The Washington Wizards had a great season last year, in part because some players stepped up in a big way. Which players are poised to step up this year, and which are poised to take a step down?
The current Washington Wizards don’t have a huge amount of cap space to work with this summer. They’ll be able to try and shore up some smaller roles on their team, but won’t be able to drastically change their roster from last year.
That means, if the team is looking to improve and compete in he Eastern Conference, they’re going to have to improve from within. Unfortunately, this may become a harder task than it was last year.
The Wizards have some young promising talent in Otto Porter Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr. and Bradley Beal, but they also have some older pieces like Marcin Gortat, Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith. While some players are poised to improve, others may be poised to regress.
Last year, Otto Porter Jr. was the prime example of a player improving. He increased in every single major statistical category, bringing the Wizards from 10th in the East the previous year to fourth. Was his fantastic season a fluke, or did he take a jump as a player?
This article is dedicated to trying to answer that question, and identifying some players on the roster that might have a similar jump.