Washington Wizards Will Continue to Struggle in 2011-12

In this crazy shortened 66-game 2011-12 NBA season which will begin to take a toll on teams as time moves along, there remains only one team that has yet to win a game. That team happens to be the young Washington Wizards who are led by point guard John Wall (second NBA season), shooting guard Nick Young (fifth NBA season), forward Andray Blatche (eighth NBA season) and center JaVale McGee (fourth NBA season).

The Wizards are a bunch looking to continue their rebuilding project as they look forward to year two of a new era in the nation’s capital.

Other than the three players mentioned above, the remaining players on the roster are a mixture of veteran role players and younger players that are looking to find their niche on the team as they are still being evaluated to see if they have a role in the NBA.

Rookies Jan Vesely (who has not made his NBA debut due to a hip injury) and Chris Singleton will also be given multiple chances to see what they have to offer this season.

The Wizards entered the 2011-12 NBA season with the hope of making the postseason as well as seeing improvement in the backcourt with Wall cutting down his turnovers from his rookie year (3.8 per game in 2010-11) and Young who was looking to become a better all-around player after looking to secure a long-term contract offer in the free agent market.

Young re-signed with the Wizards settling for the qualifying offer that will make him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2012.

Head coach Flip Saunders is also experiencing the advantages and disadvantages of coaching a young team and may not be the long-term solution. The Wizards have veteran Rashard Lewis on their roster, who was acquired in exchange for Gilbert Arenas, and could be used as trade bait as the team looks to keep their options open in hopes of making some possible key free agent acquisitions.

The bottom line is that the Wizards are a bunch that are still trying to “find” themselves with a lot resting on point guard John Wall’s development in year two. As the season is not even one month old, the Wizards will find themselves in the win column sooner rather than later.