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What’s next for the Washington Wizards?

By Jerry Christodoulatos

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 14: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal #3 look on from the bench during a timeout against the Toronto Raptors during Game One of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre on April 14, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. 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. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Bradley Beal;John Wall
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 14: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal #3 look on from the bench during a timeout against the Toronto Raptors during Game One of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre on April 14, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. 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. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Bradley Beal;John Wall /
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Since the first time the Wizards made the playoffs with the young Wall-Beal core back in 2013-2014, they’ve always seemed to elevate their game in the postseason. Long live Playoff Randy Wittman!

Those younger Washington teams showed a ton of promise, easily dispatching Tom Thibodeau’s Bulls in 2014, before giving the Pacers a tough matchup in the second round. In the 2015 playoffs the Wizards demolished the Raptors and went toe-to-toe with the 60-win Hawks. If not for John Wall breaking his hand in that Atlanta series, they could have made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Those Wizards squads had a nice mix of veterans around the young duo of Wall and Beal. And just as significantly, their cap sheet didn’t harbor any especially onerous contracts. Washington looked poised to make a leap within the next few years and consistently challenge for a spot in the Conference Finals.

And then the 2015-16 nightmare season happened. That team never meshed and Brad Beal had another injury riddled year. Washington subsequently missed the playoffs after finishing the season with a disappointing 41-41 record. After another shaky performance at the team’s helm, the Wizards fired Randy Wittman and replaced him with Scott Brooks.  As the summer 2016 cap spike bonanza was occurring, Washington’s grand scheme of signing Kevin Durant failed to launch. He didn’t include them on the shortlist of teams that he would meet with as free agency kicked off.

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Then the Wizards just missed out on signing Al Horford, who would’ve fit seamlessly alongside Wall and Beal. Instead of nabbing an All-Star caliber player Washington ended up with a slew of toxic contracts on its books. The most notable of these is the Ian Mahinmi albatross of course, which doesn’t expire until the end of the 2019 season. The summer of 2016 strikes again! Two years later Washington is capped out, nudging up against the luxury tax. And John Wall’s supermax is going to kick in this summer.

Whenever the Wizards have made the playoffs with this squad, the team has always advanced out the first round of the playoffs…until now. After losing to the Raptors last week, many of the old issues that have haunted this franchise reared their ugly heads. Washington’s defense looked hapless and Scott Brooks’ decision making seemed ad hoc all too often. Ty Lawson inexplicably played big minutes off the bench, despite the fact that Tomas Satoransky had played well as John Wall’s backup all season. And more concerning still, the tension that has often existed between Wall and Beal seems to be lingering.

When Wall went down with a knee injury midway through the year, this team figured to be completely toast. But with Wall out, the Wizards played a more pass-happy style of basketball that energized the team. This led to some notable barbs and subtweets over social media between guys like Gortat and Wall. If the Wall-Beal beef is as real as it looks from the outside, the team has to at least consider fielding offers for one of the two guys. This is easier said than done of course. Both players are All-Star caliber guys and Wall made Third Team All-NBA at the brutal guard spot just last year; parting ways with one of them would be tough. Even if they wanted to send Wall packing for example, his gargantuan extension also makes a potential trade logistically difficult.

In any case, the franchise has little ability to pivot and shake up the roster around the backcourt duo. This is mostly due to its clogged cap situation. Management hasn’t really shown a willingness to delve into tax territory, so cost cutting moves could be on the horizon. Such maneuvers generally aren’t conducive to the creation of a winning basketball environment though.

The Wizards could theoretically feel out the market for Otto Porter if they are set on making big changes. But Porter’s been effective for them despite being a bit overpaid. And with versatile wing players being so important across the league right now, moving on from Porter doesn’t necessarily make much sense anyway. Unless some no-brainer trade opportunity arises of course, he’s the kind of player every playoff team would like to have.

We’re often tempted to suggest wholesale shakeups or massive overhauls when a team fizzles out and disappoints. In Washington’s case that might not be feasible or prudent. At the moment, the most palatable solution to underperforming might be to run things back with a new coach. Washington was totally average in both offensive and defensive efficiency this year. They have enough talent to be better on both ends of the floor. Scott Brooks didn’t get the most out of this roster. His decisions in the playoffs seem particularly indicative of a failure to put his guys in positions to succeed.

Finding someone that can hold the stars accountable and install a workable system, particularly on defense, would be ideal. David Fizdale comes to mind as a potential option. Of course this is not a one-way street; a better coach is not a panacea for all the team’s problems. But a coach like Fizdale might be able to get through to John Wall, who had a strange season by his standards in 2018. After posting the best scoring season of his career in 2017, Wall’s efficiency regressed substantially. He attempted fewer shots at the rim and relied more on tough mid-rangers in 2018. The results of this shift were ugly.

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Although Wall has never been a great shooter from the mid-range area, but he was catastrophically bad this past season. He shot 28 percent overall from mid-range on five attempts per game. That’s a disastrous mark. And he was bad in basically every area inside the arc that wasn’t the restricted zone. That’s a big time concern moving forward, as he ages into a different phase of his career. Wall is an absurdly talented athlete and if his ability to get to the rim and finish declines, his scoring efficiency could fall off a cliff. Part of his 2018 dip could be due to bad conditioning earlier this year. But it’s also a matter of accountability.

Wall can’t settle for crappy shots, especially because he’s the creative engine of the team. Turning a few of those mid-range chucks into better looks for himself or teammates could go a long way for the Washington offense. It could also improve the often prickly vibe of this team. A new coach could be the key to bringing out the best in this Wizards team. If that should fail, then wholesale changes could be on the horizon.

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