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Washington Wizards: Offseason News And Notes

By Joe Atmonavage

May 15, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) reacts standing with teammates on the bench against the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Pacers won 93-80, and won the series 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 15, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) reacts standing with teammates on the bench against the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Pacers won 93-80, and won the series 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Some brief news and notes as the offseason is beginning to heat up for the Washington Wizards.

  • For the first time since 2009, the Washington Wizards didn’t have a first-round pick. They had the No. 46 overall and pick and traded it to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash considerations. The Washington Post reported the Wizards will receive around $2 million from the trade. That money will certainly be put towards helping the Wizards sign Trevor Ariza, Marcin Gortat, and six other Wizards in the free agency period. I would have liked to see the Wizards takie someone with their pick because one, I thought the second round had a lot of solid talent and two, the Wizards need young assets. Re-signing the players on the current roster is not making the roster any more youthful.
  • Free agency begins July 1 and the Wizards are almost certainly going to backup the money truck for veterans Gortat and Ariza. Gortat is going to make anywhere from $10 million-$14 million next year while I think Ariza will be looking for around $8 million-$9 million. That’s a big chunk of money for two guys who are past their primes and not all-star type players. We will see how this affects the Wizards long term.
  • Bradley Beal can drink beer now. The up and coming shooting guard turned 21 earlier this week. Beal is still super young and I am one of his harshest critics, but when you take a step back and realize just how young this guy is, you can see why people absolutely love his potential. Hopefully he is working on his playmaking ability and mid-range shot this offseason. Year three is a big year for developing stars. He has a chance to be an all-star next year.
  • It appears the Wizards will not be offering fourth year, high energy guy Trevor Booker a qualifying offer. This means Booker is now an unrestricted free agent and is free to test the free agent waters. This appears to be a move to give the Wizards more flexibility with the salary cap this offseason. This isn’t all that surprising considering what the Wizards are faced with this offseason, but when the Wizards pick up Kevin Seraphin‘s $3.9 million qualifying offer, it becomes a surprise and pretty ridiculous. Seraphin was basically useless for the Wizards last year. Booker, on the other started 45 games and impacted the games with his hustle and grit. Booker played nearly 1000 more minutes than Seraphin. Not totally sure about this one.
  • It appears 37-year-old backup point guard Andre Miller will be back with the Wizards. The Wizards traded for him in the middle of the season and Miller stepped in and was solid. He was certainly an improvement from Garrett Temple and Eric Maynor. The style in which Miller plays has allowed him to extend his career and I think he can still be effective this season as a backup. I would have liked to seen the Wizards look for a backup point guard with the number 46 pick, but Miller will do for the next year.
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