After finishing last in the Eastern Conference last season, the Washington Wizards will need to show signs of improvement. Brian Keefe is presiding over a young and inexperienced group, as is to be expected in the early stages of a full-scale rebuild.
Nevertheless, the Wizards have enjoyed a strong offseason. Cam Whitmore was a sneaky-good addition to the roster, while CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk will join Khris Middleton as veteran leaders within the roster. The hope will clearly be that that veteran trio can help bring some balance to the roster.
Still, even with all of the reasons to be optimistic and the new additions, the Wizards enter the new season with a point to prove. And with that in mind, here are three questions Washington must answer throughout the upcoming season.
Will the Wizards be justified in moving Jordan Poole?
Poole’s tenure with the Wizards didn’t go as planned. He was supposed to become the cornerstone of the franchise’s rebuild. After impressing in a tertiary role with the Golden State Warriors, the hope was that with a bigger role, he could develop into one of the best offensive guards in the NBA. Two inconsistent seasons proved that logic to be flawed.
Therefore, the Wizards’ decision to send Poole to the New Orleans Pelicans in return for McCollum, Whitmore and Olynyk was seen as smart business. However, if Poole suddenly finds his footing as a lead guard, questions may be asked of the Wizard’s lack of patience.
McCollum and Olynyk will undoubtedly bring a steadying presence. However, it’s Whitmore who could emerge as the best piece of that trade, especially if he’s given the green light to play through his mistakes. Seeing him paired with rookie guard Tre Johnson could give us a sneak peek into the future of Washington’s backcourt.
Can the Wizards move the ball more?
Despite being a team that rarely ran isolation plays last season (4.9 possessions per game), the Wizards ended the season in the bottom five of the league for assists per game (25.1). Part of that is likely down to the team’s limited shot-making ability (28th in the NBA for FG%), and the other part is likely down to inexperience and decision-making.
Nevertheless, the first step toward building a sustainable offense is ensuring the ball finds the right player at the right time. The easier the buckets, the more frequently they will come. Adding an experienced ball-handler in McCollum and a talented passer in Olynyk should help ease that burden from some of the younger developmental talents.
Will the Wizards become a threat in transition?
Another area the Wizards could thrive in is in transition. They ran 22.1 transition players per game (ninth in the league), with an Effective Field Goal percentage of 58.7 last season (25th in the league). With so many young talents on the roster, it makes sense to try to run the floor and hit early pitch-ahead passes.
However, the efficiency of those possessions has to start showing an upward trend. You can have all the youthful exuberance in the world, but if you’re not finding ways to capitalize on those early opportunities, they become a negative aspect of the offense.
A full training camp and some internal development should help resolve some of those struggles, or at least one would hope.