The Wizards have been mired in mediocrity for the past half decade, only making the playoffs once in that span – that too, as an 8th seed. A lot of this has to do with John Wall, as his untimely injuries – most notably, when he tore his left achilles – single-handedly caused the Wizards to fall out of playoff contention after leading the Wizards to four playoff appearances from 2013 to 2018. As his injuries continued to hamper Wall, the Wizards shipped the face of the franchise off to the Rockets, and got the 2016-2017 MVP Russell Westbrook in return. That season, the Wizards managed to squeeze into the playoffs only to face the first seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the first round and lose in five games. Bradley Beal, who was Wall’s sidekick in all those previous postseason runs, transformed into an elite scorer for the Wizards, averaging 31.3 points per game in the 2020-21 regular season. Westbrook made NBA history by breaking the all-time record of most triple-doubles amassed by a single player. However, despite the stellar seasons for Beal and Westbrook, the Wizards failed to make the conference semifinals yet again, and things were looking downcast. An opportunity arose to trade Westbrook to the Lakers, and former Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard took it. Washington acquired Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell from the Lakers in exchange, and, since then, has not indicated any clear sense of direction and were toiling between rebuilding and trying to be good – that is, until very recently.
The Wizards were the first organization to make a splash in the 2023 offseason, as they traded Beal and a couple of bench warmers to the Phoenix Suns for an aging, 38 year-old Chris Paul. Beal’s no-trade clause made it difficult for the Wizards to seek out a good trade, but getting Paul was the best they could do. By trading Beal, Washington has finally accepted the harsh truth – they need to reset and build through the draft. Nikola Jokic, a two time NBA MVP and a recently crowned champion, said after his Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in the 2023 Finals that, “You need to be bad, then you need to be good. Then when you’re good, you need to fail, and then when you fail, you’re going to figure it out. I think experience is something that is not what happened to you—it’s what you’re going to do with what happened to you.” This is the lesson the Wizards had trouble learning. They remained obstinate despite their clear struggles and shortcomings to try and stay in playoff contention year after year until they gave up by trading Bradley Beal this week. This lesson is one that is hard to learn for everybody, but one especially challenging for professional sports teams. So much is on the line that teams always want to remain competitive regardless of the circumstances. But a significant part of the path to a championship is being patient and trusting the process. The Wizards are just embarking on it.
So, how exactly do you carry out this process? Well, the key to the rebuilding process is to “hit” in the Draft. A “hit” means that a team drafted a player that later goes on to thrive in the NBA, and, in some cases, the player is so good that he becomes the face of the franchise! Unfortunately for the Wizards, they have done anything but make good selections in the Draft since they selected Bradley Beal in 2012 – who, incidentally, Washington traded to initiate this entire cycle! There are a few good prospects from which the Wizards can select in Thursday’s upcoming Draft, such as Anthony Black, Ausar Thompson, and Kobe Bufkin with their 8th pick. Washington should target a player who can run the offense and has infinite upside so that they can develop that player into a cornerstone for the team, reminiscent of what the Golden State Warriors did with scrawny Stephen Curry back in the early 2010s. After the Wizards draft their cornerstone, they must continue building through the Draft in order to attain a co-star, akin to how the Warriors drafted Klay Thompson to serve as a reliable sidekick to Stephen Curry. After that, the Wizards must make a series of trades to acquire compatible role players to round out the roster, which again, is similar to what the Warriors did: they acquired Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Juan Toscano-Anderson to support the Warriors’ stars during their 2022 championship run. Of course, the odds of Washington drafting a franchise-altering player and crafting a compatible team around him are slim. Luck plays a major part – look no further than how the Nuggets’ championship roster was constructed, and how they lucked out with their selection of Nikola Jokic in the second round.
Washington can also trade up in this year’s draft if they wish to expedite their tedious rebuild, but that would be next to impossible because they simply don’t have enough enticing assets to compete with what other teams, such as the New Orleans Pelicans, have to offer for a higher pick in the Draft. The Portland Trail Blazers in particular seem to be open and willing to trade their number 3 pick in exchange for anyone that they believe can push them into championship contention. The Wizards can attempt to put together a trade package that will land them the Blazers’ pick, but that is extremely unlikely, for the only player they can offer that will generate even fleeting interest from Portland is Kristaps Porzingis. Therefore, as of now, their best hope to craft a championship-contenting roster is through the Draft.
Luck has never truly been on the Wizards’ side on Draft night for as long as anyone can remember, but thanks to the actions of Washington’s newly hired President of Monumental Basketball, Michael Winger, the Wizards’ luck might change sides by the time the highly anticipated 2023 NBA Draft rolls around.