Ted Leonsis Says Wizards Have Deepest Roster Ever, Shouldn't Be 'Overlooked'
Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis isn't afraid to go out on a limb for his team ahead of the 2018-19 season.
"If you look at this roster for the Wizards, I think it's as deep or the deepest team that we’ve ever had," Leonsis said, per the Washington Post's Candace Buckner. "I think that the East will be very competitive, but I don't think we should be overlooked. I think we're going to have a really good team this year."
If Leonsis is speaking historically, calling the 2018-19 Wizards the deepest in franchise history would be a stretch.
The 1978 Washington Bullets squad that won an NBA title included a pair of Hall of Famers, Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, as well as Bob Dandridge and Phil Chenier, both of whom were multiple-time All-Stars as players.
Having said that, this is arguably the best Wizards roster since Leonsis became the sole owner in April 2010, and Washington could easily challenge for a top-four seed, especially with LeBron James in Los Angeles.
Austin Rivers has long since shed the label of simply being Doc Rivers' son and averaged 15.1 points and 4.0 assists last season. For all of his faults, Dwight Howard remains a double-double machine, with his 53 double-doubles the fourth-most in the NBA in 2017-18. Even Jeff Green can be a solid forward off the bench as long as he isn't expected to play big minutes late in games or in the postseason.
On paper, the Wizards have surrounded John Wall and Bradley Beal with a solid supporting cast despite having limited financial flexibility this offseason.
There's a lot that can go wrong for Washington, though. The chemistry between Wall and Beal remained a talking point last year, and in Howard, the Wizards signed a player who was essentially run out of his last two stops.
No team in the East may have a bigger variance in terms of its best and worst-case scenario.
Washington could challenge the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors for conference supremacy if Wall and Beal are clicking. Just as likely, the Wizards could labor through another difficult regular season before a quick playoff exit.
