2012-2013 Finish:  25-57

Season Highlight: Getting Trey Burke in the draft.  For a team that wanted to shed their losing ways, drafting the floor general from a storied program like Michigan will help to fix the Wizard’s losing woes.  He’s going to learn behind Andre Miller this year and hopefully step into the starting role by the start of the 2014 season.

 

Season Lowlight: The 12-game losing streak to put the exclamation on a horrific season.  Everything that could go wrong, did, for the Wiz last year.  Players missed time due to injuries and their star rookie couldn’t get out of the D-League most of the season.  However, it looks like there is a light at the end of the tunnel, as GM Darko has sworn off tanking and swears to put forth a competitive team every night moving forward.

 

Best Trade: The LA Lakers send Kevin Garnett and Jason Richardson to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Carlos Boozer and Steve Novak to the LA Lakers. The Washington Wizards send a 1st-Rounder (Tor) to the LA Lakers.

 

KG is a way better player than Boozer.  Novak is a defensive liability and only good for hitting the 3.  Yes, J-Rich is likely out for the season, maybe his career, but you still get KG, who is an ELITE PF in the NLL.  This trade exemplifies Washington’s promise to be more competitive.

 

Worst Trade: The Philadelphia 76ers send Luke Ridnour to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Robin Lopez to the Philadelphia 76ers.

 

If Ridnour didn’t irk Darko so much, this wouldn’t be a bad trade.  However, Ridnour is constantly clashing with management and his window in Washington is closing fast.  On the flip side, Lopez has steadily improved and could possibly become a starter in Philly.

 

Other Notable Trades: The Miami Heat send Andre Miller to the Washington Wizards.
The Washington Wizards send a 1st-Rounder (Pho) to the Miami Heat.

 

The Indiana Pacers send Gerald Wallace to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Jose Barea and Trevor Booker to the Indiana Pacers. The Washington Wizards send a 1st-Rounder (NJ) to the Indiana Pacers. The Indiana Pacers trade -6 GM points.The Washington Wizards receive 6 GM points.

 

The Phoenix Suns send Chauncey Billups to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Gerald Green to the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send a 1st-Rounder (Pho) to the Washington Wizards. The Phoenix Suns trade -6 GM points.The Washington Wizards receive 6 GM points.

 

Common theme?  The Wizards are getting experienced, veteran players that can contribute immediately.  Darko seems to have tired of waiting for talent to blossom, instead looking to get a mixture of savvy vets along with young potential, to see if his Wizards can finally return to the playoffs after a few seasons hiatus.

 

Best FA Signing: Steve Novak.  The 3 point specialist was later included in the trade that brought KG to Washington.  Also, Novak averaged almost 8 PPG and shot 40% from 3.

 

Worst FA Signing: Darius Johnson-Odom.  Signed with Washington and was let go the next day.  Darius didn’t even get to try his new jersey on.

 

Star: Carlos Boozer – Boozer was the steady rock that Washington relied on for scoring.  However, he was quickly traded when KG was dangled in a trade offer.  KG will easily replace Boozer, but Carlos was great for the Wiz while he was there.

 

Surprise: Jeremy Lamb – When he got on the court, he gave glimpses of what Washington’s future could be with him as the starting SG.  Lamb had a season high 58 points vs Detroit and was the POG in 7 of the 28 games he played.

 

Goat: MKG – In Washington, he only averaged 4 PPG, but apparently it was only a rouse to get Darko to trade him.  Once he joined the Nuggets, his true talents started to show.  Was this just residual effects of the previous years of tanking?  Whatever the case, the former 1^st round pick lasted only 34 games for the Wiz.

 

Draft Report Card: A. Trey Burke won multiple awards in college and took his team to the NCAA Final Four Finals.  Burke is a proven leader and scorer, whose talents should translate well at the next level.  He had a bumpy Summer League, but should develop nicely into the Wizards PG of the future.

 

Looking to the Future: The future looks bright for the Wizards this upcoming season.  They have great young talent in Mullins, Lamb, Sullinger and Hayward.  They got arguably one of the best players in the draft in Trey Burke.  They also have one of the best PF in the game and 2 defensive specialists in G-Wall and McGee.  Washington will push for that 8^th playoff spot this year if they can get everyone on the same page.  However, they just don’t have enough talent to make a run deep into the playoffs with the level of competition in the East.  Expect Darko to make a trade or two that will further solidify their future by the trade deadline, especially if it looks like they won’t make the playoffs. 

 

Upcoming Free Agents:

           

Byron Mullins:  Mullins played very well for the Wiz last season, amassing over 11 PPG and almost 6 RPG.  GM Darko put a QO on him, and since he’s not going to break the bank with his salary, expectations are 95% that he starts the season for Washington backing up KG.

 

Eric Maynor: Maynor played well for Washington last year after he was acquired.  With Ridnour’s future in doubt, along with the uncertainty surrounding Billups, Darko put a QO on Maynor.  He is definitely worth keeping as a backup/prospect for now.

 

Chauncey Billups:  Darko has a love-hate relationship with Free Agency.  If he spends 50 GM, he could have about a 75% chance that Billups comes back.  Billups brings experience and scoring prowess to a back court that is iffy.  Lamb may or may not start season in the D-League, Miller is not expected to score much.  Ridnour has been in Darko’s doghouse since last season.  Billups is also better than a majority of the combo guards available in FA.

           

Julian Stone: If the Wiz bring him back, it would be to fill out the roster only.