Washington Wizards Season Review 2016: Drew Gooden
By Ben Mehic
Washington Wizards Season Review 2016: Drew Gooden
Basic Stats: 2.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.4 APG, .64 FT%, .17 3P%, .32 FG% (30 games)
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be posting individual player reviews for the guys that ended the season in a Washington Wizards uniform. We’ll begin with everyone’s favorite uncle…
I began our annual Washington Wizards player reviews with Marcus Thornton, but I shouldn’t have. Obviously, we’re working our way up from the worst players to the ones that actually contributed this season. As bad as Thornton was, Drew Gooden was somehow even worse.
Gooden was the last player remaining on the roster from the AARP Unit two years ago. Andre Miller, Al Harrington and Rasual Butler are all gone. Gooden stuck around and even got a raise this past summer.
At 34-years-old, Gooden managed to work his way back into the NBA. He got a 10-day contract a few years ago after Nene got hurt and earned a multi-year stint.
Whenever it looked like he would finally shoot his way out of Randy Wittman‘s rotation, he found a way back in. That deserves a lot of praise. He’s one of the only players in the NBA that got amnestied and got a raise afterwards. He worked his butt off to stay in shape and I honestly applaud him for sticking with it.
This season, that started to change.
Gooden wasn’t very good, to say the least.
His once-reliable mid-range jump shot wasn’t there anymore. His ability to space the floor? Gone for Good-en. He made just 17 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point arc and even Wittman recognized that it was time to sit him down.
Gooden only played in 30 games this season and didn’t contribute much in any of them. He became the Washington Wizards’ victory flag at the end of games, and given how the season went, the flag wasn’t waved very often.
Like virtually everyone else on the roster, Gooden is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
He’s given Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard a lot of love. He genuinely loves the organization and calls the DMV area his home. Gooden is one of the good guys. But, the Washington Wizards need to say goodbye.
Gooden became a reminder that the Wizards put too much stock into their veteran players. Wittman looked down the bench, saw Gooden and opted not to call his name, even though the players on the court weren’t helping the team win. When that happens, it’s time to move on.
Next: Wizards Must Fix Chemistry Issues
It’s been real, Uncle Drew. It really has.