The 2023-24 NBA season is only a month away. As we inch closer to the start of the regular season, it’s time to take part in the most entertaining of preseason traditions: making predictions. Here are five predictions for what to expect from the Washington Wizards in the 2023-24 season.
Jordan Poole will average the most points per game on the team
Whether Kyle Kuzma or Jordan Poole is a better scorer is an interesting debate. Both players are dynamic scorers who can put up over 20 points on the board in an instant. Who is or should be the primary scoring option on the Washington Wizards will be an ongoing discussion all season. It will be fascinating to see who the coaching staff trusts more with the ball in their hands with a game on the line.
Neither Kuzma nor Poole has been a primary option on offense before in their careers. How they respond to an expanded role will be fun to watch. It is reasonable to expect that both players will struggle with efficiency throughout the season. Yet, due to the sheer volume of touches, they should both easily average over 20 points per game, as they did last season.
However, Poole is more likely to average over 25 points compared to Kuzma. Poole has more ways to score as he is better at getting to the rim and the free-throw line. He is also a slightly better three-point shooter than Kuzma. And, as a guard, he will be initiating the offense more, even if he is playing next to Tyus Jones or Delon Wright. Bringing the ball up and running more pick & rolls will give Poole more scoring opportunities. This might hurt his percentages from the field, but he should have no problem finishing the season with the most points per game on the team.
Wizards will finish with the worst record in the East, but not in the entire NBA
There is a consensus that the Washington Wizards will be the worst team in the league next season. Sportsbooks set the line for the win total for the Wizards at 24.5, the lowest number in the NBA.
This makes sense. Following the departures of Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Monte Morris, there is a dearth of high-end talent on the roster. The team will certainly struggle to be competitive against high-level competition.
However, the Wizards also have plenty of competent NBA-caliber players. Usually, teams that struggle the most in the NBA are ones that play a lot of rookies and inexperienced players. The Wizards, on the other hand, will start the season with capable rotation-level players across all positions.
A rotation that has Tyus Jones, Delon Wright, Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija, Kyle Kuzma, Corey Kispert, and Daniel Gafford is better than your regular “worst teams in the NBA” like the Houston Rockets or the Detroit Pistons of the last few years.
Yet, unless the Wizards have a fire sale in the middle of the season and part ways with the majority of their competent players, they shouldn’t be the worst team in the league. The San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers (assuming Damian Lillard gets traded) should have a worse record, especially considering that the Western Conference is a conference stacked with talent and high-level teams once again.
The Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets will likely struggle all season too, but being in a weaker Eastern Conference should help them rack up more wins than their Western Conference counterparts. However, both teams are desperately trying to be competitive and better than last year. This should help them win more games than Washington, pushing the Wizards all the way to the bottom of the conference.
This will be coach Wes Unseld Jr.’s last season with the team
It’s always difficult for the staff, coaches, and players in an organization that goes through a front office change. Usually, if the front office that hired or drafted you is fired, it doesn’t bode well for your future. You have to prove that you are the right person for the job, basically auditioning for the position you already have. This is likely what the Wizards’ head coach Wes Unseld Jr. will go through this season.
For all intents and purposes, it doesn’t seem like Unseld Jr. is on the hot seat. The new regime seems interested in continuing with Unseld Jr. for the foreseeable future. However, they presumably need to see more evidence that he is the coach of the future for this team.
In the first two seasons at the helm, Unseld Jr. hasn’t given us many reasons as to why he should keep his job. Going 35-47 in back-to-back underwhelming seasons doesn’t strengthen a head coach’s resume. The defense has been underwhelming, the internal development has been subpar, and it’s hard to pinpoint any specific aspects of coaching that Unseld Jr. is doing a good job in.
It is hard to foresee how he will impress the front office and the fans with the current roster. Yes, the expectations are low, but there still needs to be enough flashes and improvement from the young players to maintain faith in Wes Unseld Jr. It seems far more likely that there will be an amicable parting of ways at the end of the season, and the front office bringing someone they have more trust in.
Tyus Jones will be traded mid-season
The Washington Wizards will likely be an active team on the trade market this season. There are simply too many veterans on reasonable contracts on this team that should be attractive trade targets for playoff teams. Perhaps none more than Tyus Jones.
Kyle Kuzma is also an obvious candidate to be traded and he will likely be mentioned in trade rumors for the next several years. His skill set and contract are too attractive for playoff teams. However, he will require a larger trade package, and with the new salary-matching rules under the new collective bargaining agreement, pulling a Kuzma trade mid-season might be more difficult. He is a better candidate to be moved in the offseason.
Tyus Jones, on the other hand, is the perfect mid-season addition for any team looking for a backup point guard upgrade or another ball-handler. His expiring contract and reasonable annual salary make a trade involving him more feasible. Any team who has $14 million in matching salary and a late first-round pick or a few second-round picks should be able to acquire him.
Despite being a valuable player, Tyus Jones’ fit on the Wizards long-term is not certain. He is 27 years old and doesn’t have much upside, and the Wizards would have to give him a new long-term contract next offseason if they don’t move him at the trade deadline. There is no reason for Washington to tie up their cap space in the long run. Therefore, it behooves them to move Jones for whatever they can get; ideally a young player of interest and draft assets.
Bilal Coulibaly will make an All-Rookie team
The Washington Wizards’ no. 7 overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, Bilal Coulibaly wants to win the Rookie of the Year award. This is a tall order for anyone who will be in the same rookie class as Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, and Chet Holmgren. It is especially challenging for a 19-year-old defense-first prospect like Coulibaly.
What should be more possible, however, is making one of two All-Rookie teams. Being one of the ten best rookies in the league is an achievable goal for Coulibaly, especially after his impressive Summer League performance in Las Vegas.
The 6’6 Frenchman should immediately make a difference defensively with his athletic and physical tools. He will make plenty of highlight reels with his chase-down and weakside blocks. He is likely not going to score a lot of points or record many assists, but his defense will certainly bring plenty of attention to him.
Coulibaly will likely not start to begin the season. But he will have a rotation role immediately. His minutes should go up consistently throughout the season. There is a decent possibility that he might become a starter mid-season. This expanded role will give him more of an opportunity to showcase his athleticism and playmaking.
In turn, he will likely make a late-season push to make an All-Rookie team. Depending on how the rest of the rookie class performs, he should make one of the All-Rookie teams. The first team may be a stretch but Coulibaly’s meteoric rise from playing in Metropolitans 92’s youth team less than a year ago to being a lottery pick in the NBA suggests nothing is impossible for this young man.