Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Will The Wizards Make The Playoffs In 2016?

Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: January 11, 2016

It’s Monday!

Why wait until a new year to set goals and pursue the things you want? Do those things every week. After all, a new week is a new start. The Washington Wizards wish they could hit reset on the season, but they can’t. They’re depleted, undermanned and lack talent to compete against top teams — just like they showed in week 11.

The good thing is, the season is still very long.

Even though the Wizards find themselves three games below the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, they have time to turn things around. It’s a new week, so they’ll have a chance to build momentum.

Before the Wizards take on the Chicago Bulls on Monday, I took the time to answer some of your questions.

Thanks for participating. Those who want to participate next week, drop us a question on Twitter (@WizofAwes).

Happy Monday.

I had the exact same thought when I saw the change in Brooklyn (brilliant minds!) but like in most potential trades involving the Washington Wizards, absorbing salary next year would limit any options.

Brook Lopez is a solid center but since he doesn’t offer the versatility needed to play next to Marcin Gortat and has injury issues in the past, so it’s a hard pass.

Thaddeus Young is intriguing. His 3-point shooting has taken a step back but he continues to improve as a player and he’s having a career year. He could be an intriguing target for the Wizards if they miss out on the top free agents and decide to pursue talent via trades into their projected cap space.

The contract extension is for security, but it’s tough to believe it wouldn’t have been there later this offseason. I think this is a case where the longer it takes for Satoransky to come to Washington, the less likely it is that he ever wears a Wizards jersey.

If that turns out to be the case it will be unfortunate based on the other players who were on the board when they selected Tomas (Draymond Green, Jae Crowder, Khris Middleton, and Will Barton), and the talent level that Tomas has shown as he’s worked his way up the ranks in Europe.

It also creates another void on next season’s projected roster.

With Tomas’ size and play-making, he could have stepped in immediately to a meaningful role playing minutes behind both John Wall and Bradley Beal. That role will now likely be void going into the summer with the backup guards currently on the roster all on the last year of their contracts.

I have a player in mind who I’d love to fill that role (and he’s doesn’t play too far away in College Park) but we’re a long way from the draft.

I’m glad you asked because I have thought about the same scenario!

Houston signed Trevor Ariza to a contract with descending salaries likely to better position themselves for free agency this summer. That contract makes him a bargain moving forward at a salary of $7.8 million in 2016-2017 and $7.4 million in 2017-2018.

Although the Washington Wizards have had a lot of injuries, they did load up on the wings so the fit for Ariza if he were to return might be different. Would Randy Wittman be willing to play him as a stretch 4 — a role that many of us were pleading for Ariza to play during his stay in Washington?

Considering Jared Dudley is playing that role now, I think the fit would be there if Ariza returned and he would clearly enhance the team’s wing defense, which has been a rough spot this season. The same underlying theme however also applies as it does for the prior question about Brooklyn: the Wizards’ reluctance to take on salary beyond this season.

Trevor Ariza could also be an option this summer via trade depending on how free agency shakes out.

Oh, and while he has struggled shooting since leaving for Houston, we here at WoA are true believers in the John Wall effect and wouldn’t be surprised if his shooting turned around.

Garrett Temple has earned the minutes. In his 16 starts this season, Temple is averaging 12.1 points on 43% shooting from the field and 38.4% shooting from deep. He also happens to be one of the few Wizards capable of playing perimeter defense and might be their most consistent defender right now.

Gary Neal is a player who should have a specific role but has probably played more minutes than he should have due to injuries….at least I hope that’s the case. On the surface, his 10.5 points per game to go along with 41.6% shooting from beyond the arc seem great. It’s that pesky net rating that tells the larger story though.

Neal has a -11.6 net rating which is to say the team’s point differential per 100 possessions is -11.6 while he’s on the court. Ouch! Neal should be viewed as a spark plug by Randy Wittman — a player who you put in when the offense has nothing going and you’re looking for a spark.

The problem — and this may be injury related — is that Wittman seems to stay with Neal too long and in those extra minutes you see his defense exposed and the ball getting stuck in his hands. Less Gary Neal should be better for the Wizards and Garrett Temple is proving he may be more than meets the eye (yes, I used to watch the Transformers growing up!).

Wait, you’re not panicking yet? What are you waiting for?!!! Three weeks ago I threw out this notion that the Wizards may be lottery bound and I still feel the same way.

The Wizards currently stand at 16-19 and are 2.5 games behind Orlando for the eighth seed. You would think that isn’t the worst scenario given the the Wizards’ season sweep of Orlando, but three teams stand in between them and Orlando. Besides, is the last spot in the playoffs enough to wipe away the panic of a plan that seems to have gone awry?

The Wizards are 35 games into the season now. The sample size is growing and if you date back to last season, the Wizards are 38-44 over their past 82 regular season games.

While injuries have impacted the team, I don’t think they are a legitimate excuse because over 82 games. What’s next, an excuse that continuity and chemistry is an issue when Bradley Beal and Alan Anderson return? The team has shown what they are and that’s a mediocre team.

The Wizards are paying for building a roster consisting of a small core, and veterans on expiring or one-year deals. This ties into the previous questions about trades.  By handcuffing themselves in terms of future salary, the team has passed on opportunities to acquire better players and the impact is being seen on the floor.

The time for panic has passed, now it’s up to the Washington Wizards to fix this.

At this point I’m not sure what the Wizards can get.

As an expiring contract and a big man who can play a role for a playoff team, Nene should still hold some value even with his injury woes, but the Wizards would have to get an expiring contract in return. The best bet for the Wizards to get value for Nene is if a contender loses a F/C to injury, but even then would the Wizards trade Nene given their own lack of depth behind Marcin Gortat?

They shouldn’t! I don’t actually mean that…

The Wizards can absolutely get healthy and make a run that lands them on the bottom half of the Eastern Conference but the clock is ticking and things will have to go right from here on out. That means staying healthy for the most part, John Wall continuing his high level of play (and hopefully cutting down on the turnovers), and the team quickly getting acclimated when Bradley Beal returns and Alan Anderson gets his first action with teammates.

Considering everything that has gone wrong this season, that’s a tall task.

That’s a strong possibility, but the difference between the Chris Paul scenario and Wall’s is this: Wall is under contract for three more years. His contract gives him little leverage, but if the season does continue to go sideways, it will be time for Wall to go to the front office and demand some help.

The team needs to surround John Wall with better players; all-star caliber teammates. A team where the entire roster is reliant on Wall to create their offense is not the formula to championship aspirations.

Wall also has a part to play. He’s been hesitant to recruit in the past and while he has indicated he will help in the recruitment of Kevin Durant, that will have to extend to free agents beyond Kevin Durant if they fail to secure him.

As a player John Wall has a little more to bring to the table too. While John Wall is an established All-star and the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month, there’s another tier his game can ascend too. It’s a tier that his peers (Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose pre-injury, Stephen Curry, and Chris Paul) have either ascended to or are established in.

Is Wall capable of making the leap to that top tier and join the MVP and All-NBA first team discussion?  If Wall wants Washington to be a destination where free agents will want to come, competing at a more level playing field and having success versus these top elite point guards might be what it takes.

Paul Pierce and Trevor Ariza both left Washington for equal or less money for what they perceived to be better opportunities to win a championship. If they truly felt Wall was playing at an MVP level or capable right now of leading a team to a championship, would they have left?

This is not slight on Wall as he’s been carrying this team through a myriad of injuries, just a statement that I think there’s even more upside to his talent that we haven’t seen.

Next: It's Time For The Wizards To Trade Nene

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