Is Mario Hezonja the answer for the Wizards' future?
As the CSL regular season has come to an epic end, the Washington Wizards finished the year with a 39-43 record, which snaps the Wizards 3 years playoff streak under GM Gary Chan's watch. While record wise it was not a happy ending, the management team is still feeling pretty optimistic about its future out look, as GM Chan has viewed this year as more of a retooling year that will slowly set up this team for the new rule changes in the CSL. The team still has some very good talented players on paper, and with time this team should be back in the playoffs race in no time.
The Positives:
1. The emergence of Ike Anigbogu has been a very nice surprise for the team this year, as the 3rd year pro out of UCLA played 78 games this season including 59 starts, and in 29 minutes per game he finished with a final stat line of 14.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg on 53% shooting from the field. Previously Anigbogu was spending most of the time shifting back and forth betweem the Wizards bench, and the Wizards' D-League affiliate. After taking some time to work on his game, Anigbogu has emerged as a crucial rotation piece for the Wizards big men rotation.
2. Ivan Rabb's comeback season was an absolute success, as the 3rd year big man out of University of California came back from a devastating ACL injury from last season, and played 62 games for the Wizards this season. Rabb ended the season with a career high of 14 ppg, 8 rpg on 55% shooting in about 24 minutes per game. Rabb has shown flashes last season before going down with an injury, and he came back with a vengeance this season. The coaching staff is expecting Rabb will fill in an important role for the team next season.
3. Mario Henzonja's explosiveness was on full display since he was given the keys to the offense as a midseason acquisition for the Wizards this season. A major piece in the huge blockbuster that sent long time fan favorite Milos Teodosic to Chicago, Hezonja finished the season averaging 19.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.8 apg on 46% shooting from the field, and 37% from beyond the arc as well. The coaching staff was encouraged by Hezonja's ability to create his own shot as the number one option for this team, and they are expecting big things from him next season.
The negatives:
1. Willie Cauley Stein's inconsistency on the defensive end of the floor was surprising last season, as WCS has always been known as a all league kind of a defender that can patrol the paint, and make a huge impact on that end. WCS has never been known as an offensive player, so his bread, and butter was always on the defensive end of the court. However, WCS seems to not be able to settle in comfortably, and was not able to make as big of a defensive impact as the coaching staff would have liked. Now entering the free agency, it will be interesting to see if the team will bring him back.
2. Inconsistency from the bench was another problem for the team this season, as none of the bench guys was really able to establish themselves as a true 6th man for the team. Sure, Ivan Rabb, and Ike Anigbogu have both came off the bench at times this season, but both were considered starters at this point. Young guys like Travis Trice, Harry Giles, Jequan Lewis, Michael Gbiinije along with veterans such as Bobon Marjanovich were not able to play in sync as a unit, thus it has led to numerous blown leads this season. Expect the management team to continue to shuffle to deck in order to improve this second unit.
3. It seems like the lack of consistency has been a huge plague for the team this season, as it was especially evident on the defensive end of the court. In the past few seasons, the Wizards were able to do a solid job on defense, and had numerous occasions where they were able to shut down the other team's offense. However, this was not the case here, as the Wizards team defense was mediocre at best this season. THe team was not able to generate too much turnovers, and has forced the coaching staff resort to a zone scheme quite a few times this season, which is something Coach Brian Cardinal did not like to do. Fans can expect GM Chan to be quite busy this offseason, as lots of moves will be made to address the mediocre defense.
Offseason Plans:
The Wizards front office is expected to be quite busy this off-season, and there are tons of potential trade rumors surrounding veterans such as Bryce Cotton, Roy Devyn Marble, and Willie Cauley Stein. If the Wizards does decide to continue with a more youthful approach, then it's almost certain that these veterans will be available on the trade market. Cotton was number two in assists in the entire CSL this season, and will certainly be a hot commodity among contending teams. Meanwhile RDM is an experienced 3 and D guy that can get hot at any moment, and we all know 3 and D guys are all the rage in CSL these days. WCS is a former all defense team caliber big man that won't take shots away, and play stellar defense under a good sufficient system. We know good defenders that are always in high demand among the trade market in general. It will be interesting to see what kind of approach will the Wizards front office take for this offseason.
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