The Washington Wizards have problems this season, something made apparent in a few different stretches of the season. However, there are some consistent trends in every one of these stretches where the problem seems clear.
There are numerous players in the regular rotation that are just not being put into a position to succeed. They can be far better than they are right now, they just aren’t being put into the offense or even sometimes the defense in a way that they can help.
For comparison, let’s look at some other teams across the league that are incredible at finding the perfect role for each and every one of their players.
First, the Miami Heat. Head coach Erik Spoelstra and the Heat have been among the best at finding steals in the draft and in free agency nearly every year due to his ability to find where each player can best contribute to the team.
A great example of their dominance in this area is the amount of mid-late first round picks that are currently star players for them. Even better, they have a large number of undrafted players contributing to their success on a nightly basis.
The second example of a team that is great at finding the perfect role for every player is the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr has helped players like JaVale McGee and Nick Young revive their careers after they were thought to be a lost cause at the NBA level.
The Warriors have even made Draymond Green a Hall of Famer through his ability to play his role and play it perfectly. Since Kerr signed with the Warriors in 2015, no player has gone there and looked worse with them other than DeMarcus Cousins who was recovering from a torn ACL and has been in and out of the league since despite averaging 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds on a team that made the Finals.
This has been the biggest shortcoming of Wes Unseld Jr. He is really bad at finding the best role for every player on the roster and it shows in the Washington Wizards poor record. There are three players where this is especially prominent, and it definitely holds the Wizards back in close games.
Let’s look at who some of the biggest examples of right player, wrong role are on the Wizards.