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Predicting the 2022-23 Washington Wizards starting lineup

By Christopher Jeter

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards reacts to a play against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at Capital One Arena on January 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards reacts to a play against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at Capital One Arena on January 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and guard Bradley Beal (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports) /

The 2021-22 season started out well for the Washington Wizards. Coming off of a 34-38 season and a prompt first-round exit in the postseason, expectations for this team were pretty modest. Their situation began trending up through a 10-3 start that was powered by a surprisingly stingy defense (fourth-best defense rating during that time).

Then… well, if you’ve followed the Wizards at any point over the last three decades or so, you can guess what happened next: whatever magic the team conjured up on defense quickly wore off, star guard Bradley Beal missed most of the season with a nagging wrist injury, and they missed the playoffs with a 35-47 record.

Washington Wizards deploy starting five based on interesting roster choices.

This offseason, Washington primarily focused on retaining Beal’s services and succeeded in bringing him back with a five-year, $251 million supermax contract.

With Beal and recent trade acquisition Kristaps Porzingis on the roster, the Wizards padded out the rest of the spots by drafting Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis with the 10th overall pick, trading Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to the Denver Nuggets for Monte Morris and Will Barton, and use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Delon Wright.

Fans shouldn’t expect too many changes to this year’s starting five. Whether that leads to more wins for the Wizards is another story.

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