Biggest Offseason Needs for the Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards fans' hearts must still be stinging. But only a week after getting eliminated from the playoffs in just about the most depressing way possible, the Wizards have to start thinking about the offseason.
The core will mostly stay together for next year—almost every important player is under contract for 2015-16—which means the Washington front office can immediately start looking at roster upgrades. There isn't much personal dry cleaning to do after taking care of whatever free-agent-to-be Paul Pierce (if he declines his player option) wants to do.
The Wizards have resources, too, even if they're over the cap.
Washington can use both the full mid-level exception (about $5.4 million) and the biannual exception (about $2.1 million) to pick up assets.
Even after an encouraging playoff run during which the 46-win Wizards took the No. 1-seeded Atlanta Hawks to six games in the second round, Washington has flaws to fix. If it can do so, this could stand to be one of the three or four best teams in the Eastern Conference for a third consecutive year.
Bring Back Paul Pierce
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Washington ended its final offensive possession with the ball in Paul Pierce's hands during four of its six games against the Hawks. He made three of those shots, though one was disallowed by that unforgiving buzzer in Game 6.
What else do you need to know about how much Pierce means to this team?
Pierce actually got better as the year went along too. He shot 45-41-75 after Dec. 23 and was a key locker room presence for a clubhouse filled mostly with youthful leaders.
He's a refreshing voice, someone different than John Wall or Bradley Beal or even Randy Wittman.
There are basketball reasons to keep Pierce too.
Washington's offense transformed during the postseason when Wittman stuck him at the 4, stretching the floor and turning the Wizards into a three-point-heavy team. They ended up sweeping the Toronto Raptors and competing with the Hawks partly because of that.
We don't necessarily know if Pierce is coming back to any team next year, let alone the Wizards. He did hint that he could retire at the end of the Hawks series, but Washington has to do everything it can to make sure he returns.
"I don't even know if I'm going to play basketball anymore," Pierce said after the Hawks series. "These seasons get harder and harder every year, every day. Summers get even harder when you start getting back in shape. I'm 37 years old. I'm top two or three oldest in the league. There is a lot that I have to talk to my family about and just figure out from there, but I have loved my time here in Washington, and there is a lot to think about right now."
The Wizards better pray they can hold on to him. His player option for next year of $5.5 million is an extension of signing for last year's full mid-level. So, since the Wizards can only offer the mid-level themselves, he could leave for more money, and there wouldn't be anything Washington could do about it.
Find a Stretch 4
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The Wizards were a completely different team in the postseason after they went small with Pierce at the 4. Now, it's time to learn from their improvements.
Washington was not a great three-point shooting team in the regular season, but it sank just over 40 percent of its long balls during its playoff run, best among all NBA teams during this year's postseason. So, they should probably implement some of those principles which earned them all that shooting (stretching the floor, going smaller, playing Otto Porter more) into the offense during next year's regular season.
Adding a stretch 4 wouldn't just give the Wizards better three-point shooting. It would also open up space for Wall to operate.
Wall is best when he's dribbling around ball screens and darting at the rim. In order to do that, he needs guys around him to spread the floor so he can groove in the paint as he sees fit.
Washington doesn't need to break the bank to make this move. Go after a Jonas Jerebko or Jason Smith (who started shooting threes near the end of this past season), and you can find effective players relatively cheap.
If the Wizards could find a stretch 4 who's also a solid roll man off ball screens—since both Nene and Marcin Gortat prefer popping to rolling—you've found a perfect complement.
More Perimeter Shooting
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Give John Wall toys. He's too good not to have toys.
The Wiz have some shooting in their starting lineup with which Wall can play.
He has Pierce and his 39 percent three-point accuracy. Beal nailed more than 40 percent of his triples this year yet again. There are guys who can drain from long range. But the list stops right about there.
Drew Gooden has learned to hit long balls, but do you really want to be giving Drew Gooden minutes when it actually matters? Plus, Gooden will hit free agency this summer. The Wizards need shooting help, and they can find it off the bench.
They need to acquire it however they can.
Draft a shooter at No. 19. Sign one. Trade for one. Or find one internally. Actually, not just one. The Wizards could use a couple.
Non-Beal, non-Pierce Washington players shot just 33 percent from long range this past season. Those two players combined for almost 41 percent of the team's attempts too. That's unacceptable for a squad trying to turn itself into a contender. And considering how well it played this postseason with three-pointers galore, expanding that strategy is certainly the way to go.
Discovering a shooter already on the roster isn't out of the realm of possibilities either. Porter turned into a legitimate threat on the wing for Washington come playoff time. He's finally starting to approach the realistic expectations the Wizards had for him after drafting him third in 2013.
The late development actually isn't much of a shock. Porter played as a big man at Georgetown. Sometimes it takes a player, even a smart one, time to transition from the high post (where he used to operate inside G'Town's scrunched attack) to the wings. Just look how long it took DeMarre Carroll to make that transition and become a legitimate three-and-D threat.
Porter is only 21 years old, and he made 38 percent of his threes in the postseason while playing 33.1 minutes a night and closing out games. If he makes a major leap next year, no one should be surprised.
Acquire a Backup Point Guard
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Washington has played musical chairs with its backup 1s over the past couple of years. Nothing seems to stick.
The Eric Maynor experience two years ago was horrifying when he shot 29 percent from the field. Andre Miller had to save the day by the end of the season.
The Wizards started this year with Miller and moved on to Ramon Sessions, who actually did a decent job after mightily struggling with the Sacramento Kings earlier in the season.
Sessions is still under contract for 2015-16 (owed $2.1 million), but he's not a shooter and struggles finishing around the rim. This isn't necessarily the Ramon Sessions of three years ago.
He's not the answer, but he is certainly tradable. That's a reasonable contract. If Washington could deal him for one of these other needs (like a shooter to come off the bench), it could use the biannual exception to sign a capable backup 1 such as Beno Udrih, C.J. Watson or even Sergio Rodriguez (now playing for Real Madrid) if we're going to get creative.
Man, I bet the Wizards wish they hadn't sold last year's second-rounder to the Los Angeles Lakers. L.A. seems pretty darn happy with first-team All-Rookie selection Jordan Clarkson.
A Young Big Man
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Nene and Gortat aren't going to be around forever. Heck, they might not even be around for all of next year.
Gortat is someone who's a quality player but still sits during many fourth quarters. Because of that, he's not as essential to this team as his national reputation may lead you to believe.
Nene, meanwhile, is oft-injured and fell off a cliff during Washington's second-round series against Atlanta. He's certainly a contributor, a wonderfully fundamental defender who can shoot, set screens and pass, but he has his fair set of flaws: rebounding, inconsistency and injuries.
Bring in some young fire who can learn to play with Wall while readying to take over for one of those two guys, and Washington can help its present while also thinking about its future.
Maybe this is where the Wizards steer with their first-round pick.
Bobby Portis out of Arkansas, if he's still around at No. 19, could actually be a perfect fit with Wall. He's got long arms (7'1 ½" wingspan) and could thrive in transition. His athleticism would really show while running next to one of the fastest NBA point guards in the open court.
Follow Fred Katz on Twitter at @FredKatz.
All quotes obtained firsthand. Unless otherwise noted or linked, all statistics are current as of May 21 and are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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