Washington Wizards: 3 candidates for a breakout season in 2018-19

1. Tomas Satoransky

Washington Wizards combo guard Tomas Satoransky was stellar when given the opportunity in 2017-18. His production was a thing of beauty up until John Wall’s return to the floor. In 2018-19, look for him to emerge as a breakout candidate as well as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

Head coach Scott Brooks didn’t give Satoransky much of a shot during the 2018 NBA Playoffs. That should change after the Wizards urged Satoransky to play this summer with the Czech Republic national team.

In their most recent game, he posted a double-double (14 points, 10 assists) in a victory over the Italian national team, 87-80. Satoransky has a pair of World Cup qualifiers coming up against Russia and Bosnia in the upcoming days.

The extra work should keep his legs fresh for a prime season with the Washington Wizards. Satoransky put up 10.4 points, 5.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest when he was given the starting nod in 2017-18. That’s not to say he should start over John Wall obviously, but he’s certainly a guy who should be given roughly 20-25 minutes per game. With Austin Rivers in the backcourt now, it gives Wall and Beal to reliable backups that can hold things together.

In the past, their bench has left something to be desired. Now, it has an experienced Satoransky with a veteran bench ready to show off what they can do. On paper, this looks like a solid Wizards rotation, they just need to execute now.