Washington Wizards desperately need more shooting to help develop their young players
By Cem Yolbulan
The Washington Wizards are about to start the 2023-24 NBA season with a revamped roster. Finally making the decision to rebuild, the Wizards are now younger, more dynamic, and more exciting. The organizational priority now is the development of its young players. In order to fully maximize the potential of the young talent on the roster, the Washington Wizards need to add more shooters.
One of the most important aspects of player development is creating the optimum ecosystem. In order for a young player to explore the studio space, there actually has to be a studio space for them to showcase what they are capable of. If the Wizards want Bilal Coulibaly, Deni Avdija, and Johnny Davis to get reps running the pick & roll, attack in isolation or make plays for their teammates, they need to provide them with the necessary spacing for them to operate in.
Therefore, the Wizards need more shooting to surround these young players so that they have open driving lanes and less crowded paint.
As the roster currently stands, Washington only has one elite shooter: Corey Kispert. Besides Kispert, it’s hard to find a player in their rotation that is an above-average three-point shooter for his position. Tyus Jones, Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma can all shoot but they don’t strike fear into opposing defenses with their shooting. Landry Shamet and Mike Muscala are good shooters but how much they will fare in the rotation is a question mark.
The Wizards already struggled with outside shooting last season. They ranked below-league-average in every three-point shooting metric. They were 19th in three-point attempt rate and 18th in three-point accuracy. Moreover, they lost two of their three best shooters in Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal this summer.
Porzingis’ floor-spacing from the center position is especially hard to replicate. However, finding some shooting upgrades in different positions could be easier to achieve. Having a few more players who have some off-ball gravity when they are coming off screens could help unlock a lot of offensive upside for the young Wizards.
Perhaps the solution will be having Shamet, Muscala, and Patrick Baldwin Jr play a larger role in the rotation. That could help alleviate some of the shooting woes on this team. But adding more shooting never hurts a team, so it should be something the Wizards should consider.
