Washington Wizards 2016 Off-Season Analysis: The Best and Worst Signing
By Ben Mehic
Washington Wizards have been known to make some solid moves during free agency, but they always balance it out with a head scratcher.
The Washington Wizards had high hopes for this past summer and took several years to prepare by clearing cap space for the free agency period.
Kevin Durant, whom the Wizards were anxious to ask to the dance, wasn’t interested. Al Horford flirted with the idea, but ultimately chose the Boston Celtics – a team that he deemed to be more attractive.
Washington wasn’t necessarily left with scraps after their top two targets came off the board, but they were forced to go in a different direction.
Landing another star was the team’s goal, but in hindsight, it was a delusional one.
The top players in this summer’s free agent class weren’t going to consider coming to Washington. Really, the talent wasn’t there to begin with.
The Wizards banked on building on their successful 2015-16 season, but the team fell out of the playoff picture just a year later. Neither Durant nor Horford want to play for a non-playoff team.
Talent-wise, the Wizards are just as good as the team that made it to the semifinals a few seasons ago. With that in mind, the Wizards went on to plan C: rebuild the bench and accumulate enough depth to compete with anyone in the Eastern Conference.
Adding pieces that could help the team rebuild their defensive identity became Ernie Grunfeld‘s top priority.
Like every summer, though, the Wizards made some surprisingly solid moves and some head scratching ones as well.
The best signing of the summer
Tomas Satoransky might not became a sensation overnight, but he has the potential and tools to become super effective in a league that’s built on versatility.
The 6-foot-7 Czech point guard agreed to a three-year deal worth just $9 million this summer.
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That deal happened after Satoransky reportedly refused to sign anything worth less than the mid-level exception a few years ago, which was over $5 million per season at the time.
For comparison, Garrett Temple left the Washington Wizards this summer to join the Sacramento Kings.
He signed a three-year, $24 million deal.
Satoransky, 24, has the length and ability to become a part of the Wizards’ core.
Adjusting to the NBA game will certainly take some time.
Hell, adjusting to the NBA life after moving from a different country will be a shock in itself.
Once Satoransky becomes accustomed to the league and the pace of the game, there’s no reason why he can’t be a part of the team’s young core.
Unlike most of the rookies entering the league, Satoransky has played against top competition in Europe. He’s shown legitimate signs of improvement, too.
In his first three seasons in the Euroleague, Satoransky made 32 percent of his 3-point shots. In his last three seasons, he knocked down 40 percent of his shots from deep.
He’s comfortable with the ball in his hands, he’s explosive off the bounce and he can hit shots from the perimeter. Satoransky will take some of the offensive load off John Wall and Bradley Beal, and he’ll be able to share the court with them at times.
Satoransky’s contract was a complete bargain.
For that reason, plus his upside as a player, the Satoransky signing was the best the Washington Wizards made this off-season.
The worst signing of the summer
Following a brutal rebuilding process, the Wizards started to build their rosters around the young stars, John Wall and Bradley Beal, and proven veterans.
The veteran players helped the team find itself, so to speak.
Without Nene, Paul Pierce, Marcin Gortat, Drew Gooden, Trevor Ariza and others, the Wizards never would have become a disciplined team.
This off-season, the Wizards felt confident enough in the growth of their backcourt to abandon the very strategy that helped propel them in the East in 2015.
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They said goodbye to virtually every veteran on their second unit, replacing them with young players like Trey Burke, Andrew Nicholson and Satoransky.
Washington is confident that Wall and Beal have grown as leaders and can finally take full control of the team without relying on the older players.
It was time for the team to take the training wheels off.
So, why did the Wizards sign Jason Smith, who likely won’t be a part of the rotation?
If the Wizards wanted to get a locker room veteran, they could have gotten one for much less than they did Smith.
Smith agreed to a three-year, $16 million deal with the Wizards, giving the team their fifth big man on the roster.
Unfortunately, I don’t see how he’s going to fit into what the Wizards are trying to do. At this point in his career, Smith is what he is. The 30-year-old has a reputation of being a mid-range jump shooter. He’s also provided some exceptional rim protection.
Gortat, Markieff Morris, Ian Mahinmi and Nicholson will all presumably be ahead of Smith in the rotation. Washington will pay Smith over $5 million per season for added depth, basically.
Other players, like Jared Sullinger and Dewayne Dedmon, were still available at the time of the signing.
Training camp is less than a month away and it’s obviously too early to say which signing was the best and which was the worst. Smith might end up sneaking into the rotation and provide big minutes while Satoransky could have a difficult time getting used to the next level.
Next: Predicting the Wizards' Rotation
For now, these are the two moves that have the most potential to pan out and fail.