Washington Wizards: Grading their offseason moves

Washington Wizards free agency move No. 1: Re-signing Raul Neto

With all of the movement at the point guard position, it was crucial for the Wizards to re-sign their better backup point guard from last season. The Wizards lost Russell Westbrook via trade but replaced him with the more traditional point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. There will be more on these moves later.

The Wizards had to choose between Ish Smith and Raul Neto as both of these players played crucial roles on the squad last season. Neto is slightly better than Smith defensively but in other seasons Smith’s offensive prowess would have seen him as the preferred option.

However, Neto seemed to fit the Wizards system better last season, averaging 8.7 points per game compared to Smiths 6.7 per game. Smith did average 3.9 assists per game compared to Neto’s 2.3 per game. It appears that the decision came down to age and health reasons. Neto is going to be 29 this season, compared to Smith turning 33.

Smith only played 44 games last season compared to Neto playing 64 games. Neto started 22 of them due to his ability to space the floor. He went 39.0 percent from beyond the arc last season which helped the Wizards space the floor. He is not going to move the needle much but will take on whatever role the new head coach, Wes Unseld Jr. asks of him.

Grade: B-