3 questions facing the Washington Wizards after the All-Star break

Is the center for next season already in-house?

Ahead of the offseason, the Washington Wizards have more than one position to address. But if they can resign Bertans in free agency, that ends half the battle right there.

Washington still needs to evaluate their big man rotation, which has been largely underwhelming in the first leg of this season. Aside from Ian Mahinmi, who as most know, is headed for free agency himself. And it’s hard to see the Wizards handing him another high-end deal.

That leaves Thomas Bryant, Anžejs Pasečņiks, and Wagner as the three big men on salary.

The first of that trio has struggled all year with injury, but has been impressive when he’s made it onto the floor. The Wizards just locked him into a three-year, $25-million deal last summer. And even on his limited availability, that’s a steal in every sense of the word. But is he a starting 5?

Wagner’s shown an ability to score, and quite the IQ on defense at times. Yet since returning from injury he hast yet to break through and return to his level of play from the beginning of the year.

Most likely, Wagner’s a great option to just continue rolling the dice on. Whether he can consistently put out starting center production has yet to be seen. But nonetheless, he’s another bargain bin big man as he’s still on his rookie contract.

It’s hard to know what to think of Pasečņiks, who’s already 24-years old and has yet to bulk up. But there’s just no chance Washington rolls into a season as important as next year with him holding down the frontcourt as a member of the starting five.

As you can see, there’s plenty of argument that the Wizards may have to go big man shopping in the summer. Whether that’s in free agency, the 2020 draft, or even via trade.

But it’s a problem that’s not going away anytime soon. And the rest of this season will have to serve as much eye test as they can have in regards to the names already in-house.