Grading the Washington Wizards 2016 Offseason

Washington Wizards fans were ecstatic during the course of this season with how the team responded after a poor first 10 games. Yet, there were constant feelings during the season that an underwhelming offseason in 2016 would come back to haunt the team. With the bench only scoring five points in Game 7 against the Celtics, it’s safe to say the prior offseason was a big reason for the team’s downfall. As we head into the 2017 offseason, let’s grade the 2016 offseason.

The Washington Wizards set up the 2016 offseason to have many expiring contracts in order to have the cap space to sign a top free agent such as hometown hero Kevin Durant. After failing to even get a meeting with Durant, the Wizards put all their focus into signing top big man Al Horford. However, the Wizards ended up just getting their hearts broken with one tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski.

As the Wizards were missing out on top free agents, their key bench players from 2015, Ramon Sessions, Nene, and Jared Dudley were all signing elsewhere. Many players had to be replaced in the 2016 offseason.

Move 1: Wizards resign Bradley Beal

On the first day of free agency, the Wizards resigned Bradley Beal to a five year, $128 million max contract. After the deal, there was lots of skepticism surrounding Beal on whether or not he could live up to his contract, one of the biggest contracts in the league.

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Skeptics also questioned Beal’s ability to stay on the court as he had been plagued by injuries during his first four seasons with the Wizards. He was getting injured so often that reports came out stating that he would have to be put on minutes restriction for the rest of his career. However, Beal proved during this past season that he earns every penny of his new contract.

Beal finally lived up to his potential, becoming an All-Star caliber player. Beal showed his ability to take over games, shooting an impressive 40% from three. He also averaged 23.1 points per game, the best of his career by far.

Beal also proved to skeptics that he can stay on the court, playing in 77 games this past season and staying off a minutes restriction. Overall, re-signing Beal was the best move of the Wizard’s offseason.

Grade: A+

Move 2: Wizards sign Ian Mahinmi

One of the biggest needs for the Wizards last offseason was more depth at the center position. After missing out on Al Horford, the Wizards quickly signed Pacers big man Ian Mahinmi to a four year, $64 million contract.

This move proved to be a desperate signing as Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld failed to look into Mahinmi’s injury issues. Before the season even began, Mahinmi partially tore his meniscus, requiring surgery which sidelined him for most of the beginning of the season.

After playing just one game in November, Mahinmi required even more treatment, this time for both his knees, sidelining him for six more weeks. Mahinmi also suffered a calf strain late in the season, keeping him out for much of the playoffs.

Mahinmi also struggled when he was able to get on the court. While a great rim protector, he was frequently forced out from under the basket on defense during pick and rolls, exposing his poor perimeter defense.

Guards frequently drove right past Mahinmi after creating the mismatch, especially in the Wizards playoff series against the Celtics. The Wizards overpaid for Mahinmi in 2016 and will have to live with it for three more seasons.

Grade: D+

Move 3: Wizards sign Andrew Nicholson

The Wizards signed Magic stretch four Andrew Nicholson to a four year, $26 million deal adding more depth to the front court and hoping that the former first round pick could become a key contributor off the bench. However, Nicholson found himself unable to get into the Wizards rotation.

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Nicholson played just 28 games for the Wizards and averaged a measly 2.5 points per game. Nicholson ended up being dealt at the trade deadline to the Nets in the trade for Bojan Bogdanovic.

The signing of Nicholson to a big four year contract was a huge mistake and was forced to be corrected at the trade deadline by the Wizards attaching its 2017 first round pick as a sweetener for the deal.

Grade: F

Move 4: Wizards trade for Trey Burke

The Wizards traded their 2021 second round pick to the Jazz for Trey Burke. The former ninth pick in the 2013 draft was brought in to replace Ramon Sessions as the Wizards backup point guard. However, Burke’s subpar play caused him to fall out of the Wizards rotation.

Offensively, Burke averaged 5 points and 1.8 assists per game, both career lows. However, Burke’s atrocious defense was ultimately the main reason why he could not find his way onto the court. Burke was not the answer at backup point guard and was replaced by Brandon Jennings midway through the season.

Grade: D-

Move 5: Wizards sign Tomas Satoransky

The Wizard’s 2012 second round draft pick Tomas Satoransky finally joined the team last offseason from Europe, signing a three year $9 million contract.

The 6’7 guard did not see much playing time his rookie year, only playing in 57 games. However, he has potential to become a key contributor off the bench. Satoransky has a smooth shooting stroke and showed flashes of being an effective player during the season. Every play down the court, he will always give 100% effort.

Satoransky is a work in progress, but his very team friendly contract and his upside made this signing worthwhile.

Grade: A-

Move 6: Wizards sign Jason Smith

The Wizard’s signed veteran big man Jason Smith to a three year $16 million deal. Smith was the most reliable player picked up in the 2016 offseason, playing in 74 games this past season and always giving his full effort.

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Shooting over 50% from beyond 10 feet from the basket, Smith gained a reputation as a knock down shooter. He also became both a team and fan favorite. Smith was always the first one to greet the players off the bench and always had a team first attitude.

Fans could not help but appreciate Smith’s erratic stretches and warmups. He was a key player on the Wizard’s bench this past season, but was not enough to take their bench to the next level.

Grade: B+

Move 7: Wizards resign Marcus Thornton

The Wizard’s resigned Marcus Thornton to a one year deal at the veteran’s minimum. Just like much of the Wizard’s 2016 offseason pickups, Thornton found himself at the end of the bench due to lackluster defense and inconsistent offense.

Thornton, brought in for his three point shooting, shot a respectable 35% from three, but not good enough to earn a solid spot in the Wizards rotation. He was traded to the Nets along with Nicholson at the trade deadline.

Grade: D-

Overall

The Wizards 2016 offseason was ultimately a failure. Many of the new bench players that were expected to contribute right away ended up at the end of the bench and out of the rotation.

The Wizards biggest free agent pickup, Ian Mahinmi, struggled to even stay on the court, battling injury after injury over the course of the season. The poor 2016 offseason signings led the Wizards bench to be one of the worst, if not the worst benches in the entire league.

Next: Wizards Will Return Faster & Stonger to Reach ECF

The Wizards were forced to make a move at the trade deadline, giving up their 2017 first round pick just to improve their bench. Overall, the 2016 Wizards offseason was a real head scratcher and one to forget.

Overall Grade: D

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