- 7,313
- 28,679
- Joined
- Dec 8, 1999
Washington Wizards 2015-2016
[h1]REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 41 - 41[/h1][table][tr][td]Date[/td][td]Opponent[/td][td]Time[/td][td]Result[/td][/tr][tr][td]10/28/2015[/td][td]@Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 88-87[/td][/tr][tr][td]10/30/2015[/td][td]@Milwaukee[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 118-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]10/31/2015[/td][td]New York[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 117-110[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/4/2015[/td][td]San Antonio[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-102[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/6/2015[/td][td]@Boston[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 98-118[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/7/2015 [/td][td]@Atlanta[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 99-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/10/2015[/td][td]Oklahoma City[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 125-101[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/14/2015[/td][td]Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/17/2015[/td][td]Milwaukee[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 86-115[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/21/2015[/td][td]@Detroit[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] W 97-95[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/24/2015[/td][td]Indiana[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 123-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/25/2015[/td][td]@Charlotte[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 87-101[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/27/2015[/td][td]@Boston[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 78-111[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/28/2015[/td][td]Toronto[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 84-82[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/1/2015[/td][td]@Cleveland[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 97-85[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/2/2015[/td][td]L.A. Lakers[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 108-104[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/4/2015[/td][td]Phoenix[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 106-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/6/2015[/td][td]Dallas[/td][td]6:00 PM[/td][td] L 116-110[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/7/2015[/td][td]@Miami[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] W 114-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/9/2015[/td][td]Houston[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 109-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/11/2015[/td][td]@New Orleans[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 105-107[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/12/2015[/td][td]@Dallas[/td][td]8:30 PM[/td][td] W 114-111[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/14/2015[/td][td]@Memphis [/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 95-112[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/16/2015[/td][td]@San Antonio[/td][td]8:30 PM[/td][td] L 95-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/19/2015[/td][td]Charlotte[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 101-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/21/2015[/td][td]Sacramento[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/23/2015[/td][td]Memphis[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 91-100[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/26/2015[/td][td]@Brooklyn[/td][td]4:00 PM[/td][td] W 111-96[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/28/2015[/td][td]L.A. Clippers[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 108-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/30/2015[/td][td]@Toronto[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 91-94[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/1/2016[/td][td]Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 91-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/3/2016[/td][td]Miami[/td][td]6:00 PM[/td][td] L 97-75[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/6/2016[/td][td]Cleveland[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 121-115[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/8/2016[/td][td]Toronto[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 97-88[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/9/2016[/td][td]@Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 105-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/11/2016[/td][td]@Chicago[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 114-100[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/13/2016[/td][td]Milwaukee[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 101-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/15/2016[/td][td]@Indiana[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 118-104[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/16/2016[/td][td]Boston[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 119-117[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/18/2016[/td][td]Portland[/td][td]2:00 PM[/td][td] L 108-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/20/2016[/td][td]Miami[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 87-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/23/2016[/td][td]Utah[/td][td]6:30 PM[/td][td] Postponed[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/25/2016[/td][td]Boston[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 116-91[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/26/2016[/td][td]@Toronto[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 89-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/28/2016[/td][td]Denver[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 117-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/30/2016[/td][td]@Houston[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 123-122[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/1/2016[/td][td]@Oklahoma City[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 98-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/3/2016[/td][td]Golden State[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 134-121[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/5/2016[/td][td]Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 94-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/6/2016[/td][td]@Charlotte[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 104-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/9/2016[/td][td]@New York[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 111-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/11/2016[/td][td]@Milwaukee[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 92-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/18/2016[/td][td]Utah[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 89-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/19/2016[/td][td]Detroit[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 86-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/20/2016[/td][td]@Miami[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 94-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/23/2016[/td][td]New Orleans[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 89-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/24/2016[/td][td]@Chicago[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 104-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/26/2016[/td][td]@Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 103-94[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/28/2016[/td][td]Cleveland[/td][td]1:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/29/2016[/td][td]Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 108-116[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/2/2016[/td][td]@Minnesota[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 104-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/4/2016[/td][td]@Cleveland[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 83-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/5/2016[/td][td]Indiana[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 100-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/8/2016[/td][td]@Portland[/td][td]10:00 PM[/td][td] L 109-116[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/11/2016[/td][td]@Utah[/td][td]9:00 PM[/td][td] L 93-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/12/2016[/td][td]@Denver[/td][td]9:30 PM[/td][td] L 100-116[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/14/2016[/td][td]Detroit[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 81-124[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/16/2016[/td][td]Chicago[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 96-117[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/17/2016[/td][td]@Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-94[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/19/2016[/td][td]New York[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 89-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/21/2016[/td][td]@Atlanta[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 117-102[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/23/2016[/td][td]Atlanta[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 122-101[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/25/2016[/td][td]Minnesota[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 132-129[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/27/2016[/td][td]@L.A. Lakers[/td][td]9:30 PM[/td][td] W 101-88[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/29/2016[/td][td]@Golden State[/td][td]10:30 PM[/td][td] L 94-102[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/30/2016[/td][td]@Sacramento[/td][td]10:00 PM[/td][td] L 111-120[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/1/2016[/td][td]@Phoenix[/td][td]10:30 PM[/td][td] W 106-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/3/2016[/td][td]@L.A. Clippers[/td][td]3:30 PM[/td][td] L 109-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/6/2016[/td][td]Brooklyn[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 103-121[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/8/2016[/td][td]@Detroit[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 99-112[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/10/2016[/td][td]Charlotte[/td][td]1:00 PM[/td][td] W 98-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/11/2016[/td][td]@Brooklyn[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] W 120-111[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/13/2016[/td][td]Atlanta[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 98-109[/td][/tr][/table][h1]Gap year[/h1]
"Patience is the support of weakness; impatience the ruin of strength." - Charles Caleb Colton
I'll admit it: the 2015-2016 Washington Wizards aren't built for June.
They're built for July.
On July 1st, the Wizards will join much of the league in offering a maximum contract to the District-born former MVP, Kevin Durant. To that end, the Wizards exercised their rarest form of fiscal restraint: that born of ambition rather than miserly frugality.
Excluding the certain to be declined team options on Martell Webster, Drew Gooden, and DeJuan Blair, Washington will have just five players under guaranteed contract for 2016-2017: John Wall, Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter, Kris Humphries, and rookie Kelly Oubre. Bradley Beal will likely enter the summer as a restricted free agent, as he enters the year without coming to terms with management on a contract extension.
After losing co-captain and future first ballot Hall of Famer Paul Pierce to Los Angeles, bidding au revoir to the inconsistent Kevin Seraphin, and releasing Randy Wittman from his latest aging siren, Rasual Butler, GM Ernie Grunfeld brought in a cadre of veteran mercenaries to hold the fort. Newcomers Jared Dudley, Gary Neal, and Alan Anderson all share two qualities in common: each is considered a three point specialist, and each will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016.
Despite finishing sixth in fastbreak points per game last season, Washington managed to finish seventeenth in points per game and twenty-first in offensive efficiency. Only the lumbering Grizzlies derived more points from two-point field goals than the Wizards. As became painfully clear to even the most casual fans witnessing the rebirth of small-ball, Randy Wittman attempted to enter a plow-horse in a drag race.
At some point between the team's regular season finale and the beginning of the playoffs, Wittman received instruction in basic arithmetic and committed, however begrudgingly, to modernizing an offense that was presumably adapted from cave paintings. Use of stretch fours broke up the lane-clogging frontcourt tandem of Gortat and Nene, relegating the latter to reserve duty. Time will tell if the team's newfound commitment to offensive efficiency comes at the cost of a stout defense and solid rebounding. (Washington ranked top ten in both rebounds per game and opponents' points per game.)
Of greater concern: will an offseason devoted primarily to next summer cause the franchise to lose ground to more active conference rivals? How will the Wizards' own cohesiveness fare with two-thirds of the roster (including Bradley Beal) jostling for position in anticipation of next summer's record-breaking spending spree?
Last year was supposed to be a breakthrough success, and it was - by Wizards standards. After a franchise best 19-6 start, the team limped to a 46-36 finish. It was the team's best record in over thirty-five years, a feat exceeded by no fewer than eleven other NBA franchises last year alone.
In other words, the team failed to finish within the top third of the league and still had their best season since 1978-79.
In the playoffs, Washington pummeled the Toronto Raptors in a four game sweep, but lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Atlanta Hawks after John Wall sustained five non-displaced fractures in his left hand and wrist in a game one victory.
With visions of what could have been still burning brightly, the Wizards found themselves at a crossroads. Heading into a summer filled with potential upgrade opportunities (for both players and coaches), the Wizards chose to punt, trading a probable step back for an improbable leap forward next summer.
To fans of other teams, this probably seems an odd decision. Why not go after a player like Paul Millsap, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, or DeMarre Carroll? Why not take that step forward when you were potentially an injury away from the Eastern Conference Finals?
To borrow a phrase from Jesse Jackson:
When you've spent most of your life confined to a basement, the last thing you want is a ceiling over your dreams.
[h1]REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 41 - 41[/h1][table][tr][td]Date[/td][td]Opponent[/td][td]Time[/td][td]Result[/td][/tr][tr][td]10/28/2015[/td][td]@Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 88-87[/td][/tr][tr][td]10/30/2015[/td][td]@Milwaukee[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 118-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]10/31/2015[/td][td]New York[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 117-110[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/4/2015[/td][td]San Antonio[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-102[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/6/2015[/td][td]@Boston[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 98-118[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/7/2015 [/td][td]@Atlanta[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 99-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/10/2015[/td][td]Oklahoma City[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 125-101[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/14/2015[/td][td]Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/17/2015[/td][td]Milwaukee[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 86-115[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/21/2015[/td][td]@Detroit[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] W 97-95[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/24/2015[/td][td]Indiana[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 123-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/25/2015[/td][td]@Charlotte[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 87-101[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/27/2015[/td][td]@Boston[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 78-111[/td][/tr][tr][td]11/28/2015[/td][td]Toronto[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 84-82[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/1/2015[/td][td]@Cleveland[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 97-85[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/2/2015[/td][td]L.A. Lakers[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 108-104[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/4/2015[/td][td]Phoenix[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 106-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/6/2015[/td][td]Dallas[/td][td]6:00 PM[/td][td] L 116-110[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/7/2015[/td][td]@Miami[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] W 114-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/9/2015[/td][td]Houston[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 109-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/11/2015[/td][td]@New Orleans[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 105-107[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/12/2015[/td][td]@Dallas[/td][td]8:30 PM[/td][td] W 114-111[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/14/2015[/td][td]@Memphis [/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 95-112[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/16/2015[/td][td]@San Antonio[/td][td]8:30 PM[/td][td] L 95-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/19/2015[/td][td]Charlotte[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 101-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/21/2015[/td][td]Sacramento[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/23/2015[/td][td]Memphis[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 91-100[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/26/2015[/td][td]@Brooklyn[/td][td]4:00 PM[/td][td] W 111-96[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/28/2015[/td][td]L.A. Clippers[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 108-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]12/30/2015[/td][td]@Toronto[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 91-94[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/1/2016[/td][td]Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 91-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/3/2016[/td][td]Miami[/td][td]6:00 PM[/td][td] L 97-75[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/6/2016[/td][td]Cleveland[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 121-115[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/8/2016[/td][td]Toronto[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 97-88[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/9/2016[/td][td]@Orlando[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 105-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/11/2016[/td][td]@Chicago[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 114-100[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/13/2016[/td][td]Milwaukee[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 101-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/15/2016[/td][td]@Indiana[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 118-104[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/16/2016[/td][td]Boston[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 119-117[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/18/2016[/td][td]Portland[/td][td]2:00 PM[/td][td] L 108-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/20/2016[/td][td]Miami[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 87-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/23/2016[/td][td]Utah[/td][td]6:30 PM[/td][td] Postponed[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/25/2016[/td][td]Boston[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 116-91[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/26/2016[/td][td]@Toronto[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 89-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/28/2016[/td][td]Denver[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 117-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]1/30/2016[/td][td]@Houston[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 123-122[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/1/2016[/td][td]@Oklahoma City[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 98-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/3/2016[/td][td]Golden State[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 134-121[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/5/2016[/td][td]Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 94-106[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/6/2016[/td][td]@Charlotte[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 104-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/9/2016[/td][td]@New York[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 111-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/11/2016[/td][td]@Milwaukee[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 92-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/18/2016[/td][td]Utah[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 89-103[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/19/2016[/td][td]Detroit[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 86-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/20/2016[/td][td]@Miami[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 94-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/23/2016[/td][td]New Orleans[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 89-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/24/2016[/td][td]@Chicago[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 104-109[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/26/2016[/td][td]@Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 103-94[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/28/2016[/td][td]Cleveland[/td][td]1:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]2/29/2016[/td][td]Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 108-116[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/2/2016[/td][td]@Minnesota[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 104-98[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/4/2016[/td][td]@Cleveland[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] L 83-108[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/5/2016[/td][td]Indiana[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 100-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/8/2016[/td][td]@Portland[/td][td]10:00 PM[/td][td] L 109-116[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/11/2016[/td][td]@Utah[/td][td]9:00 PM[/td][td] L 93-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/12/2016[/td][td]@Denver[/td][td]9:30 PM[/td][td] L 100-116[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/14/2016[/td][td]Detroit[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 81-124[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/16/2016[/td][td]Chicago[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 96-117[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/17/2016[/td][td]@Philadelphia[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 99-94[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/19/2016[/td][td]New York[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 89-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/21/2016[/td][td]@Atlanta[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 117-102[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/23/2016[/td][td]Atlanta[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 122-101[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/25/2016[/td][td]Minnesota[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] L 132-129[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/27/2016[/td][td]@L.A. Lakers[/td][td]9:30 PM[/td][td] W 101-88[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/29/2016[/td][td]@Golden State[/td][td]10:30 PM[/td][td] L 94-102[/td][/tr][tr][td]3/30/2016[/td][td]@Sacramento[/td][td]10:00 PM[/td][td] L 111-120[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/1/2016[/td][td]@Phoenix[/td][td]10:30 PM[/td][td] W 106-99[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/3/2016[/td][td]@L.A. Clippers[/td][td]3:30 PM[/td][td] L 109-114[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/6/2016[/td][td]Brooklyn[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td] W 103-121[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/8/2016[/td][td]@Detroit[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] L 99-112[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/10/2016[/td][td]Charlotte[/td][td]1:00 PM[/td][td] W 98-113[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/11/2016[/td][td]@Brooklyn[/td][td]7:30 PM[/td][td] W 120-111[/td][/tr][tr][td]4/13/2016[/td][td]Atlanta[/td][td]8:00 PM[/td][td] W 98-109[/td][/tr][/table][h1]Gap year[/h1]
"Patience is the support of weakness; impatience the ruin of strength." - Charles Caleb Colton
I'll admit it: the 2015-2016 Washington Wizards aren't built for June.
They're built for July.
On July 1st, the Wizards will join much of the league in offering a maximum contract to the District-born former MVP, Kevin Durant. To that end, the Wizards exercised their rarest form of fiscal restraint: that born of ambition rather than miserly frugality.
Excluding the certain to be declined team options on Martell Webster, Drew Gooden, and DeJuan Blair, Washington will have just five players under guaranteed contract for 2016-2017: John Wall, Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter, Kris Humphries, and rookie Kelly Oubre. Bradley Beal will likely enter the summer as a restricted free agent, as he enters the year without coming to terms with management on a contract extension.
After losing co-captain and future first ballot Hall of Famer Paul Pierce to Los Angeles, bidding au revoir to the inconsistent Kevin Seraphin, and releasing Randy Wittman from his latest aging siren, Rasual Butler, GM Ernie Grunfeld brought in a cadre of veteran mercenaries to hold the fort. Newcomers Jared Dudley, Gary Neal, and Alan Anderson all share two qualities in common: each is considered a three point specialist, and each will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016.
Despite finishing sixth in fastbreak points per game last season, Washington managed to finish seventeenth in points per game and twenty-first in offensive efficiency. Only the lumbering Grizzlies derived more points from two-point field goals than the Wizards. As became painfully clear to even the most casual fans witnessing the rebirth of small-ball, Randy Wittman attempted to enter a plow-horse in a drag race.
At some point between the team's regular season finale and the beginning of the playoffs, Wittman received instruction in basic arithmetic and committed, however begrudgingly, to modernizing an offense that was presumably adapted from cave paintings. Use of stretch fours broke up the lane-clogging frontcourt tandem of Gortat and Nene, relegating the latter to reserve duty. Time will tell if the team's newfound commitment to offensive efficiency comes at the cost of a stout defense and solid rebounding. (Washington ranked top ten in both rebounds per game and opponents' points per game.)
Of greater concern: will an offseason devoted primarily to next summer cause the franchise to lose ground to more active conference rivals? How will the Wizards' own cohesiveness fare with two-thirds of the roster (including Bradley Beal) jostling for position in anticipation of next summer's record-breaking spending spree?
Last year was supposed to be a breakthrough success, and it was - by Wizards standards. After a franchise best 19-6 start, the team limped to a 46-36 finish. It was the team's best record in over thirty-five years, a feat exceeded by no fewer than eleven other NBA franchises last year alone.
In other words, the team failed to finish within the top third of the league and still had their best season since 1978-79.
In the playoffs, Washington pummeled the Toronto Raptors in a four game sweep, but lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Atlanta Hawks after John Wall sustained five non-displaced fractures in his left hand and wrist in a game one victory.
With visions of what could have been still burning brightly, the Wizards found themselves at a crossroads. Heading into a summer filled with potential upgrade opportunities (for both players and coaches), the Wizards chose to punt, trading a probable step back for an improbable leap forward next summer.
To fans of other teams, this probably seems an odd decision. Why not go after a player like Paul Millsap, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, or DeMarre Carroll? Why not take that step forward when you were potentially an injury away from the Eastern Conference Finals?
To borrow a phrase from Jesse Jackson:
When you've spent most of your life confined to a basement, the last thing you want is a ceiling over your dreams.
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