Washington Wizards: Scott Brooks Inherits Talented Roster
After being fired from Oklahoma City Thunder last offseason, Scott Brooks takes over a talented Washington Wizards team in 2016.
Scott Brooks is a lucky man. After coaching Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first seven years of their career, Brooks accepted a five-year deal worth $35 million to coach the Washington Wizards. The Wizards acted quickly after the Houston Rockets were rumored to have an interest in Brooks for their head coaching position.
In short, I don’t think Brooks is an elite coach, but I don’t find him to be a terrible coach either. Somewhere in the middle, probably upgradable. While that’s only a slight upgrade, it’s an upgrade, nonetheless.
What Brooks has to figure out is how to get all the juice from a team that many expected to take a leap this past season. After coming two games away from an Eastern Conference Finals appearance last year, the Wizards seemed poised to make the jump to the top of the Eastern Conference’s stratosphere. Instead, they fell flat in their first year embracing “small-ball,” finishing 41-41.
There’s talent on this Wizards team, and that’s what made this past season all the more disappointing. John Wall is the beginning and the end of Washington’s chances to be successful. Wall averaged 19.9 points, 10.2 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game and shot 35 percent from three this past year. He’s one of the best playmakers in the league and he’s a large reason why I think Brooks’ offensive questions marks will be quelled; Wall is one of the league’s best orchestrators on offense.
Alongside Wall is arguably Washington’s biggest question mark, Bradley Beal. Beal is an electric player when he’s on the floor, capable of affecting the game on both ends.
The issue is that Beal has yet to play 82 games in a season and has dealt with a stress reaction in his lower leg for what feels like three years now. Even he has mentioned that he might have to get his minutes restricted moving forward. Entering restricted free agency, the Wizards will have to figure out what to do with the 22-year-old guard.
In a league that’s rapidly moving towards smaller lineups, the Wizards have two excellent wings to surround Wall and Beal. Otto Porter, slowly but surely, is figuring it out on the floor. Quietly, Porter averaged 11.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and knocked down 36 percent of his threes. He’s a slightly overrated defender but has the physical tools to make plays in the passing lanes, finishing with a steal percentage of 2.2 percent.
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The other wing is Kelly Oubre. Oubre didn’t play all that much as a rookie, but it’s tough to be down on a 6-foot-7 wing player with a 7-foot wingspan and the shooting stroke Oubre has. By all accounts, Oubre has good character and could be a special player once everything comes together.
The Wizards have four really good players in the backcourt and Marcin Gortat in the frontcourt. Despite the departure of players that fit Gortat’s phylum (bigs who don’t stretch the floor), the big man remains relevant as an excellent center who can finish in pick and roll and defend the rim. Washington also took the risk on Markieff Morris, which I remain on the fence about.
Morris is an excellent talent, but he’s eccentric and all in all, not a great character guy. The tools, however, are tantalizing. He’s not a great shooter, but he’s a good finisher at the rim, could hit a midrange shot and when focused, a good pick-and-roll defender. After getting out of Phoenix, I envision him playing better and he made well on that, finishing with averages of 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 27 games with Washington.
That’s where Brooks comes in. One thing he doesn’t receive any credit for is the evolution of players during his time in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant became an MVP and Russell Westbrook is a dominant force, I don’t think those two were largely affected. However, I do think Serge Ibaka becoming a better shooter and Reggie Jackson’s overall development and Andre Roberson’s transition from a power forward at Colorado to a wing player was assisted by Brooks.
Now, with guys like Oubre and Porter needing another step forward in their games and Morris reverting back to the man he was in his breakout season in Phoenix, Brooks comes in with a chance to help them improve and take that next step as NBA players. It’ll also offer the ability to rid himself of the stigma that he was not a good coach. Not a bad job, I’d say.
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I thought Washington would hire a better coach. Maybe someone like Ettore Messina from San Antonio. But now that Brooks is the head coach, his first job is to get this talented team turned around and playing to their talent level.