Season Highlight:

Amazing season by the Washington Wizards, ending 1 game away from being the NSL Champions. It wasn�t an easy ride either, having very tough matchups in both the 2^nd round and the Conference Finals.  The Wizards ended the Season with an All-Star team as a starting 5. I really think Josh was enjoying the ride, willing to go into Lux tax and become a repeater Tax team to push for a ring.

 

Season Lowlight:

Being up 3-1 in the Championship Final, and losing the next 3 games was heart breaking. All reports after the Finals, Josh decided to move to a different country to recalibrate.  I still think its amazing what Josh achieved was huge, really pushing the West.

 

Best Trade:

Added	Lost
Paul George ( $ 45,640,165 )	Desmond Bane ( $ 3,845,083 )
Bismack Biyombo	Kyle Lowry ( $ 29,682,540 )
Dennis Schroder	Moses Brown ( $ 1,927,896 )
Isaiah Joe ( $ 1,997,238 )	Rudy Gay
	Danny Green
	Second rounder (Por ) for 2024 - ()

 

This could end up different in the future, the impact this had on the season was huge. PG13 is a ready now superstar, giving up Bane, Lowry and role players for a win now move. PG13 +/- was +14.6 for the wizards, averaging 22.2. while shooting at 41%, Bane was shooting at 32%, averaging 16.3ppg  while the big difference was the impact with +/- one  +6.9.

 

Worst Trade:

Added	Lost
Deandre Ayton ( $ 32,459,438 )	Joel Embiid ( $ 47,607,350 )
Jaden Ivey ( $ 7,614,480 )	Sam Hauser ( $ 1,927,896 )
Anthony Black	First rounder (Was ) for 2026 - (Worst of Utah/Was 2026)
First rounder (Utah ) for 2026 - (Best of Utah/Was 2026)

 

This happened after the season, the Wizards made a move to trade away NBA MVP Joel Embiid. They get back some exciting young pieces with smaller contracts, but knowing Embiid could possibly dominate the NSL the following season with recalibration of slides/engine, this was a huge risk and I believe they took a hit in talent.

 

Other Notable Trades:

Added	Lost
Clint Capela ( $ 28,060,346 )	Marcus Morris Sr. ( $ 17,116,279 )
Trey Lyles	Christian Braun ( $ 2,949,120 )
	First rounder (Cha 16) for 2023 - (Brandin Podziemski)

 

Added	Lost
Rudy Gay	Bojan Bogdanovic ( $ 20,000,000 )
Kyle Lowry ( $ 29,682,540 )	Aaron Gordon ( $ 22,266,182 )
Karlo Matkovic

 

Added	Lost
Alex Caruso ( $ 9,460,000 )	Victor Oladipo

 

Added	Lost
Alex Caruso ( $ 9,460,000 )	Victor Oladipo

 

Added	Lost
Marcus Morris Sr. ( $ 17,116,279 )	Derrick Rose
Second rounder (SA ) for 2024 - ()

 

Free Agency:

Clint Capela is the only player on the Wizards Roster going to Free Agency. He was extended in the NBA, so Wizards have a huge advantage on his return, and should put the points down to guarantee it.

  

At this stage, the 3 roster slots are open, with a few things in the Wizards favour (record and draft picks), they should have an advantage getting in some great talent. Having a huge stack of GM points helps too.

Targets will be likely include 2 Power Forward eligible players, some great targets out there, Bol Bol, Tristan Thompson, Christian Wood.

Depth being a problem for the wizards last season, I also expect them to go hard for an impact player in the second unit, like Kelly Oubre

 

Star:

Devin Booker

Booker is a stud, averaged 23ppg, 4apg and 3rpg last season leading this team in scoring and 3 point makes. Even with the higher rated Embiid on the roster, this was Bookers team. Booker finished the season as PG last season, being restricted to SG/SF wont stop him having an impact.

 

Goat:

Last season it was depth, as the Wizards really consolidated to have an amazing starting 5, and injuries really started to become a factor. You will find last season, any weakness the Wizards saw, they made moves to adjust.

 

Draft Grades:

Wizards didn�t pick in the draft, but have since traded for Anthony Black, giving them an amazing talent for the future.

 

The Future:

This team is stacked with both current and future stars. You have PG13 and Booker, who could be seen as one of the best wing duo�s in the league. A big rotation in Ayton / Capela who are 2 of the best centres in the NSL.

 

The most exciting part is the young players, Jaden Ivey and Anthony Black

 

Prediction:

The Wizards will finish in the top 4 spots in the East.
Pre-Season, they are ripping apart teams but I dont think they are as good as last season and will take a step back.