Washington Wizards
Team Outlook-
Washington is coming off of a playoff season in 2016, but it has to feel a bit disappointing after falling short of a deep run once again last year. The even bigger disappointment for Washington was the lack of landing a big free agent (such as Kevin Durant, who is from the area). The two biggest offseason moves were extending SG Bradley Beal to a max contract ($128M over five years) and changing their head coach. Scott Brooks (formerly from Oklahoma) comes in to replace Randy Wittman. Brooks has developed players as pros in the past, which could mean bigger and better things for lesser-known Wizards like Otto Porter or Kelly Oubre.
Projected Starting Lineup
Point Guard - John Wall -
Wall is going to be the main man in D.C. once again this season, and for good reason. The All-Star point guard led the team in scoring, assists and steals again last season – and playing time. Wall played in 77 of 82 contests, which put some wear and tear on his 27-year old frame. Wall is currently recovering from double knee surgery in May, but he should be ready for the season opener. Wall is in that higher end of the second tier of fantasy point guards, or the lower end of the elite ones, depending on your perspective. Wall will be the fixture at the top of the offense for Washington again this year as he pushes for another playoff run and to get a 20-point, 10-assist average season that he barely missed by less than a point in 2015-2016.
Shooting Guard - Bradley Beal -
Beal landed a big contract in the off-season, so the questions will swirl around him as to whether he was truly worth that big deal. The positive outlook on Beal is that he averaged over 17 points a game last year, second most for the Wizards, along with over 31 minutes a game. The glass half empty outlook points to Beal missing 27 games last year, nearly a third of the regular season, but in DFS all that matters is Beal’s production when in the lineup. Game flow for Washington will be paramount to study in the early part of the year as both Beal and Wall will want touches this year, so we have to see how the one ball gets shared between these two top end guards.
Small Forward - Otto Porter -
Otto Porter’s contributions to the Wizards do not always show up on the stat sheet. Porter is a strong wing defender with the potential to get hot from three-point range (37% last season), and he can contribute boards when a smaller lineup is put in play. Porter showed a lot of growth last season, his third in the NBA, playing over 30 minutes per game in 73 starts (twice he came off the bench). Porter has room to grow with his 11.6 scoring average on fewer than 10 shots a contest.
Power Forward - Markieff Morris -
Washington acquired Markieff Morris from Phoenix at the trade deadline last season, which immediately helped the team with a second big rebounder to play alongside C Marcin Gortat. After adjusting to his new team, Morris started 21 games and averaged over 11 points and over five rebounds for the Wizards during their playoff push. Both of those averages have room to go up, and Morris has done that in the past. His career best season was just two years ago with Phoenix, where he averaged 15 and six, respectively.
Center – Marcin Gortat -
Gortat is one of those overlooked centers in the NBA. He is very workmanlike, just getting the job done down low for Washington. He started 74 of 75 appearances last year, averaging over 13 points a game along with almost 10 rebounds a contest. Gortat is often one of the beneficiaries of John Wall’s strong passing and assists, getting easy baskets after Wall drives the lane and dishes the ball to an open Gortat for an easy two. Gortat may lose some of his rebounding numbers with a better power forward next to him in Morris, but Gortat will have big fantasy games when the Wizards face teams that struggle with big men.
Key Bench Players
Kelly Oubre -
The depth chart behind the starters lacks many veteran options for Washington, especially ones that have experience in D.C. Kelly Oubre has upside, especially if new head coach Scott Brooks helps him to develop as a pro.
Key Offseason Acquisitions
Trey Burke – Burke was brought to D.C. in a trade with the Utah Jazz. All of the viable backup guards are gone from last year, leaving Burke with the understudy role for John Wall. Washington hopes that Burke will only lead the second unit and not have to fill in for John Wall or Bradley Beal with any regularity. Burke has history as a part-time starter with the Jazz in the two seasons prior to last, but he was demoted to second string in Utah last season.
Ian Mahinmi – Mahinmi had a good run with the Indiana Pacers last year, but he found playing time scarce with the Pacers. Mahinmi was effective as both a rebounder and scorer inside when called upon last year, and he will be the main big man behind both PF Markieff Morris and C Marcin Gortat this season.
Andrew Nicholson -
Nicholson, brought in as a free agent from Orlando, will be given the opportunity to be the sixth man for the Wizards this season. Nicholson averaged nearly seven points and 3.6 rebounds in just under 15 minutes with the Magic last season, including a career-best 36% from three-point range. Washington does not have a very deep rotation, but if Bradley Beal or John Wall misses any time, Nicholson will have a major impact for the team.
Key Offseason Departures
Ramon Sessions – Sessions was the main backup to John Wall last year, averaging almost 10 points and 20 minutes last season, and he ran the second unit when Wall or Beal were inactive. Sessions signed a new deal with Charlotte this past offseason, his former team back in 2012-2014.
Nene Horario – Nene was another big man bench player for the Wizards last year, but he moved on from Washington and signed a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets.
Jared Dudley – Dudley left Washington as a free agent with Phoenix, signing a three-year deal with the Suns as the likely starting power forward.
Garrett Temple – Temple moved on from the bench in Washington to find a possible better opportunity with the Sacramento Kings. Temple was a role player off the bench last year, used mostly when Bradley Neal was injured.