Written by Ben Deutsch at The Sports Quotient
The Washington Wizards have a big season ahead of them. Former No. 1 overall pick John Wall continues to blossom into one of the very best players in the league at the most important position. Former third overall picks Bradley Beal and Otto Porter continue their development as well. Randy Wittman has gotten quite a bit of heat from the media for questionable coaching decisions over the past several years, but it’s clear his team responds to him, and the slight improvements have been fairly consistent. They even did some solid manuvering in the draft to move up and grab Kelly Oubre Jr., a young prospect out of Kansas who could pay real dividends in the long term.
To complicate matters, after having signed Marcin Gortat to a long-term contract, the entire city awaits the impending free agency decision of Kevin Durant with bated breath. Durant is from the D.C. area and has made known his interest in returning home to play professionally. While all superstars want to bring their hometown a championship, it would help to have a strong season to let KD know that there’s the true possibility of winning a ring in the Nations’ capitol.
So far, the results this season are mixed. This Wizards have beat a handful of very talented teams and pushing others to the brink. Yet they sit at 9-10, good for a lowly 11th place position in the Eastern Conference (19th in the league). Last season, they fell to the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the playoffs, the same Atlanta Hawks that would be swept by the Cavaliers in the Conference Finals. In what was a scary moment this season, Johnn Wall collapsed on the court with a knee injury on Sunday before walking off, and luckily passing his subsequent medical exams.
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