Four silver linings from a disappointing Wizards season
By Cem Yolbulan
The Washington Wizards are about to close out their season, heading to their fifth straight below-.500 finish. This is a disaster for a team refusing to bottom out and rebuild. For a franchise that has two players on max contracts and regularly chooses current-day success over a future one, being out of the play-in tournament in a weak Eastern Conference is embarrassing. Being lottery-bound with a similar record to the rebuilding Indiana Pacers and the Orlando Magic is extremely disappointing. What is more disheartening is that these teams have up-and-coming stars, promising young cores, and clear visions for the future, while the Wizards for an umpteenth season in a row don’t.
The draft selections for the Washington Wizards in recent years have been underwhelming.
None of the Wizards’ key young pieces took the next steps to prove themselves to be solid starters. Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert had marginal improvements from the year prior, and they are fine rotation players. Rui Hachimura was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for a middling return, and Johnny Davis barely saw the court all season. Davis not being good enough to get any minutes for the 11th-best team in the conference doesn’t bode well for his future.
Maybe one or two of these players will pop and emerge as starters but that is now only a possibility rather than a probability.
Not having a single starter-caliber player out of four top-15 draft picks in four years is depressing. This alone makes it very hard to believe that this ownership, front office, and coaching staff have what it takes to turn things around.
However, not everything is awful. There are silver linings in even the bleakest situations, and this one is no different. Let’s focus on what went right this season and how the Wizards can build on those going forward.