2019-20 Washington Wizards

2018-19: 32-50
Draft picks: 9

Signed for next season ($109.1m): John Wall, Bradley Beal, Jabari Parker (team option), Ian Mahinmi, Dwight Howard, Troy Brown
How does that all that cost $109m?
Wall is the most untradeable contract in the League right now, so if he's healthy then Wall will definitely be playing for no one but the Wizards next season.
Beal is a popular trade chip but I think they'd be pretty crazy to let him go unless they got a bomb return.
They could let go of Parker but they'd still need to replace him so I figure he'll play. (If they waive, does he join the Duke party in New Orleans?)
The time has finally arrived to stretch and discard Mahinmi (could they trade him for, say, Ryan Anderson for a waiving?).
Do they actually have Dwight Howard?
I don't know Brown, he needs to play though.


This summer's free agents: Trevor Ariza, Tomas Satoransky, San Dekker, Bobby Portis, Jeff Green, Thomas Bryant, Chasson Randle
Ariza could still command more money than the Wizards have to pay him, I see no way he returns to the Wizards.
They should probably bring back Portis and Satoransky--I'd re-sign Dekker, too, but I suspect they will not.
Does Jeff Green have another year of gettin' dem checks in him?
Bryant and Randle are probably young and cheap enough to be brought back.


Draft: I'm guessing Bruno Fernando (Maryland) is on their radar. Whoever they get here, they'll need him to play rotation minutes right away. Is Sekou Doumbouya (France) ready to play now? I can't see the Wizards spending a top ten pick on a guy that doesn't hit their roster right away.

Next year's lineup:
PG Wall, SG Beal, SF Parker....kinda ends there, doesn't it?
I dunno, man, I don't see how they even put a team together for next season! If they could figure out how to trade Mahinmi for an expiring contract, Beal for multiple draft picks, Wall for 10 players, and Dwight Howard for someone that isn't Dwight Howard, they'd be in business. Man, they've got so many moves to make that I just can't go any further. Yeah, I don't see how any of this works.

2018-19 Washington Wizards

2017-18: 43-39 (8th in the East, lost in the 1st rd)
Draft picks: 15,44
Signed for next season ($124.7m): Otto Porter, Bradley Beal, John Wall, Ian Mahinmi, Marcin Gortat, Markieff Morris, Jason Smith, Jodie Meeks, Kelly Oubre, Tomas Satoransky

This summer's free agents: Tim Frazier, Mike Scott, Chris McCullough, Ramon Sessions, Ty Lawson, Devin Robinson
I was pretty impressed with Mike Scott in the post-season, not sure if that's enough to re-sign him. I kinda like Frazier as a backup PG but with Wall and Satoransky taking so much of the playing time, the Wizards will likely look to spend less on a 3rd string PG. Lawson, too, will probably be playing somewhere else next year (somewhere like China). McCullough just never caught on, I don't expect he'll be back in the league again. Robinson is on a 2-way contract.

The draft will likely yield some depth at the Guard spot for the Wizards. #15 looks like either Lonnie Walker (Miami) or Khyri Thomas (Creighton) but maybe Miles Bridges (Michigan St) or Kevin Knox (Kentucky) falls to there. The 2nd rounder could bring in Mo Wagner (Michigan) if they're looking for some size but otherwise guards seem to be the best bet there, too: Devonte Graham (Kansas), Keenan Evans (Texas Tech), Bruce Brown (Miami) seem to be in the mix. The Wizards are just looking for bench players in the draft, just looking to thicken the rotation.

Smith ($5.4m) and Meeks ($3.4m) each have player options but I don't expect either of them to leave. So next year's squad will probably be: PG Wall, SG Beal, SF Porter, PF Morris, C Gortat with Satoransky, Oubre, Smith, #15 and Mahinmi off the bench. Oh man, if they could move on from Mahinmi that would be ideal but I don't see that happening. So they have no cap space, no room to make moves, frankly I don't even see how they fill out the roster. So next year's team should look a lot like this year's team.