When the Washington Wizards reconstructed their bench during the deadline last season, they thought they believed the team was complete. However, their bench continued to struggle throughout the playoffs, which hurt their chances of advancing further.
Therefore, coming into the offseason, their main focus was to redecorate their second unit and re-sign Otto Porter Jr. Right from the beginning of the offseason, the Wizards traded a draft pick to acquire Pelicans reserve point guard Tim Frazier. When New Orleans was plagued with injuries last season, Frazier became an inaugural part of the team’s rotation and produced adequately.
He is more than capable of handling a reserve role behind John Wall.
Free agency additions
The Wizards allowed Brandon Jennings and Bojan Bogdanovic, two key players added midway through last season, to walk in free agency. While Frazier is known to be Jennings’ replacement, the Wizards brought in another three-point shooter to replace Bogdanovic. They signed Jodie Meeks to two-year, $7 million contract. Meeks has been injured plenty the last couple of seasons, but when healthy, he can provide outside shooting and high energy.
Additionally, they signed veteran forward Mike Scott to a bargain deal to strengthen their frontcourt depth. Scott is an offensive-minded power forward, and one that can stretch the floor by hitting threes.
He plays with high energy on the offensive end, which is exactly what Washington’s bench needs.
Most recently, the Wizards also signed Donald Sloan to fortify their point guard depth. Sloan provides more assurance at the point guard spot and could handle major minutes if needed.
Keeping Otto Porter Jr.
Keeping restricted free-agent Porter Jr.
was Washington’s top priority. The Wizards fully understood that they would have to pay him big bucks, which is exactly what happened. The Brooklyn Nets offered a four-year, $106 million contract to Porter, which he signed and forced the Wizards to match. Although Washington will be paying Porter a ton of money, it was definitely important to keep him on the roster, as he was a major piece of the team’s success last season.
It’s not like the Wizards improved drastically during the offseason. They simply reconstructed the bench and brought back Otto Porter. They did not even have a draft pick in the 2017 NBA draft, so they had to use free agency to build their roster. However, the most important move for the Wizards was signing John Wall to a contract extension that will keep him in Washington until 2023.
Roster outlook
PG: John Wall/Tomas Satoransky/Tim Frazier/Donald Sloan
SG: Bradley Beal/Jodie Meeks/Sheldon McClellan
SF: Otto Porter/Kelly Oubre/Michael Young/Devin Robinson
PF: Markieff Morris/Jason Smith/Chris McCullough/Mike Scott
C: Marcin Gortat/Ian Mahinmi/Daniel Ochefu
Coach: Scott Brooks
Offseason Grade: C+
