With an important offseason looming, the Washington Wizards need to figure out who fits in their long term plans. Unfortunately, that means there will be a few roster casualties.
As it has been stressed nonstop since the end of the Orlando bubble, this offseason is going to be a crucial one for the Washington Wizards. The team is in a very delicate stage right now — there is a very thin line between competing for a playoff spot and a complete overhaul rebuild.
Based on what the Wizards currently have as far on their roster, it makes sense to give the Bradley Beal/John Wall duo another chance, at least for the first few months of the season. If it’s not working by the trade deadline, then they should think about blowing things up.
With so much on the line, they have to be smart with how they evaluate their current roster and how they decide who should stick around long term. The Wizards have a bevy of young talent that will need to be properly evaluated and are by far the most crucial pieces for this team moving forward.
Obviously, there will be a few guys who will be on their way out. The Wizards want to go from 10th to playoff contention, so they’ll need to make some changes. Some might be harder goodbyes than others, but that is part of the business and sometimes moving on is the best thing to do!
With that being said, let’s dive in..
1. Ian Mahinmi
What a ride it was. The end of this season marks the true end of an era in more than one sense. The final free agent signing of the Ernie Grunfeld regime is most likely going to be out the door. For those of you who may have forgotten (which I’m sure most Wizards fans have not), Ian Mahinmi was signed during the disastrous summer of 2016 to a 4-year, $64 million dollar deal.
As expected from the day he signed that contract, Mahinmi did not live up to his price tag. I will say that it is rather hard to blame Mahinmi for never becoming the player his contract suggested. Nobody in their right mind thought that he was worth that much money as a slightly above-average backup prior to playing in D.C. Nobody except for Ernie Grunfeld.
Injuries plagued Mahinmi in his first few seasons with the Wizards and by the time he was fully healthy, the team started to get younger and for the most part, did not have Ian in the rotation or in their future plans.
The purpose of this article is not to dwell on the ‘what could have been’, but there are a ton of ‘what ifs’ around Mahinmi. Could he have helped the Wall/Beal duo at their peak if healthy?
Now that he’s 33-years-old, there is clearly not much need to retain Mahinmi’s services even for vet minimum.
Ian Mahinmi exemplified all the major qualities you could ask for as a teammate. He was a good veteran presence for some of the young Wizards big men and never once did he cause a stir due to playing time. It cannot be easy going through what he went through during his time in Washington, as he notched DNP after DNP, yet Ian still showed what it’s like to be a true pro.
With a new regime in place, we can now close the book on Ian Mahinmi.
2. Admiral Schofield
Depending on what your view is of Admiral Schofield, some may see this as a surprise while others may not. While just a mid-second-round pick, expectations were slightly high for Schofield coming out of Tennessee, however he never really found his footing in year one.
With his solid build and size, Schofield was drafted to help guard on the wing and hit the occasional three. A real 3&D prospect.
Unfortunately for both the Wizards and Schofield, it has yet to come to fruition. Schofield bounced back and forth between the G-League and the NBA for the majority of his rookie season. And when he did get minutes for the Wizards, he always seemed to look a bit out of place on the floor. He ended the year appearing in 33 games averaging three points and 1.4 rebounds in just 11 minutes per game. It also did not help that he shot just 31 percent from three-point land.
Schofield’s tendency to get lost on the defensive end started to become an issue. While he has the body to be a multi-position defender, he needs to work on being better prepared for the schemes and sets that come from opposing offenses.
This does not necessarily mean that Schofield is a “bust” or that he does not have a place in the league. He can still turn things around. However, it will be hard for him to continue to catch on with the Wizards.
The Wizards are not the team (at the moment) who can let Schofield play a lot and work through his needed development. With Wall returning, they want to win now and some of the other wings may help them do that more than Schofield can. Troy Brown Jr, Isaac Bonga, and Jerome Robinson are all ahead of him
Again, this is not to say that Admiral cannot catch on elsewhere, it will just be a tough battle. Since the Wizards already have a number of wings ahead of Schofield and are looking to compete instead of rebuild, the end may be near.
3. Troy Brown Jr.
Surprise! This third slot could have been taken by an easier choice like Shabazz Napier or Jarrod Uthoff but that would be no fun.
If Troy Brown Jr isn’t back with the Washington Wizards next season, it won’t be due to poor play or anything like that. It will actually be because of quite the opposite.
The Wizards are hoping that they can return to their 2013-2017 form next season and stay away from sub-30 win seasons. However, with John Wall returning from an Achilles injury, he may not be what he was during that four-season run.
In short, the Wizards may look to make a trade.
Assuming Bradley Beal is off-limits, Troy Brown Jr. might be the most attractive trade asset on the Wizards’ roster. While a lot of teams may ask about Rui Hachimura, it seems the Wizards have zero interest in moving him, so hey may be out of the question.
Brown, however, may be on the table and there is a lot to like. Still just 21 years old, Brown made a lot of strides between year one and year two and still has a lot of room to grow. He needs to work on his outside shooting and be more consistent from three, but his ability to be a swiss army knife on the floor is invaluable in today’s NBA.
He can handle the ball, defend guards and wings, and is always one of the smartest players on the court. He’s not a finished product, but there’s definitely upside there. So with all that being said, he may be a trade candidate if the Wizards decide they want to bolster the top of their roster.
Brown alone will not fetch you a superstar, but him along with a few other pieces may get you a young, defensive-minded center from Indiana who Washington has inquired about.
Troy has looked all the part as a young piece who, in the future, can help any team he’s on in a variety of ways. He does not do anything at an exceptional level, or at least not yet, but he does do a lot of things at a very high level.
If the Wizards are looking to wheel and deal for another top tier player as they continue their road to becoming a competitive playoff team, Troy Brown Jr. is the type of player who could be on the way out.