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Washington Wizards’ Season Takeaways

By Colby Giacubeno

Apr 26, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; (L-R) Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce, forward Drew Gooden, guard John Wall, and center Marcin Gortat celebrate on the bench in the final seconds of the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 125-94, and won the series 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 26, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; (L-R) Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce, forward Drew Gooden, guard John Wall, and center Marcin Gortat celebrate on the bench in the final seconds of the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 125-94, and won the series 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Another season has come to an end for the Washington Wizards. As they lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, it is hard to feel anything but disappointment. Expectations for the Wizards this season were the highest they have been in years, possibly the highest in the franchise’s history.

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Even though this season was a mirror of last season’s results by losing in the conference semifinals, there is continuing optimism for this young team to make a run at an NBA title next season. Here are five things that can be taken from this past season:

1. John Wall and Bradley Beal continue to improve

An immediate takeaway from this past season is the continued improvement from the backcourt tandem of John Wall and Bradley Beal. Wall was voted as an All-Star for a second straight season as he averaged 17.6 points, 10.0 assists, and 4.6 rebounds. Since the days of Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards had been missing a point guard who can also be a leader for the team to count on.

Wall took those responsibilities and ran with them.

Beal is coming into his own. Though he struggled throughout the season with injuries, when Beal is healthy he is considered as one of the best shooting guards in the NBA. While Wall was out with injury in the playoffs, the Wizards relied heavily on Beal’s production. During the playoffs, Beal averaged 23.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.

Both Wall and Beal showed the league all season that they will be a dangerous tandem in the NBA for years to come.

2. Paul Pierce‘s impact

Acquiring Paul Pierce was just the move the Wizards needed to make in the offseason. The 17-year veteran brought more to then his ability to be one of the most clutch players to ever play, he brought a confidence and swagger to a young team that was needing it.

Even though the Wizards made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals in the 2013-14 season, they were still an extremely young team with limited playoff experience. Pierce brought the experience and confidence and shared it with all the young players, more specifically, Otto Porter Jr.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY /

After being selected third overall in the 2013 draft, Porter Jr. hasn’t exactly lived up to what a top-five pick should. Pierce took him under his wing and instilled more confidence in the young Georgetown product. This was evident in the playoffs when Porter Jr. burst onto the scene becoming a huge reason why the Wizards advanced as far as they did. His stats speak for themselves.

In the regular season, Porter averaged just 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds compared to the playoffs, where he averaged 10.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. Pierce did much more for the Wizards this season then just hit a number of clutch shots, one including a bank game-winner where he “called game,” he also put Porter Jr. on the map, which will help Washington for years to come.

3. Addressing the Power Forward position in the draft is a must

The Wizards must take advantage of this year’s draft. The most ideal position to address is power forward. There are power forwards in the draft that have the ability to play as a stretch big man that the Wizards have struggled massively with. Nene has only one year left on his contract and he has proven to be injury prone. Addressing this position will be imperative.

As seen in the playoffs, Amir Johnson of the Toronto Raptors and Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks all had very productive series against the Wizards. With the 19th pick in the draft, the Wizards should be able to grab a solid prospect.

Names that have been mentioned to be drafted by the Wizards include Bobby Portis of Arkansas, Kevon Looney of UCLA, and Trey Lyles of Kentucky.

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Washington Wizards: When does NBA Training Camp start? /

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    • All of these players can play inside and out, which is exactly what the Wizards need. If they can draft one of these players, they will be filling a hole that will help them matchup better than this past season.

    4. There’s a huge need for more 3-point shooters

    Besides Bradley Beal and in some cases Paul Pierce, the Wizards are no threat from long distance. Statistics also show that, since the Wizards ranked 26th out of the 30 NBA teams in 3-point makes a game with 6.4. In a league that depends greatly on 3-point shooting, the Wizards won’t be able to take the next step until they address this issue.

    They could either use the draft to get a shooter, or sign a free agent in the offseason, but if the Wizards want to take the next step and be a contender, this problem must be fixed.

    Some upcoming unrestricted free agents that should be on the Wizards radar include Gary Neal, Marco Belinelli, and Danny Green, all of whom can fill it up from 3-point range and would be a great backup to Beal.

    Jan 21, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) hugs Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) after their game at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
    Jan 21, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) hugs Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) after their game at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

    5. Success will help convince Kevin Durant to come back home

    Since LeBron James returned back to his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, there have been rumors that other superstars in the NBA may do the same. One player being mentioned within those rumors is Kevin Durant, who is from the DMV area. The Oklahoma City Thunder recently fired their head coach, Scott Brooks, and hired former Florida head coach Billy Donovan.

    If the Thunder miss the playoffs again and Durant isn’t in favor of where the organization is heading, he may look to take his talents to other teams, including back home to Washington. 

    The Wizards started making progress towards landing KD last offseason after they hired his former high school coach, David Adkins, as a player development assistant. With a young and very talented team, if the Wizards can make another playoff run next season, it may just be enough to convince KD to come back home and make them immediate favorites to win an NBA championship.

    Although is was disappointing to see the Wizards lose again in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, there is still much promise for a bright future. Compared to where Wizards’ fans have been in the past, being able to contend for a conference title each year is a big jump from where expectations used to be.

    If there is one huge takeaway from this season, it is that the Washington Wizards will continue to improve until they are champions.

    Next: NBA Awards Watch: Final MVP Pick For 2014-15

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