The Wizards managed to extend their franchise player Bradley Beal to the tune of five years, $251 million. That almost qualifies as an accomplishment amid another painfully mediocre year. The disappointment ultimately culminated in the dismissal of General Manager Tommy Sheppard, but it’s unclear who will replace him or what this team is going to do to improve its roster. Wes Unseld Jr. might be the next one out the door if things don’t change quickly. The Wizards entered the season with playoff hopes but will leave the season with a whole lot of question marks.

How’d It Go?

The Wizards finished 35-47, bad enough for 12th in the East and the same exact record as last season. They had good fortune with health aside from the oft-injured Bradley Beal, but couldn’t capitalize. As the writing on the wall became apparent, the Wizards chose to shut down their stars, securing the seventh “best” odds in the draft lottery.

Perhaps the most significant additions for the Wizards this season were point guard Monte Morris and combo guard Delon Wright, but neither failed to move the needle for the Wiz Kids, highlighting the need for guys like Johnny Davis to develop.

The end-of-season pivot towards youth was a bit of a ray of hope for the struggling franchise. The strong play of Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert down the stretch has to give the Wizards confidence that they can be contributors on a good team. Avdija, especially, seems like he will be a solid rotation player in the NBA and the Wizards brass claimed that dealing promising young scoring forward Rui Hachimura at the deadline was done in an effort to accelerate his growth. All signs point towards the front office being all in on the third-year Israeli forward.

It remains to be seen what this team will look like next season though, and they can’t feel comfortable about comments made by their franchise cornerstone, Bradley Beal. There has to be a concern with quotes like “I’m at peace with how the year went, but I’m not at peace where we are as a team.” Or “It’s low. I have a low patience level, it’s not like I’m not angry.” Beal has been committed to the DMV for years now, and he continued to walk that line during that very same press conference. If they continue to build around the aging Beal, will Kristaps Porziņģis be back next season? Will Kyle Kuzma get a brand new contract? This offseason will hold a lot of big question marks for the Washington Wizards.

Coaching

Questions abound as Wes Unseld Jr. has led this team to back-to-back 35-win seasons. The Wizards have continuously put out statements and made transactions that indicate they are looking to deliver a championship-level team for Bradley Beal, but restructuring this roster from 2021-22 added zero wins.

Inevitably the microscope has to turn on Unseld, whose team ended the 2022-23 season in the bottom third of the league for points scored, three-pointers attempted, and defensive rating. That’s a mirror image of last season despite swapping Russell Westbrook and Spencer Dinwiddie for Kristaps Porziņģis and Kyle Kuzma.

This could come down to whether or not the franchise would rather part with Beal or Unseld Jr. first, but considering the fact that they just extended Beal for a boatload of money it’s likely to land on the latter. The fanbase nor the players seem to be enamored with their head coach, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Wizards go a different direction this offseason.

If they keep Unseld Jr., his staff has proven capable of getting the younger players acclimated to the frenetic pace of the NBA. If they manage to offload Beal and Porziņģis while keeping their current coaching staff, it could be good news for guys like Deni Avdija, Johnny Davis, Corey Kispert, and Daniel Gafford. That’s a lot of “ifs” though.

The Players

Kristaps Porzingis

C, Washington Wizards

ADP: 79/45 (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 24/19 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 16/14 (8/9-cat)

As we all know, the stat that matters with Kristaps Porzingis is games played, and he came through this season with 65 games played. It’s not a surprise he ended as a second-round value on the season, but he did have a particularly good year shooting the basketball, particularly from deep. His 49.8% field goal percentage is the best of his career and his 38.5% mark from beyond the arc is the second-best mark of his career from distance. Combine that with marginal increases in pretty much every counting category and you had yourself a fantasy-day steal since he managed to stay healthy.

The way forward looks promising for Porzingis as well. The Wizards have had serious discussions with the big man on a new contract in the realm of four years and $180 million. He would likely opt out of his player option next season to sign said deal, but if he remains a Wizard they will need his offense next to a (hopefully) healthy Bradley Beal.

Porzingis is that true “unicorn” when it comes to fantasy players as he contributes points, threes, and blocks in bunches along with stellar free-throw percentage. He should continue to be on the radar for less risk-averse fantasy managers in the second round of next year’s drafts.

Bradley Beal

SG, Washington Wizards

ADP: 47/35 (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 116/129 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 43/54 (8/9-cat)

Another year and another injury-riddled Bradley Beal season. That’s four straight seasons of 60 games or fewer with the average games played in that span sitting at 52 games. Ouch.

Beal will be turning 30 next season, and fantasy managers just have to hope we haven’t seen his best work yet. The once-elite scorer saw his points per game deflated for a second straight season though, and his rebounds and assists dropped compared to previous years as well. He did shoot the ball efficiently at 50.6% from the field, but he didn’t make enough three-pointers for his shot profile to make a lot of sense for fantasy.

It is hard to see Bradley Beal returning to that early-round player we became used to in 2017-18 and 2018-19, so he’s an easy fade for most fantasy managers come draft time. It seems like things are trending towards Beal heading out of town and to a competitor as an overpaid third option, but his salary is going to be a difficult one to move after the Wizards inked a new, stupidly expensive deal with him. They may be handcuffed and have no choice but to continue to feature him on a middling team for several more years. It’s a rough time to be a Wizards fan. However, if he continues to be the “golden child” for the Wizards franchise, he should still cling to 3rd/4th round value for a few more seasons, at the very least.

Delon Wright

PG, Washington Wizards

ADP: 137/N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 172/140 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 92/58 (8/9-cat)

You were probably expecting Kyle Kuzma here, but it was actually Delon Wright who returned fifth-round value on the season on a per-game basis. Congrats to the SportsEthos team for highlighting him as a pickup midway through the season, but the total values still leave a lot to be desired after he limped through just 50 games, his fewest since the 2016-17 season.

Before you get overly excited though, understand that most of his value came from steals (1.8 per game) and a pristine assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s always been a bit of a Swiss Army knife for teams, able to play the point guard, shooting guard, or small forward positions, but the lack of veteran depth in Washington made this year particularly promising. He delivered, somewhat, on a per-game basis in spots, but the value was as in flux as much as his role. He’ll be under contract for one more year, so we’ll have to see if he sticks around in Washington and what they do with the rest of the roster. His outlook doesn’t look super promising at the moment as the Wizards might pivot to some of their backcourt youth.

Monte Morris

PG, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A/ 117 (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 173/147 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 153/129 (8/9-cat)

We witnessed what we thought was starter-level material in Denver, but Monte Morris got the chance this season and didn’t quite deliver. He was pretty borderline, which ultimately makes sense as a guy who is a borderline starter in the NBA. The Wizards used Bradley Beal a lot as a de facto point guard, and Monte is more of a passing guard anyways, so he doesn’t feel like the greatest fit on this roster.

Morris saw a slight increase in assists per game, but the points per game also dropped. He’s an efficient three-point shooter, but he doesn’t shoot a high volume of three-point shots. The steals were also mediocre for a third year in a row. He remains an underwhelming fantasy asset that’s best meant as a stream in standard leagues but has some appeal in deeper leagues. We aren’t getting a breakout from 28-year-old Monte Morris anytime soon, sorry to say.

Daniel Gafford

PF, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A/ 144 (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 128/116 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 155/139 (8/9-cat)

Daniel Gafford will probably go down as one of the many “what ifs” at the center position in the league. If they just gave him 30 minutes a night, right? Unfortunately, his offensive limitations and inability to be switchable on defense will never allow him to be that player. He’s excellent at what he does in grabbing rebounds and blocking shots, but so was Hassan Whiteside and he’s not even that good.

Still, the 20.6 minutes per game were the most of his career this season and he came through with 73.2% shooting and 1.3 blocks per game. He’s an excellent player on a punt-FT% or punt-assists type of build, but outside of becoming the starting center on a tanking team he just doesn’t bring enough to the table in terms of real-life basketball to hit the ceiling we’re all hoping for him to reach. He may flip between starter and bench depending on what the Wizards do, but expect much of the same from Daniel Gafford either way. He may put up some good lines when teams are depleted, but mostly he’ll be an end-of-the-bench type player in fantasy.

Kyle Kuzma

PF, Washington Wizards

ADP: 116 / 99 (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 118/169 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 99/145 (8/9-cat)

It was not a great year for Kyle Kuzma, and yet he averaged the most points of his career with 21.2 points per game. The rebounds and blocks were down enough from last year to drop him from an eighth-round value to a thirteenth-round value. The blocked shots were nearly halved compared to last year, and perhaps having a healthy Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup contributed to that. His turnovers also rose in conjunction with his increased usage, and ultimately it sunk his fantasy value.

Kuz still managed 64 games and 35 minutes per game, but he’ll have to do more in the defensive categories to warrant his draft-day selection in most cases. It’s rumored that he’s going to opt out of his player option next season and his name is one of the most popular names floating around the trade market in the past few seasons because he does bring a lot to the table in his ability to score and his underrated ability to defend, but it’s hard to see him landing in a better spot to produce for fantasy than the Washington Wizards. If you’re hoping to roster Kuz, you’re hoping he stays put. His upside isn’t very high, but some increased efficiency and better defensive stats could go a long way toward helping him reach later mid-round value.

Deni Avdija

SF, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A/N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 141/158 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 168/187 (8/9-cat)

Did Deni Avdija cement his role on the Wizards with strong play down the stretch as Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis sat? We’ll have to wait and see what the Wizards do in the offseason, but he is absolutely a guy that should be on your radar in roto and 8-cat leagues in the future. The Wizards supposedly traded Rui Hachimura to get a better look at Deni Avdija, but his minutes and role still fluctuated wildly.

Deni was just a 15th-round player in 9-cat on a per-game basis after the Rui Hachimura trade and a 13th-round value in per-game in 8-cat. In the final month of the season, with the stars mostly sitting, he still managed just 15th-round value due to his turnovers. But, he was a  7th-round value in 8-cat on a per-game basis in the final three weeks of the season, highlighting his versatile fantasy profile with contributions in rebounds, assists, and steals with decent numbers in FG% and threes.

If the Wizards choose to move on from their stars or move Deni to a team where he will have a more on-ball role, it will bode well for his fantasy value. The latter seems more likely as the Wizards fired General Manager Tommy Sheppard because he did a “soft tank” at the end of the season rather than playing for the Play-In Tournament (among other reasons). It seems like they’re going to try to assemble more talent on the roster, so if Deni stays put his role probably won’t be large enough to warrant major attention in standard-sized fantasy leagues.

Corey Kispert

SF, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 175/154 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 223/202 (8/9-cat)

Corey Kispert reached the outskirts of fantasy relevancy in the same stretch Avdija did, with the stars sitting on the sidelines and the Wizards tanking their way toward better lottery odds. Still, he was mostly a fringe guy with his primary contribution being in three-pointers made. That should continue, probably for the rest of his career, and he’s not a guy to target outside of streaming for that one category. He’s already 24 years old and the ceiling is the floor here. He can pile up numbers when he’s the go-to guy but the odds of that repeating for an extended stretch of time are slim.

Johnny Davis

SG, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 419/425 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 443/449 (8/9-cat)

The Wizards brought their rookie along very slowly this season, and his performance down the stretch during tank season highlights exactly why. In the final ten games of the season, Johnny Davis averaged 29.9 minutes, 12.6 points, 2.4 assists, 1.6 three-pointers and 0.9 steals per game. Those numbers are fine for a rookie, but he also shot just 37.9% from the floor in that stretch and turned the ball over 1.3 times per game. He didn’t get to the line much, but also only hit his free throws at a 50% clip.

There’s still plenty of time for Davis to develop into a decent player, but the indicators are not great right now. He’s not going to be worth a look next year with the Wizards focused on making more playoff runs with Bradley Beal, unless they decide to thread the needle and have Davis develop alongside a group of players that urgently need wins.

Jay Huff

C, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 442/430 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 212/205 (8/9-cat)

It was nice to see Jay Huff get some run down the stretch during silly season as he secured a two-way contract with the Wizards, but he won’t be a relevant player next season outside of the same situation. He’s not a guy to monitor for any real reason.

Jordan Goodwin

PG, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 211/204 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 212/205 (8/9-cat)

Jordan Goodwin had some nice assists and steals streaming opportunities at times this season, but he’s probably never going to be a starting player for a good team in his NBA career. The Wiz have him on a partially guaranteed contract next season with a team option for 2024-25. He could develop into a decent rotation player, but the minutes won’t be there to warrant monitoring him in fantasy leagues outside of deep leagues and dynasty leagues.

Xavier Cooks

PF, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 454/459 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 357/367 (8/9-cat)

The Wizards signed Xavier Cooks to a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $6 million in March of this past season, and the 6’8″ wing has flashed promise with his ability to shoot and his switchability on the defensive end. His minutes were minimal until the final four games of the season, which will probably be the same next season as well. He’s someone to monitor in very deep leagues and dynasty formats, but he won’t have a long NBA career as he’s already 27 in his rookie NBA season.

Kendrick Nunn

PG, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / 141 (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 280/301 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 365/385 (8/9-cat)

Long gone are the days of the Kendrick Nunn “feel-good” story. He had the most points for an undrafted player with the Heat, but he has since fallen off the face of the Earth. He can still score the basketball, but his opportunities are few and far between. He seems to have been nothing more than a flash in the pan and there is little incentive for the Wizards to give him minutes. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so it will be interesting to see if he’s even on an NBA roster to start next season.

Quenton Jackson

SG, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 469/468 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 415/402 (8/9-cat)

He’s a two-way player with no real upside and no clear path to minutes. Not much to mention here.

Taj Gibson

PF, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 364/368 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 425/419 (8/9-cat)

It is 2023 and we are still talking about Taj Gibson. It was nice to see the 37-year-old (soon to be 38!) gifted another contract by Tom Thibodeau, but it’s doubtful he latches on anywhere next season once his one-year deal expires. He might be a guy contenders look at for emergency depth before the playoffs next year, but his shot at fantasy relevancy is far behind him. Even if he makes a team, he’s not worth rostering in any league.

Anthony Gill

PF, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 378/372 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 474/462 (8/9-cat)

Anthony Gill is going to be 31 years old next season. He’ll be under contract with the Wizards to start the season, but it is hard to see him breaking the rotation of any NBA team at this point. Maybe he will get an opportunity to earn another contract for a bad team down the stretch, but that’s the ceiling here.

Isaiah Todd

PF, Washington Wizards

ADP: N/A / N/A (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 520/520 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 519/519 (8/9-cat)

Isaiah Todd has at least one more year under contract in the NBA, but it’s hard to say if he sticks around beyond that. He has the size and athleticism, but he only managed to suit up for six games for a pretty bad Wizards team. He shouldn’t be on your radar in any league.

Fantasy Star

Hands down, this honor goes to Kristaps Porzingis, who blew away his expectations by playing his most games since 2016-17 and his most minutes per game since 2017-18. Hopefully, his injury issues are behind him, but many fantasy managers will still consider him a tough player to trust. As a result, he should be available at a discount on draft day with the expectation that this past season is what a fantasy ceiling looks like. If you’re willing to roll the dice, you could be handsomely rewarded.

Fantasy Letdown

This quite obviously has to be Bradley Beal, who not only missed a lot of games this season but also didn’t do super well in the scoring department in the games he did play. Many fantasy analysts (including yours truly) were predicting a bounceback year for Beal, but that just didn’t come to fruition. He just got another boatload of money from the franchise that drafted him, and it seems like these two sides are destined for even more years of mediocrity together. Still, that means his role is safe and the bounceback could still happen. He’ll have to score more to reach the heights we saw in the 2020-21 season, but he still has that skillset. He’s still hypothetically in his “prime” for the next few seasons as well and can probably be had a few rounds later than his ceiling. Savvy managers will scoop him up and home for another second-round finish.

One to Watch

Deni Avdija flashed promise as a playmaker down the stretch. He needs the ball in his hands to reach those kinds of stat lines, and if the Wizards (or anyone) are going to put the ball in his hands that much, he will need to find a better way to secure the basketball and not give up possessions. At times, he still defers far too much on offense, beating his man on a move or on a closeout and getting to the rim only to pass it out to a shooter. There is plenty to like with Deni’s game though, and it’s possible he can develop into a very strong starter, though the upside the Wizards envisioned when they drafted him isn’t exactly probable.

One Burning Question

Will the Wizards reshape their roster yet again? Tommy Sheppard is out and whoever steps into that GM role will likely want to have their fingerprints on the team early. The Wizards are still giving signs they think they can build a playoff team around Bradley Beal and that’s a wise stance to take considering the financial capital they invested in him long-term. Privately, there have to be some doubts. The Wizards will likely try to attract more star talent to The District, but that hasn’t exactly worked out for them in the past. Sheppard was great at getting out of bad contracts, but he also happened to be the guy who signed those bad contracts to begin with, so they’ll look to buck that trend as well. Their first order of business has to be to extend Porzingis. Whether they plan to keep him or not, he’ll have some very good trade value after a healthy season for teams desperate for a big that can space the floor. Beyond that, they’ll be shooting their shots, but they will all be long shots given their financial inflexibility and lack of winning culture.