At a glance:
Record: 15-67 (14th, East)
Offensive rating: 110.2 (25th)
Defensive rating: 118.9 (28th)
Net rating: -8.7 (27th)
Pace: 103.1 (1st)
2024 draft picks: 2, 26, 51
After trading Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis last summer, Washington’s expectations of a win went out the window. They certainly didn’t have championship aspirations before the deals, but they were expected to compete for a spot in the postseason. At the start of this season, they were expected to have some fun moments as a lottery team, although most of the “fun moments” ended up simply being funny memes. Between Jordan Poole’s Shaqtin’ a Fool plays and Kyle Kuzma’s “just don’t be that team” quote, there was no shortage of comedic moments.
However, after a decade of mediocrity, this season was a step in the right direction. They got the second pick in the draft after going through a tumultuous season. This is a great starting point for a rebuild, and they still have several trade assets to acquire more draft capital and young players. They don’t have a franchise player yet, but they have some players who could still be part of the team’s future.
Washington has a lot of money invested in Poole and Kuzma next year, but a surge in free agency wouldn’t do much to fix this team. Wizards fans should prepare for a long rebuild that will hopefully result in a team that can compete for a championship. Selecting the right player with the second overall pick in what is considered a weaker class will go a long way toward starting the rebuild.
Fantasy Spotlight: Tyus Jones
After a few years as one of the league’s best streaming options when Ja Morant was out of the lineup, Jones was finally able to have his own offense to run. He provided top-75 value in 9-cat leagues with averages of 12.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 triples while shooting 48.9% from the floor . Aside from the robberies, these were all career bests. Jones also boasted a 7.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best in the league among qualified players.
This was Jones’ first season as a full-time starter and he just turned 28, so he’s not a coveted asset in dynasty formats. However, he should have a few more years of reliable production while also potentially functioning as a bridge guard for Washington if they decide to re-sign him and draft a lead guard with the second pick. He was drafted early in the eighth round of last season’s drafts and should be an excellent source of mid-round assists for managers. He is solid in several categories, but currencies will continue to be his main strength. In terms of overall value in 9-cat leagues, Jones was by far the best player on the team.
Costume Reveal: Deni Avdija
Avdija entered the league with a lot of upside, but his first three years were disappointing in Fantasy Hoops. In year four, he stepped up and averaged 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 triples while shooting 50.6% from the floor, all of which were career bests. His biggest jump was his field goal percentage, which was a huge jump from the previous year’s 43.7%. He took another step forward during the season and averaged 18.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 triples per game after the trade deadline.
Avdija has improved each season, but this was his first season in the top 150 in 9-cat scoring. His value is limited by his poor free throw shooting and lack of defensive stats, despite being a good defensive player. Avdija was generally drafted in the late rounds of standard leagues last season, but is expected to be drafted around pick 100 next season. When Washington finishes its rebuild, the roster will likely look a lot different than it does now. However, Avdija proved that he should be part of the long-term plans.
Fantasy Disappointment: Jordan Poole
Poole’s final season in Golden State wasn’t the end of his time with the team that he likely expected, but with a fresh start in Washington, expectations were high, specifically in fantasy basketball. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well as expected. Poole averaged 17.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.4 triples while shooting 41.3% from the floor.
Poole’s ADP was early in the fifth round and ended up being one of the biggest disappointments in the entire league. He started most of the season, but came off the bench a few weeks after the All-Star break. However, he returned to the starting unit in the final month of the season after Tyus Jones went down. He was much better as a point guard and averaged 21.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.2 triples over the last 15 games. This was a terrible first season in Washington, but he finished on a better note. This provides some optimism for next year, but if Jones is the starting point guard again, Poole won’t be able to replicate his late-season production.
Fantasy recaps/previews
Kyle Kuzma: With the departure of Beal and Porzingis, Kuzma entered the year as the Wizards’ best offensive option. This allowed him to achieve career-high averages in points and assists, although he also managed to post career-highs in both field goal and free throw percentage despite making more shots than ever before. He averaged 22.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.2 triples per game while shooting 46.3% from the floor and 77.5% from the free throw line. He is much better in point leagues than category leagues due to his lack of defensive stats and below-average shooting percentages, but he is still an effective player in both formats.
Bilal Coulibaly: The Wizards selected Coulibaly with the No. 7 pick in the draft last summer, and he immediately stepped into an important role on a tanking team. He played 27.2 minutes per game and averaged 8.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.0 triples while shooting 43.5% from the floor and 70.2% from the free throw line. It wasn’t an outstanding first season, but he showed a lot of flashes on both sides of the ball and improved as the season went on. Over the final seven games of the season, he averaged 10.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.9 blocks and 1.3 triples per game. He is not yet 20 years old and has many advantages. He should continue to improve each year and has a chance to be among the most impactful defenders in the league.
Marvin Bagley: After starting the season in Detroit, Bagley was sent to Washington to do some draft capital at the trade deadline. At the same time, the Wizards sent Daniel Gafford to Dallas, which opened up a lot of minutes for Bagley. In 24 games after joining the Wizards, Bagley averaged 13.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks while shooting 58.1% from the floor in 24 minutes per game. He was sharing center minutes with Richaun Holmes and Tristan Vukcevic, which would be a weak center room for them going into next season. However, if Bagley can keep the starting job, he should provide decent value, although managers shouldn’t expect a statistical jump.
Corey Kispert:
Despite a slight decrease in minutes in year three, Kispert still averaged a career-high 13.4 points per game despite playing a reserve role for most of the season. Just like his second year in the league, Kispert ended last season with a very strong game. In the final month of the year, Kispert averaged 16.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 3.0 triples while shooting 49.8% from the floor and 41.8% from beyond the arc. He doesn’t have much fantasy upside, but Kispert should be a useful rotation player for the Wizards’ future. If he continues to play big minutes, he should be a reliable source of points and 3-pointers.
Tristan Vukcevic:
Washington drafted Vukcevic with the 42nd pick last summer, but he continued to play for Partizan Belgrade of the ABA League until March. He joined the Wizards for the final 10 games of the regular season, where he averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.0 triples in 15 .3 minutes per game. In his four games, he averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 triples per game. Silly Season’s production doesn’t mean much, but he has shown some upside at age 21 and stands 6’11”. He’s not a player to target in retooled leagues, but he’s worth keeping in dynasty leagues.
Player Option: Richaun Holmes
Team Option: Tristan Vukcevic
Unrestricted Free Agents: Tyus Jones, Anthony Gill
