Washington Wizards: Fan's perspective on the big talking points ahead of 2022-23 season
This is the final in our series of articles produced exclusively for Sky Sports by NBA superfans, looking at every franchise ahead of the season starting on Tuesday night; Watch Boston Celtics host Philadelphia 76ers from 12.30am then LA Lakers visit Golden State Warriors
Tuesday 18 October 2022 11:06, UK
Wizards superfan Ryan Richardson assesses the 2021-22 season for his team, and then casts an eye ahead to the 2022-23 campaign for Washington.
Where my love for the NBA and the Wizards came from...
I'm Ryan, and I'm a sports journalism student at UCLan. I started following the NBA and supporting the Wizards back in 2014 and I haven't looked back since. Basketball is now my favourite sport and is a big part of my life, to the point where I lose a lot of sleep watching every Wizards game while the season is on.
How I came to support the Wizards was pretty simple – I decided to pick the team with my favourite name. I didn't want to be influenced by who was the best team and who had the star players, and therefore I'm a Washington Wizards fan. Even though this team has had many ups and downs, I wouldn't have it any other way.
The 2014-15 season was my first season watching the NBA and the Wizards, and it was John Wall that really made me fall in love with the game. His explosive pace, flashy passes and his strong finishing at the rim caught my eye. I will also never forget watching Paul Pierce hit a game-winning 3-point shot against the Atlanta Hawks to give us a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. "I called game!"
I also travelled to Washington for my 16th birthday to watch the Wizards live for the first time, which will long live as one of my favourite memories.
Grade for last season: D-
Last season was a very underwhelming campaign for the Wizards. It was an offseason of huge turnaround; Wes Unseld Jr was brought in to replace Scott Brooks as head coach, Russell Westbrook was traded to the Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the 22nd pick in the 2021 draft. Spencer Dinwiddie was also brought in through free agency to become the team's new starting point guard.
The Wizards got off to an amazing 10-3 start. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got. The Wizards finished the season with a record of 35-47, occupying the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference.
After such a positive start, things went downhill fast. There was a bust-up in the locker room between Caldwell-Pope and Harrell, it was reported Dinwiddie didn't get along with many of his team-mates, multiple players were not happy with the number of minutes they were getting and to top things off, star player Bradley Beal went down with a season-ending left wrist injury in late January.
The Wizards did make a big move at the deadline, bringing in Kristaps Porzingis and a second round pick from the Mavericks sending Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans to Dallas.
The 7ft 3in big man impressed in his 17 games at the tail end of the season, averaging 22.1 points per game, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks, while also shooting 36.7 per cent from beyond the arc. The big question mark regarding Porzingis is his health; he has had long term issues with his knees which has seen him only feature in 94 games in the last two seasons.
Once again, it was another season of mediocrity, failing to challenge for a championship, while also not being in a position to grab a really high pick in the draft to get a potential game-changer.
Assessing the offseason for the Wizards: B-
The hope for the Wizards will be that Beal and Porzingis can become a star duo, or a star trio if Kuzma can take his game to the next level.
Going into the offseason, once again defense and 3-point scoring had to be the priority. In the 2021-22 season, the Wizards ranked 25th in defense and 3-point shooting, with a defensive rating of 113.6 and a 3-point percentage of 34.3.
The big news came with the expected supermax contract extension of star shooting guard Bradley Beal. The No 3 overall pick in the 2012 draft signed a five-year extension worth a total of $251 million which includes a no-trade clause. Beal has reiterated that he wants to win with the Wizards. The problem may now be that, with this big extension, Beal takes up a large portion of the cap space available. Beal will also need to return to his elite scoring level - last year he only averaged 23.2 ppg and shot a miserable 30 per cent from three. Whereas in the previous two seasons, Beal averaged both 30.5 ppg and 31.3 ppg, respectively, while shooting around 35 per cent from three. If Beal can return to that level, then the Wizards will have one of if not the best scorer in the league.
The Wizards did complete a trade; they needed a new starting point guard after the departure of Dinwiddie and they acquired that by trading Ish Smith and Caldwell-Pope to Denver for Monte Morris and Will Barton.
Morris averaged 12.6 points per game and 4.4 assists and shot 39.5 per cent from three with the Nuggets last season while starting in place of the injured Jamal Murray. He also had an astonishing 4.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. Morris should bring added 3-point shooting as well as stellar passing ability, which his stats don't show due to Denver's playing style focusing on two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
I believe Barton would be well-suited as the team's sixth man off the bench. The Baltimore native can score from all levels averaging 14.7 ppg and shooting 36.5 per cent from three last season. He could also start at small forward to provide another veteran presence.
The Wizards also picked up Delon Wright as another guard who can bring defence and 3-point shooting, plus Taj Gibson as another big man for the rotation to provide defence and veteran leadership. The team also re-signed Anthony Gill, who is another hard-working big man and a favourite in the locker room.
Overall, I would have to give the Wizards offseason acquisitions a 'B-', the team has got better, and the front office have attempted to solve our issues. However, I'm not sure it will be enough to compete in an extremely stacked and talented Eastern Conference.
Points of note from the 2022 NBA Draft
With the 10th overall pick in the draft the Wizards selected Johnny Davis out of Wisconsin. The 6ft 5in guard-forward was named Big Ten Player of the Year and averaged 19.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 2.1 apg with Wisconsin last season.
Davis is certainly an interesting prospect; he strikes me as a player that will work hard on defense and be able to impact the game on my many levels. However, Davis struggled to produce the numbers Wizards fans were looking for in Summer League. His distinct lack of explosive speed and athleticism saw him struggle to beat his man off the dribble and therefore he had to settle for tough contested jump shots.
Hopefully his game will translate to the NBA, and he can crack the rotation and make an immediate impact. The Wizards also drafted Congolese big man Yannick Nzosa with the 54th pick. The 18-year-old will be a draft and stash and will spend next season with Unicaja Malaga in Spain.
The Wizards' aims for next season
As for the season, I will predict the Wizards finish 10th in the East and get eliminated in the first play-in tournament game. This team is missing another major star talent to compete in this conference, where the talent is only getting better. However, I do hope I can be proved wrong. It's the NBA, there are 82 games in the regular season, who really knows what's going to happen?
