2014 Washington Wizards

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Washington Wizards (Last Year: 44-38)

2013-14 Season Summary:
After five-straight abysmal seasons, the Washington Wizards finally turned the corner thanks in part to the development of their talented young backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. The Wizards won their first playoff series in nearly a decade and brought life back to the franchise. With a good amount of cap space this offseason, Washington could make a couple of big moves that would help propel the team higher up the Eastern Conference standings.

2014-15 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Nene Hilario

PF: *Trevor Booker/*Kevin Seraphin

SF: Martell Webster/Otto Porter

SG: Bradley Beal/Glen Rice Jr.

PG: John Wall/Andre Miller

NBA Free Agents:

C-Marcin Gortat (UFA)

SF-Trevor Ariza (UFA)

PF-Drew Gooden (UFA)

PF-Al Harrington (UFA)

SF-Chris Singleton (UFA)

SG-Garrett Temple (UFA)

*PF-Trevor Booker (RFA)

*PF-Kevin Seraphin (RFA)

2014-15 Team Salary: Approximately $45.7 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. A Post Player: Washington’s frontcourt could experience a major facelift this offseason since most of the guys are free agents, including starting center Marcin Gortat. The Wizards would love to bring him back and find a way to keep Trevor Booker around, but guys like Drew Gooden, Al Harrington, and Kevin Seraphin are replaceable. Finding someone who can start aside Nene is a must, and if Gortat is not brought back, Washington has the cap space to bring in a bigger name. (You know who would be a good fit? Pau Gasol.)

2. Small Forward: In a contract year, Trevor Ariza had possibly the best season of his NBA career and proved he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. While the Wizards have Martell Webster and Otto Porter, who had an extremely disappointing rookie year, the franchise should strongly consider bringing Ariza back. If not, management could roll the dice that Porter will make a sizeable leap during his second year and that he and Webster can hold down the fort at small forward.

3. Guard Depth: The acquisition of Andre Miller added experience and leadership to Washington’s roster, but he didn’t exactly play all that well for them. The team also lacks a true backup to Bradley Beal at shooting guard, so picking up some depth and options in the backcourt could be a good idea.