2011-2012 Finish: 17-49

Season Highlight

Washington had very few highlights, but one of them had to be Jordan Crawford. The man dominated the NLL, taking it by storm, earning Most Improved Player. Also, another highlight had to be Louis Williams, who won 6th man of the year. Overall, Darko made something out of nothing for these players.

Season Lowlight

Besides moving Daniel Orton in and out of the starting 5 to keep his loyalty an A and then eventually cutting him to complete the tank after he was one of the leading rebounders in NLL, it was a pretty disastrous year for the Wizards. I mean we all know it was planned to tank, but getting 17 wins out of 66 and finishing 2nd to last in your conference is never a good thing.

Best Trade
The Orlando Magic send Louis Williams and Andray Blatche to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Pau Gasol to the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic send a 1st-Rounder (Orl) to the Washington Wizards.

This trade was a head scratcher at first, but after Louis Williams’ 6th man of the year season and turning Andray Blatche, whose struggles are well documented, into Byron Mullens, you can say this deal was awesome for the Wiz kids. Darko flipped these players that he received to be Carlos Boozer, Byron Mullens, and Jared Sullinger, all for essentially Pau Gasol.


Worst Trade

The Dallas Mavericks send Carlos Boozer to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Louis Williams to the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks trade -10 GM points. The Washington Wizards receive 10 GM points.

Now, after Darko had dominated the draft and had everyone raving about how well he did, he surprised multiple people, and picked up Carlos Boozer, and his hefty 15 million dollar contract. Boozer is on the decline in the NBA. Why would Darko, who is rebuilding, want to pick up an older player with a salary filling contract? Plus, with that Javale McGee will resign for about 10 million, so that adds to the problem.


Other Notable Trades

Jeremy Lamb to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Jordan Crawford to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Portland Trail Blazers trade -5 GM points.The Washington Wizards receive 5 GM points.

This trade was an interesting deal as the Wizards got rid of their two stars of the previous year to gain something out of them. Portland gave up its #6 pick to pickup Crawford and gave up athlete Jeremy Lamb. We won’t know who had the better deal until later on into the ear.


The San Antonio Spurs send Byron Mullens and Jon Brockman to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Andray Blatche to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send a 2nd-Rounder (NO) and 2nd-Rounder (Orl) to the Washington Wizards.

This deal was great for the Wiz, as they got rid of the troublemaker in Andray Blatche, and picked up developing center Byron Mullens. They also picked up 2 picks along with that.


Best FA Signing

The Wizards signed no FAs of notice.

Worst FA Signing

Darko signed a crap ton of players for his roster but were all cut.


Star

Jordan Crawford- SG- Jordan’s year was off the charts and was one of the lone bright spots on this Wizards team. He had 6 40 point games, and 13 30 point games. Over one 5 game stretch he had point totals of 46, 36, 38, 37, and 33 points. WOW! What a season for this man!

Surprise

Louis Williams- SG- Sure both Crawford and Williams both deserve it, but Williams ends up getting the Surprise award. Averaging 20 points after having a quiet 13 point season the year prior, the 6th man dominated and with Crawford, had the probably the best backcourt in the NLL. He was very consistent, and when Crawford was struggling, Lou would pick it up.

Goat

Robin Lopez- C- Sure, the Wizards shed Jason Terry’s contract, but Robin Lopez was an absolute disappointment. A poor 5 points per game, and a poor 3 rebounds per game, add up to a failure. Plus, now he is a sign and trade player, and will not get as much value as he could’ve gotten. C’mon Robin!

Draft Report Card

This is where the Wizards have the upper hand on a lot of teams. With the pickups of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jared Sullinger and Jeremy Lamb, the Wizards by far had one of the best NLL drafts this past year. MKG is a dominant defensive player, who has shown promise as a hard worker, and can use that trait to develop his offensive skills. Sullinger is an undersized post, but has a very nice post game and will be very good once Boozer is on his worst decline. Jeremy Lamb is a freak… in a good way. Lamb is a high-flyer who can dominate the NLL, almost like a Gerald Green. Great pickups by the Wiz!.

Looking to the Future

With the rookies, and a pretty good starting 5, the Wizards look to contend in the East this year... even if the East is one of the best conferences in the NLL. Darko has also already announced his starting 5 unless injuries occur: Mario Chalmers, Lamb, MKG, Boozer, and Javale McGee. Seems like a very nice starting 5 to me, even if Javale McGee is a nut case. Now the Wiz need to fix up their role players and they’ll look to go into the playoffs. It might take another a year though.

Upcoming Free Agents

JaVale McGee (RFA)- McGee will 100% be back after Darko announced that he would be in his starting 5. Darko is willing to shell out 10 million for the young man, but will McGee show his worth?

Steve Novak (FA)- Novak will look to come back to the team that gave him a shot... and man did he perform. Averaging 12 points per game and being a three point specialist, Novak is a nice weapon to have off the bench.

Robin Lopez (RFA)- Lopez will be a Sign and Trade.

Shelden Williams and Hasheem Thabeet (FA)- They look as if they are not coming back, as they both look for new NLL teams.