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Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Why the Wizards Should Beware of the Milwaukee Bucks

By Ben Mehic

Dec 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) attempts to steal the ball from Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon (13) in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 107-102. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) attempts to steal the ball from Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon (13) in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 107-102. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Hey, Taylor:

This is where things can get a tad murky.

What is an “actual contender,” exactly? Are the Cleveland Cavaliers, who’ve slipped to the second spot and clearly have holes, still a contender? What about the Jazz, who are consistently one of the most underrated teams in the NBA, despite showing flashes of a team that can beat anyone in the league.

Washington is a top-five offensive team and have the personnel to play defense. At this point, they’re much better at scoring the ball than stopping the opposition from doing so. But as we’ve seen in the past, like in 2015, that can change in the NBA Playoffs.

Washington, in many respects, has the makings of an actual contender.

This is just a rough list, but it’s one that shows what contenders are made of:

To answer your question, one could argue that the Washington Wizards don’t have to do much – if anything – this off-season to become an actual contender. They might already be there.

Now, that doesn’t mean the team can’t improve, because it can. But I’m not sure that means they necessarily have to add someone from the outside to the roster.

It’s going to take a lot of internal development – meaning, Wall, Beal and Otto Porter (when he’s re-signed) have to improve their games this summer.

Each player is experiencing a career season. If they can build on that momentum, there’s no reason why Beal and Porter can’t become All-Stars. If Wall takes his game to another level, he will be in the MVP discussion next season too.

Develop. That’s what the Washington Wizards need to do this off-season.

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