Another season, another all star appearance for Milos Teodosic.
Another season down, another first round exit for the Washington Wizards. Good news: Wizards have made the playoffs for the third consecutive season under GM Chan. Bad news: The Wizards still has not been able to get out of the first round of the CSL playoffs.
After finishing the season 3rd in the Southeast division with a 46-36 record, the Wizards management team is doing some serious brainstorming behind the scenes to figure what direction to go next. The good news is that the Wizards will have plenty of cap space to work with, and as we all know, this off season's free agency pool is absolutely stacked with fantastic talent, and fans can certainly expect the Wizards front office to attempt chasing after all these free agents.
Now on to the bad news, as the team will be losing quite a few valuable contributors to free agency in Nicholas Batum, Al Horford, Greg Monroe, JaVale McGee, and Patrick McCaw. All those guys are expected to be renounced by the management team in an attempt to maximize the team's cap space. Meanwhile Damien Inglis will also be entering unrestricted free agency. From the initial reports within inside sources have stated that the team is wanting to resign Inglis to a long term deal, as they value his defense, and versatility greatly.
This team has improved its regular season win totals for the third year in a row, and they even pushed CSL finalist Miami Heat to 7 games, however, they once again fell short in the first round. The city of Washington is getting frustrated with this franchise's lack of playoffs success, and the pressure for the management team to change this culture is rising by the minute. It will be interesting to see if the team will go all out for proven all stars such as James Harden, Paul George, Richard Solomon, Isaiah Austin, Dante Exum, etc... Or will they go for the younger upside players, and try to do a minor retool.
Anyways, here are some end of the season grades for each of the team's positions:
Point Guard: Milos Teodosic, Shabazz Napier, Austin Rivers
Grade: A
Arguably the strongest position for this Wizards team, as all star game MVP Milos Teodosic was again asked to be the leader of this team, and he did not disappoint. Meanwhile Shabazz Napier did an excellent job running the point guard position when Teodosic is moved to the shooting guard position due to match ups. Mid season Austin Rivers also performed brilliantly for the team. Unfortunately Rivers went down with a season ending injury, and was not able to help the team out during the playoff run. A healthy shooter like Austin Rivers could have perhaps helped the Wizards pull off the upset against Miami Heat.
Shooting Guard: Rawle Alkins, JeQuan Lewis, Patrick McCaw
Grade: C
On paper this position doesn't look that strong, however both Shabazz Napier, and Milos Teodosic were asked to start at shooting guard plenty of times, so it really wasn't a huge issue. Alkins started off the year very hot, but then hit sophomore funk, and was struggling quite often with his shooting. He did contribute well in other areas such as playmaking, and has improved his defensive play. However, the inconsistent offense was rather disappointing. JeQuan Lewis spent a lot of time in the D-league, but has shown some serious flashes of brilliance when given opportunities. The coaching staff is very excited to continue to work with JeQuan, and unlock his untapped potential as a dead off the bench combo guard. McCaw didn't play much, but did an excellent job hand water/Gatorade to the rest of the team.
Small Forward: Nicholas Batum, Damien Inglis, Dillon Brooks
Grade: B+
Batum was a well seasoned veteran that was brought into this roster as a locker room leader, and provide the team with strong defense along with outside shooting. The aging Batum did his job well, as he played some good defense throughout the year, and had some big games shooting the 3 ball. Meanwhile Inglis was being asked to guard the other team's top options throughout the season, as coach Brian Cardinal has used him at SG/SF/PF/C all season long, and he certainly did not disappoint. Brooks spent most of his time to develop his game, and with a strong training camp, many insiders expect him to compete for the start job next season.
Power Forward: Greg Monroe, John Henson, Ivan Rabb,
Grade: A-
Greg Monroe was brought in on day 30 to help Teodosic out on offense, and he did not disappoint. He also provided veteran leadership, and was a consistent double double thread throughout the season. On the other hand John Henson was the team's best rim protector, and was tasked to switch between PF/C position to lockdown the opposite team's scoring big men, and he did just that. Henson also had his most efficient offensive season under coach Cardinal's watch. Meanwhile Ivan Rabb was showing a lot of promises as a 2nd year player, but unfortunately his season was cut short by a devastating torn ACL injury. Rabb has been working hard in his rehab, and the medical staff expects him to be ready next season, and fans can certainly expect to see plenty of Rabb next year.
Center: Al Horford, Ike Anigbogu, JaVale McGee
Grade: B
The team originally had Walter Tavares at the starting center, but then he was traded on day 30 for Al Horford, and Horford did an admirable job for this team. He never complained when he was asked to come off the bench during certain match ups, and he was an immense locker room presence for all the young players on this roster. The former CSL champ was a great mentor for Ike Anigbogu. Meanwhile Anigbogu himself spent a lot of time in the D-league to continue to fine tune his game, and whenever he was given an opportunity, he showed the coaching staff some serious potential. Anigbogu is expected to compete for a starting job next season. McGee did play a lot, but whenever he was called upon on, he did his job well, and that's all you can ask for from your third string center.
Now on to the off-season... Will the Wizards cash in big in this loaded free agency? Or will they strike out on all the marquee free agents, thus leading them to another start of a painful rebuild? Time will tell, but if history has shown us before is that GM Gary Chan is not afraid to make moves, and all Wizards fans can expect plenty of roster movements in this off-season!
2020, 2023, 2027
