Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Is It Time To Tank?

Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: March 14, 2016

As we discussed in our most recent podcast, the Washington Wizards are a bad basketball team.

Now that the season is winding down and there’s less than 20 games remaining, the Wizards will either continue to fall in the standings or make a surprising climb up. Given that they have lost five straight games, many of which have been in embarrassing fashion, there’s a solid chance that we won’t see John Wall and Co. in the NBA Playoffs this year.

Still, Monday marks the start of a fresh week.

Washington will take on the Detroit Pistons on national television to start their week — a team that is also fighting for a final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Per usual, we’ll start our week by answering some of your questions.

If you want to be featured in next week’s edition, feel free to hit us up: @WizofAwes. Thanks for participating. Happy Monday!

I’m 90 percent certain this will be Randy Wittman‘s last season as head coach of the Washington Wizards.

If they don’t make the playoffs — and it obviously doesn’t look like they will — the management and ownership will have no reason to keep him around.

Look, I admire what Wittman has done in Washington. Without his old-school approach and coaching in the playoffs, the Wizards wouldn’t have had the success they had over the past few seasons. He outcoached Tom Thibodeau on a big stage. His accomplishments shouldn’t be looked down upon.

Still, the Wizards need someone who could get the most out of their talent, and Wittman isn’t the right guy for the job. As a defensive-minded and stubborn coach, player development has never been Wittman’s thing. Every coach is flawed and Wittman’s flaw is more glaring than others’.

As for Ernie Grunfeld, well, I’ve heard that he’s on a one-year deal. If the Washington Wizards do well, then he gets re-signed for another season. That’s what’s been happening ever since Ted Leonsis bought the team, presumably. I don’t know; it’s all speculation.

Grunfeld should not return.

The poor record is the exact result of bad roster construction. But, as we pointed out in the podcast, Leonsis allowed Grunfeld to trade this year’s first round pick. Would an owner allow his manager to trade such an asset if that manager wasn’t coming back the following year? It’s a tough question.

If I had to put percentages on it, I think there’s a 90 percent chance Wittman is gone and at least a 50 percent chance Grunfeld doesn’t return.

Washington should have over $45 million in cap-space this summer, which would put them right behind Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

The only players that they will have under contract are: John Wall, Marcin Gortat, Kelly Oubre, Otto Porter and Markieff Morris.

I don’t think a team would be willing to give up picks for Marcin Gortat. Washington would have to get back an equal amount of salary. Remember, the Phoenix Suns only got a protected pick for the Polish big man two years ago. Now he’s older and he’s on a bigger contract.

If Washington wanted to get Hassan Whiteside, they could probably work out a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat that would sent Gortat to Miami for Whiteside. That way, both teams would get a starting-caliber center.

I’m still kind of iffy on Whiteside. He has all the tools to become an All-Star player, but he’s selfish. When Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh don’t seem like big fans of you, there’s a problem.

If the Wizards strike out on Kevin Durant and can’t find a trade for another star, then I wouldn’t be opposed to signing Whiteside. The upside is clearly there and he would instantly become the most intriguing player Washington has had in the past decade not named John Wall.

We all agreed that he would be the next alternative. Check this out.

Changing the style of play was absolutely necessary. Look around the league. How many teams are still playing with three players inside the arc and two out? It’s rare. Every team in the NBA has made the switch.

Washington would not have maintained a top-10 defense even if they kept Nene in the lineup with Marcin Gortat. Just try to imagine Nene guarding the four nowadays. Each team in the league has a four that can space the floor.

Plus, you need to have players that can defend in transition. Playing big, like Washington did prior to this season, would’ve been disastrous.

The change of pace isn’t the problem. Washington’s problem is more on the personnel side and coaching.

You need to have players that can play at a fast pace and you need to have a coach who’s familiar with the style. Wittman has been coaching one way his entire life and guys like Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair are bruisers. That’s why things didn’t go according to plan.

Are the Washington Wizards really even fighting, though? They’re getting beat up. Is it a fight if the other guy is just getting punched in the face repeatedly?

Grunfeld, Wittman and others are working to keep their jobs. If they tank, then they will lose their jobs.

You cannot convince Grunfeld, Wittman and Wall to essentially lose on purpose in order to secure a top pick. They’ve done everything they could to salvage the season and things haven’t worked out. If they wanted to pull the plug on the season, they would have done it shortly after All-Star break.

If things were being run correctly, then yes, tanking would be an option — and by tanking, I mean resting John Wall.

Wall is the only player on the team who’s currently worth sitting. Who else is going to be in Washington next year? Is it tanking if you rest Garrett Temple? Probably not.

Next: Without Durant, Wall Won't Get Attention He Wants

Give John Wall a rest because he deserves it. Washington probably won’t be making the playoffs, so what’s the point of running him into the ground?

Thanks for reading. Happy Monday. To check out the previous editions of Mailbag Monday, click here.