After a rough start to the season, the Washington Wizards had a solid finish and earned a spot in the play-in tournament. From there, they grabbed the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference where they would lose in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers 4-1 in the series.
While making the playoffs is every team’s goal, the Wizards feel somewhat stuck in the middle. They finished the season with a losing record at 34-38 and didn’t look competitive until late in the season. Now, due to making the playoffs, they won’t have a lottery pick to improve the roster as they build around Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook.
However, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors believes that surrounding that duo by young players isn’t the best path forward anyways.
“Getting draft picks and placing them next to two all-stars? That don’t work.”
Either way, Washington is in a tough spot. They’d like to keep their franchise cornerstone in Beal happy, but they don’t have much flexibility. Not only will they be selecting in the middle of the first round (No. 15) in the 2021 NBA Draft, but they’ve got a ton of money tied up in long-term contracts, limiting them in free agency.
At this point, it might be time to make a decision on either swinging for the fences and going all in, or trying to re-tool the roster with young talent for a championship push down the road.
Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard says the team remains committed to keeping Beal long-term. Regardless, the Washington Wizards will have a crucial offseason upcoming as they look to do what’s best for the franchise.
