Fansided

5 biggest disappointments of the 2018-19 NBA season

By Bryan Toporek

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 2: Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) talks with Bradley Beal (3) during action against the Atlanta Hawks at Capital One Arena. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 2: Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) talks with Bradley Beal (3) during action against the Atlanta Hawks at Capital One Arena. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 2: Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) talks with Bradley Beal (3) during action against the Atlanta Hawks at Capital One Arena. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 2: Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) talks with Bradley Beal (3) during action against the Atlanta Hawks at Capital One Arena. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images) /

5. Washington Wizards

After winning 43 games a season ago and signing Dwight Howard this past offseason, the Washington Wizards appeared to be a lock for their third straight playoff appearance. Oddsmakers set their season-long over/under at 44.5, per OddsShark, the sixth-highest mark in the East.

Instead, Howard lasted only nine games before going under the knife for a lower back injury. Five-time All-Star point guard John Wall joined him on the sidelines in late December with a left heel injury and later a torn Achilles tendon. Throw in a 10-game absence from Otto Porter Jr. because of a quadriceps strain, and the Wizards were effectively doomed from the start.

Injuries weren’t the only culprit for Washington’s miserable season, though.

In mid-November, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the franchise was “making every player on its roster — including All-Star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal — available to discuss in trade scenarios.” The Wizards reportedly preferred to “reshape the team around Wall and Beal, but poor play among key teammates is limiting their trade value and paralyzing the Wizards’ efforts to make meaningful changes to a roster that no longer appears functional together,” Wojnarowski added.

Heading into the trade deadline, team owner Ted Leonsis said the Wizards weren’t planning to trade Wall, Beal or Porter, but Wall’s Achilles tear changed the trajectory of the franchise. As a result, Washington salary-dumped Porter to Chicago for Bobby Portis, who’s a restricted free agent this summer, and Jabari Parker, who has a $20 million team option for 2019-20 that will be too prohibitive to pick up.

Years of mismanagement finally caught up to the Wizards this year. Despite Beal’s exemplary second-half surge, Washington now appears to be caught in the NBA’s dreaded no man’s land.

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