The Washington Wizards bounced back after missing the post-season last year, gaining the fourth-best record in the East and advancing to the semifinals only to lose in seven games to the Boston Celtics. New head coach Scott Brooks rejuvenated John Wall’s career and helped Bradley Beal achieve newer heights. Although it was a rather successful season, Wall and the Wizards came up short again in the playoffs. Where do they go from here?
Their own free agents
The biggest concern for the Wizards this summer is going to be Otto Porter’s free agency. Porter will become a Restricted Free Agent and could very likely receive a maximum deal from opposing teams.
The Wizards would love to retain the 23-year-old wing, but if they have to match a max deal offer, they wouldn’t have much flexibility to construct their thin bench. Porter Jr. showed plenty of promise this season, boosting his averages to 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on 51.6 percent shooting from the field and 43.4 percent shooting from three-point range.
Trey Burke will also become a restricted free agent this summer, but the Wizards are unlikely to retain him since he completely fell out of the team’s rotation during the second half of the season. Bojan Bogdanovic is another restricted free agent, and the Wizards may let him walk as well after disappointing playoffs showing. He was expected to provide the Wizards with a ton of bench scoring and floor spacing but crumbled under pressure.
Brandon Jennings, meanwhile, will become an unrestricted free agent. Although Jennings wouldn’t ask for too much cash, Washington may not elect to keep him as well because of his disappointing performance during the playoffs. He was brought in to spark the bench unit but was essentially a non-factor.
What can the Wizards do about their unsatisfying bench?
The Wizards bench was one of the worst during the regular season, and it was just as terrible during the post-season. What can the Wizards do to bolster the second unit? If Washington chooses to keep Otto Porter, they will have very little flexibility to fix their bench.
The Wizards must chase guys like Ersan Ilyasova, Deron Williams, Omri Casspi, Rodney Stuckey, and Gerald Green, who would be low-risk, high-reward players.
Aside from pursuing role players, the Wizards also have the option of shooting for the stars by executing a sign-and-trade for Blake Griffin if the Clippers forward is willing to sign with them. In order to acquire Griffin, the Wizards would have to squander Otto Porter in free agency and trade Ian Mahinmi and Markieff Morris. It would have to be a major roster shakeup, but they could add another star to join Wall and Beal.
Ideally, the Wizards would probably work to re-sign Otto Porter and search for bargain free agents in the market. As long as Wall and Beal are in DC, Washington should continue to be a playoff-caliber team, but they must build adequately to keep the two stars content.
