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NBA Season Preview 2017-18: The time is now for the Wizards

By Brandon Jefferson

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 25: Bradley Beal #3 and John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards pose for a portrait during Media Day on September 25, 2017 at Capital One Center in Washington DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 25: Bradley Beal #3 and John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards pose for a portrait during Media Day on September 25, 2017 at Capital One Center in Washington DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The overwhelming narrative all offseason has been about how much weaker the Eastern Conference got over the summer. A group of current and former All-Stars including Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Paul Millsap, Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade all switched teams, and Wade is the only one of that group to remain in the Eastern Conference.

The change and turmoil even reached the top of the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers and Celtics made waves with the deal that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the 2018 Nets first-round pick.

However, there was one team that decided against making a big splash this offseason, and that was the Wizards. Aside from matching a max offer sheet for restricted free agent Otto Porter Jr., Washington returns mainly the same as they were a year before when they pushed the Celtics to a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

John Wall doubled down on his commitment to the franchise by signing a “supermax” extension this summer that will pay him $207 million through 2023. A year ago, the Wizards re-signed Wall’s backcourt partner to a five-year max. Both players are coming off career years in 2016-17 and need to take another step forward in order to allow this team to maximize its potential.

With the duo of Wall and Beal, Washington should easily find itself in position to take a spot with home court advantage in the first round, especially given the landscape of the Eastern Conference currently. Having snagged the fourth seed last season, anything below the third seed will likely be viewed as a disappointment from this group.

This team will also be in year two under Scott Brooks. Brooks made a name for himself in the coaching ranks by helping the Thunder transform from a collection of youthful talent into a perennial contender out West. Most notably, he helped turn Russell Westbrook into the phenom that he has become through his trust and faith when most were anti-Russ.

Wall had a huge year under Brooks — 23.1 points, 10.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game — and it looks like he is only getting better in his eighth season in the NBA as a constantly improving scorer and elite playmaker. Beal should make his way onto the All-Star team this season and he, too, is starting to reach his peak as a player.

Yet in today’s NBA having two All-Stars isn’t quite enough. For Washington to really capitalize on their two stars’ primes, they’ll need improved play from the team’s supporting cast. Porter had a great year a season ago and he’ll have to be even better in order for him to be worth the investment the team put into him this summer. They lost a key part of their bench when Bojan Bogdanovic decided to sign with the Pacers at the beginning of free agency and it was announced in September that Markieff Morris will miss between six and eight weeks after having surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Washington brought in Jodie Meeks and Tim Frazier in an attempt to sure up their second unit, but the player that is truly going to need to take their game to the next level is third-year forward Kelly Oubre Jr.

Oubre was drafted 15th overall and then acquired in a draft day trade by the Wizards. The franchise has a lot of faith in the 21-year-old Louisiana native. He’s a big wing at 6-foot-7 who can guard two through four if necessary. He had troubles converting from deep in his first two regular seasons (31.6 percent on 3-pointers in 2015-16 and 28.7 percent last season), but he showed massive improvement in their two playoff series as he hit 36.7 percent of his 3-point attempts in the postseason.

The main weakness of this team is depth, especially in the front court. Besides Marcin Gortat, the Wizards don’t have another quality big man on their roster. Ian Mahimmi and Jason Smith are serviceable at best and Chris McCullough hasn’t shown anything since being drafted near the end of the first-round in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Whether it’s through the G League or trading a draft pick for more help like they did at the trade deadline a year ago, the Wizards are going to eventually need to find reinforcements if they want to be a championship-level team this season. With the Cavaliers and Celtics making adjustments to what are basically entirely new teams, though, continuity in D.C. should give the Wizards a leg up on the other top teams in the Eastern Conference to begin the season.

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Wall and Beal can only do so much, and if this team puts their foot on the pedal too early then they could sputter in the back end of the season and in the playoffs, which is what seems to have been happening to them as of late.