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Overview
The Washington Wizards enter 2022-23 similarly to the way the team entered last season, with mixed reviews and expectations.
Head Coach Wes Unseld enters his second year at the helm with a monumental task ahead of him. The Eastern Conference is as loaded as it’s been in recent memory. A lot will have to fall The Wizards’ way to lead to a turnaround this season.
The good news? There’s a team that surprises everyone seemingly every year. Why can’t that be Washington?
Last Season
Last season, Washington finished in 12th place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference with a record of 35-47.
The Wizards were off to a flying start in 2021-22, winning 10 of its first 14 games and didn’t fall below .500 until January 7, 39 games into the season.
Photo: newsakmi.com
The wheels fully came off in January when leading scorer, Bradley Beal, suffered a wrist injury that required surgery and sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
The slog to the finish line continued, as Washington suffered multiple six game losing streaks on its way to a 12th place finish. Following the hot 10-4 start, The Wizards finished the year 25-43.
2022-23 Washington Wizards Roster
Who’s Out
Kentavious Caldwell Pope - Traded
Spencer Dinwiddie - Traded to Dallas in Porzingis deal
Montrez Harrell - Traded
Ish Smith - Traded
Raul Neto - Signed with Cleveland as a free agent in July
Thomas Bryant - Signed with Los Angeles Lakers in July
Aaron Holliday - Signed with Atlanta in July
The Wizards were busy this Summer, following a February trade deadline that saw the team part ways with Spencer Dinwiddie to pave the way for the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis.
Dinwiddie was fourth on the team in points-per-game (PPG), and won’t be easily replaced, as the final third of last season clearly shows. There are quite a few new arrivals with a point to prove for the upcoming season.
Who’s In
Kristaps Porzingis - Traded to Washington in February from Dallas
Will Barton - Traded for on July 6
Monte Morris - Traded for on July 6
Vernon Carey Jr. - Traded to Washington on February 10
Johnny Davis - Rookie from Wisconsin (Drafted with 10th overall pick)
Taj Gibson - Signed with Washington on July 19
Delon Wright - Signed a two-year $16 million contract on July 6
Washington made some great moves between the trade deadline and the Summer free agent market.
Porzingis arrived in February and will need to stay healthy to reach his full potential. He is a more modern big and a great shooter, which should help spread the floor offensively.
Photo: Associated Press/Nick Wass
First round draft pick Johnny Davis scored nearly 20 PPG in his sophomore season at Wisconsin and was named Big 10 Player of the Year before departing to the NBA.
Taj Gibson is 37-years old and is playing for his fifth NBA team. The 14-year veterans best days are behind him, but he brings a veteran presence to the locker room and can be serviceable off the bench.
Maybe the biggest addition for Washington will end up being point guard Monte Morris. Last season with Denver, Morris scored 12.6 PPG and added just over 4 assists per game. Pairing him with Beal in the Wizards backcourt could prove to be one of the more underrated guard duo’s in the Eastern Conference.
Who’s Back
Bradley Beal
Kyle Kuzma
Deni Avdija
Corey Kispert
Rui Hachimura
Daniel Gafford
Anthony Gill
Isaiah Todd
The main question coming into this season is can The Wizards stay healthy? Bradley Beal had season-ending wrist surgery in January while Rui Hachimura only appeared in 42 games, dealing with injuries throughout the year.
In the 40 games that Beal played, he averaged 23 PPG, his lowest since the 2017-18 season. The 29-year old hasn’t played a full season for three years and just signed a 5-year $251 million contract to stay in Washington.
This is Beal’s team…the only question is will he be out there to lead it?
Projected Starters
PG: Monte Morris
SG: Bradley Beal
SF: Will Barton
PF: Kyle Kuzma
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Final Thoughts
As I lead with at the top of the article, there’s seemingly a team every year in the NBA that surprises everyone. Just look at the Hawks two seasons ago or last year’s Timberwolves.
The Wizards front office isn’t planning on a losing season, as shown by the offseason moves made. I think most Washintonian’s wouldn’t have been surprised to see Beal finally walk away from the franchise to join a contender, but that didn’t happen.
As long as Beal is a Wizard, he is the guy and the team can win, they just simply haven’t.
If Beal and the rest of the team can stay healthy consistently, there is no reason they can’t end up in the postseason. The dream is to avoid the play-in games as a top six seed, but I think The Wizards fall just short of that, but still in a playoff spot.
Prediction: 42-40 record, 9 seed in the East
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