2017-2018 Finish: 25-57

 

Season Highlight: While it wasn’t the best season for the franchise, they have taken the steps needed to rebuild. The Klay Thompson trade (will be discussed below) as well as having 3 first rounders this year should help in that effort.

 

Season Lowlight: The Wizards were the 8^th seed in the East in the 2016-2017 season. This season, they held the 2^nd worst record in the league which was surely a disappointment. To make matters worse, they didn’t have their own 1^st so they couldn’t select #2 overall.

 

The Trade: I was very torn about what constituted the best and worst trade for the Wizards this season. With that said, I have decided to talk about the defining trade that occurred this season for the organization. The Klay Thompson trade was the one that grabbed the NLL headlines when it went down. In my opinion, it was both the best and worst move made. It looked like this:

 

The Chicago Bulls send Robin Lopez, Dragan Bender and Buddy Hield to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Klay Thompson to the Chicago Bulls. 
The Chicago Bulls send a 1st-Rounder (Chi), 1st-Rounder (Chi) and 2nd-Rounder (Chi) to the Washington Wizards. 

The Chicago Bulls trade -45 GM points. The Washington Wizards receive 45 GM points.

 

This trade also included Seth Curry and the Chicago Bulls’ 2019 1^st as well. It’s an impressive haul for one player and what every rebuilding team salivates over. Going over the players brought in, Robin Lopez had a successful year but he’s getting up there in age. Dragan Bender hasn’t really taken the next step in his game to be an impactful big man. Buddy Hield is a solid get but like Bender, needs to elevate his game to really help the squad. The real meat of this trade lies in the picks acquired. The Wizards have three consecutive year of Chicago’s 1^st rounders. The first pick resulted in Chandler Hutchison, who is an intriguing prospect. No one likes to admit this but the Wizards will be hoping the East will continue to strengthen and result in the Bulls falling into the lottery. It nearly happened this year but to accelerate this rebuild, those picks will have to translate into impactful players. If the picks turn out, this is the best trade. If they don’t and they moved Klay Thompson for players/picks that don’t make an impact, then this ends up being the worst trade. Only time will tell how this unfolds and it will be an interesting NLL storyline for the next few years.

 

Other Notable Trades:

               

The Orlando Magic send Ed Davis and Pascal Siakam to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Orlando Magic send Kyle Singler to the Washington Wizards. The Philadelphia 76ers send Gorgui Dieng and Cheick Diallo to the Orlando Magic. 
The Orlando Magic send a 2nd-Rounder (Orl) to the Washington Wizards. 

The Orlando Magic trade -10 GM points.The Washington Wizards receive 10 GM points.

 

The Wizards add a player, pick and 10 GM points and give up nothing but cap space. Singler isn’t anything to write home about but you make this move every time.

 

The Dallas Mavericks send Alex Len and Paul Zipser to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send JaMychal Green to the Dallas Mavericks. 
The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (Det) to the Washington Wizards. 

 

Darko grabbed Lensanity after the sliders update and a 2^nd that turned into Landry Shamet who has shown some promise.

 

Free Agency:

Julius Randle (RFA): Randle will be brought back after having a very solid year for the squad.

Paul Zipser: Easy to retain if wanted, an inconsequential loss if let go

Shaquille Harrison: Same as Zipser, a minimum player who could get his team option exercised but likely won’t main an impact

Joe Johnson: At 37 years old, Johnson is no longer the star he once was. Not currently on an NBA roster, he may be done.

Seth Curry: The other Curry. A cheap option at the SG position, but will there be points to retain him after Randle?

Alex Len: The NLL sensation from last season has switched teams. A solid backup big, might be hard to spread the points around to include him.

Gary Payton II: A cheap backup, not a huge loss if let go.

 

Star:

Robin Lopez

A big-man who shined in a big-man friendly engine. He was in consideration for 6^th man of the year and Darko lobbied hard for his star player. Nearly averaging 18/10 on the season, Lopez was a dominant force down low. Julius Randle was also in consideration.

 

Goat:

Dragan Bender

As mentioned above, Bender was one of the pieces brought in to replace Klay by aggregate. A 7’1” big man who should have shined in the last year’s engine, he only started 20 games and averaged 10/5.

 

Draft Grades:

17^th overall - C Robert Williams, Texas A&M sophomore

This draft really wasn’t friendly for the rebuilding Wizards. Their biggest need could very easily be that of a young C so they can finally go all in on moving Robin Lopez and pair them with Randle while Bender develops off the bench…but this draft didn’t have big men after the top 5, or none of any real reliability. So, you can see why Darko might take a swing at a lottery talented big despite his many many attitudinal short comings and red flags. Alas, he even missed the teams introductory phone call and before he even starts it seems like he’ll go the way of Robert Upshaw unless he pulls his head in really quick. The smart move may have been to trade this pick for a big, or draft a coveted player and trade them for the big. Grade: D+

21^st overall - SF Chandler Hutchison, Boise State senior

Credit where credit is due, Darko at least knew where his biggest weaknesses were, but the big man availability eluded him and he reached. This pick however I would ave applauded even if he took him at 17, and had he missed on him here because he didn’t take him at 17 then he’d get an even worse grade for Williams! Hutchinson becomes, possibly the only proper big bodied SF on the Wizards roster and his game shines of upside and NLL level ability. He could well become the star of Washington, and he’ll have the opportunity to do so. Grade: A+

26^th overall - PG Aaron Holiday, UCLA junior

 

The Wizards continued hitting on needs and this one fell into the right spot again. With only Jeremy Lin and Ish Smith on the roster at the point, and both expiring next year, a solid PG now to develop for a year and then take the reins *hopefully* was a must. Holiday, the youngest of the 3 Holiday brothers (Jrue and Justin), fits that need and plays a lot like a shorter version of Jrue. Grade: B+

 

34^th overall - PG Landry Shamet, Wichita State junior

The Wizards have had a mixed draft. They came good after their average start, but is Shamet a step back again? He projects as the best offensive player in the entire draft, but will he be able to take the floor for more than reserve minutes if he can’t defend even the floor sweeper? Grade: B

 

The Future: The future is a bit cloudy for this organization but there is hope. Holiday and Shamet have shown some promise in the preseason but really the future hinges on the Klay trade panning out. If the picks end up in some quality players, then the Wizards could be back in the thick of things sooner than people anticipate. If not, it may be a long few seasons for Darko but I’m confident that he’ll be able to right the ship in Washington. There are some really good assets on the team now they just have to put it all together.