5 Moves Washington Wizards Must Make to Build a Contender

If the Washington Wizards ever want to become a contender again, they are going to have to make these five moves.

The Wizards are on their way to their fourth straight losing season. They have been playing so poorly that some basketball analysts have said that the Kentucky Wildcats could beat them.

With a future star in John Wall, the Wizards are going to have to start making some moves if they ever want Wall to reach his full potential.

Fire Ernie Grunfeld

Ernie Grunfeld’s time is over in DC. Sure he made some good moves earlier in his tenure when he traded for Antawn Jamison, got rid of Kwame Brown for Caron Butler and signed Gilbert Arenas.

But what has he done since then?

He resigned Arenas to a ridiculous extension worth $111 million after coming off a severe knee injury. He then traded a No. 5 draft pick for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Are you kidding me?

As a GM, Grunfeld has no eye for talent. I don’t know a team that has drafted worse than the Wizards in the past decade.

Here is a list of all the players that Grunfeld has drafted in the first round since he joined the Wizards.

Jarvis Hayes, Oleksiy Pecherov, Nick Young, Javale McGee, John Wall, Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton.

Wall was the clear No.1 pick so I will not give any credit to Grunfeld for selecting him. Also, Vesely and Singleton are both rookies so they still have time to develop. However, based on Grunfeld’s track record, I would not be surprised if these two do not turn out to be anything that special.

Everyone else on that list is either out of the league or no longer on the team. You will never have a winning franchise if you draft this poorly.

Get Rid of Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis

Is there a more hated player in Washington DC right now then Andray Blatche? Every time he steps onto the court he is booed by the fans. He is fat and lazy and is still just as immature as he was when he was drafted out of high school in 2005.

Just exactly how lazy is Blatche? He is an NBA athlete and has been benched indefinitely due to lack of conditioning.

Getting rid of Blatche is a move the Wizards have to make. With three years left on his contract, at this point I would trade him for absolutely anything.

He brings everything about the team down. It is your classic case of “addition by subtraction.”

Rashard Lewis also has to go. Using the amnesty clause on Lewis has been talked about for a while and it has to happen this offseason.

Lewis gets paid over $21 million a year. He is way past his prime and provides nothing for the Wizards. Letting go of Lewis would free up a ton of cap room and allow the Wizards to go out and acquire some key pieces.

Find a Head Coach

The Wizards have not had any luck finding head coaches lately.

Flip Saunders was fired this year after having a record of 51-130 in his time with the Wizards. Before that, people thought they had found a head coach in Eddie Jordan, but he ended up getting fired after four seasons with the team.

The Wizards need to find a player’s coach. They need someone who is going to get the most out of his players and motivate them every game.

Earlier this season, Andray Blatche said that players had tuned out Saunders. This should never happen with a head coach.

With Kentucky winning the NCAA championship, perhaps John Calipari will want to make the jump back into the NBA. According to NBA reporter David Aldridge, it is a possibility. What better way than to come to Washington and have his former point guard at Kentucky, John Wall?

Provide Cornerstone Pieces to Surround John Wall

John Wall is one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA and he is going to have a great career. However, he can not lead a team as a go-to scorer.

He is a great point guard, but an average shooter. The Wizards need to put some pieces around him that are legit scoring threats that will allow Wall to focus on being a point guard.

The current players surrounding Wall are not going to get it done. Everyone except Nene should be coming off the bench. Players like Trevor Booker and Jordan Crawford would provide adequate depth and they would be great reserves.

This upcoming draft is one of the deepest draft classes in recent history, so it's a good thing the Wizards are having a horrible year. The Wizards are going to end up with a top three pick in the draft and they need to draft someone who is going to be one of the cornerstones of the team.

They should go with Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, Thomas Robinson or Harrison Barnes. Any of these players would give the Wizards another legit threat and they will be able to have an impact immediately.

Also, getting rid of the huge contracts of Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis will open up a ton of cap space. The Wizards are going to have to become big spenders in free agency.

I don’t see them having a chance in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes because he will not want to come to DC. They could go for someone like Roy Hibbert. Having Hibbert and Nene would give the Wizards a solid frontcourt duo.

The Wizards need to be patient. They have top draft picks and the ability to sign a player to a max contract. They cannot overpay for a player who is not proven yet. If they do not find anyone this offseason, there is always next year. 

Acquire High Character Players

One thing the Wizards do not have at all is leadership. They are one of the youngest teams in the NBA right now and have no veteran presence for the young players to look up to or rely on.

The Wizards drafted John Wall and immediately made him the captain of the team. Wall is only 21 years old, and there is no way he can be the leader of this team at this point in his career. He has only been around players like Andray Blatche and Nick Young, who have zero leadership ability.

Look at the Oklahoma City Thunder. They drafted young guys in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden who have developed into leaders. The reason they developed into leaders though is because they were surrounded with high character guys like Kendrick Perkins. They don’t have any players who are lazy or selfish like Blatche.

The Wizards need to follow that formula. As Wall continues to develop into a leader, they need to get some players who have charisma. They need to get players who are going to push everyone on the team to play their best.