2007-2008
Finish: 51-31

What went well
The Washington Wizards like to live large. They are a team to be reckoned with, clinching their division 4 years straight. Using a combo of intelligent trading and bullying, the Wizards work hard to get a hold of only the best players. Some industry people and fans think of the Wizards as the Yankees of the league. No one likes to face them and GM Darko is notorious for his outspoken tendencies during GM summits. This is a franchise committed to winning, no holds barred.

But it’s been a few years since the team has made it to the Conference Finals, getting knocked out early in the playoffs. Could the “me first” attitude be what’s killing the Wiz?
The new season began with the team ready to shred some opponents. The first round dusting by the lower-seeded Bucks still stung and the Wizards weren’t going to go out quietly. They kicked off the season by making some fine-tuning moves: They traded away Shannon Brown for change and took on Mark Blount’s big deal, already bloating their salary. Time to play some ball.

As expected, the Wizards played killer basketball. But that wasn’t enough. They wanted to completely dominate. They took on veteran Bobby Jackson for Etan Thomas’ expiring deal. PFFT went the bottom line. Then they sent Joe Smith, Brent Barry and Troy Murphy to the Sonics for Shaquille O’Neal. Was the Daddy the missing link? Nope. Within days he was traded to Chicago for Shawn Marion and Dan Gadzuric. Wow! What a lineup: Pau Gasol, Marion, Caron Butler, Joe Johnson and Chauncey Billups. Time for these All-Stars to kick some butt.

What went worse
Nope! In fact, there was never a moment during the regular season where all five played together. That would come in the 2nd round of the playoffs. With a resurgent Sixers team on the floor, all five Wizards starters finally arrived to play. SQUASH! 4-0 sweep. GM Darko still hasn’t figured out the formula.

The Stars

Joe Johnson, GF -
Johnson continues to prove that his big salary is worth it. He completed his highest-scoring season yet with 26.8ppg. There are rumors the Wizards may be looking to get rid of him, but he is the true star of the team.