. They’ll be an ok fringe playoff team until they lose Beal.
Maybe. They will be over off 6 teams in the East trying to be play ins.
One of, not over off – damn you auto correct!
Agree, that’s why giving Beal the NTC was probably one of the worst ideas from any team all offseason
They have quality depth and probably a decent but not star studded starting 5. That’s enough to be competitive in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference. They should be a play-in team, but everything would have to break right for them to be top 6.
Don’t see it.
Sure if Beal comes back looking like he did 3 years ago, and if Porzingis stays healthy and plays like he did in the 10 games he played for Washington last year … then they’re a competitive if not especially dangerous team.
But betting on Porzingis has been a fool’s errand for over 5 years now, and there’s not enough talent on this roster for Beal alone to make them competitive with teams that just have far superior talent in the East.
Play-in at best.
Too many wings imo. And they keep drafting them.
2022 – Davis
2021 – Kispert
2020 – Avdija
2019 – Rui
2018 – Brown Jr
All wings all #1 picks ….. easily could of had one solid big in there. 4 or 5.
Too many Really Bad wings! And They Keep Drafting Bad Wings! Johnny Davis???? Gonna regret that pick! His showing in Summer League was horrific!
WSH has always operated as though they are a move or two away from a championship team. Grunfeld may have brought some of that with him from his Knick days (although those Knick teams arguably were that). But it’s now continued through a new ownership group and FO. It must runs deeper in the organization’s DNA.
Feel like that instinct starts at the top w/ Leonsis
He’s certainly “all-in” with it. But so was Pollin before him. It’s not the only franchise that appears to have a transcendent culture. Knicks’ MO has been pretty much the same since the 1970’s (long before Dolan).
The wiz org is just not aggressive enough to do what it takes to build a championship team. I guess it’s really hard to be a small market nba team. They couldn’t do what other teams can do. Plus nobody wants to come here and play which i don’t understand.. DMV IS COOL just try and play for us here. Lots of nice players come from here and yet nobody wants to play here.