The offseason in Washington started at the trade deadline when All-Star Kristaps Porzingis was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks.
The addition of Porzingis and a healthy Bradley Beal give the Washington Wizards a foundation to build upon heading into free agency.
“One of the easiest problems I have to solve is talent playing with talent. That works itself out. I think Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis will be great in the two-man game. I think both of them are creative with the ball. Both of them know how to score, both of them have great court vision,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said.
How Washington goes about acquiring talent starts with signing Beal to a $248 million contract. The guard will likely opt out of his $36.4 million contract this offseason, but has indicated that he wants to return.
State of the roster
Roster status: Searching for stability at point guard
The offseason presents yet another opportunity to reshape around Beal.
Since Sheppard took over in 2019, the Wizards have orchestrated 14 trades, including acquiring and eventually sending out Russell Westbrook last offseason and more recently trading for Porzingis.
The lone players left from that roster are Beal and Thomas Bryant, who is set to become a free agent.
“We’ve shown a willingness to be very aggressive. We’ve shown a willingness not to sit still. We’re going to continue pushing to make this team the very best it can,” Sheppard said after the trade deadline.
That aggressiveness stems from the fact that Washington has one playoff appearance on its résumé in the last four years and a soon-to-be free agent in Beal.
Because the Wizards are an over-the-cap team this offseason, how they improve offensively and defensively starts with a healthy Beal and Porzingis, the internal development of draft picks (Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert), a lottery pick in June, along with the free agent and trade market.
“The biggest challenge of the offseason is just to be patient,” Sheppard said after the season. “There is going to be buyer frenzy once you get to the draft. There is so little money this summer in the marketplace for free agents. There are going to be a lot of teams that want to shuffle. There are going to be some teams that do a little bit on the side and there are going to be teams that do complete restructuring.
“To know ahead of time what our needs are going to be, where we can fill those needs and then being patient to get the best possible deal — that’s not a challenge I am worried about, that’s just something we embrace.”
Porzingis gave a glimpse this season of the impact he can have on the defensive end of the court. Per Second Spectrum, he ranked fifth in field goal percentage allowed at the rim since March 6 among 22 players to defend 75 shots at the basket.
The Wizards will have the $10.3 million mid-level exception available along with nine returning players that are set to earn between $1.6 to $14 million. There is an argument to be made that Washington’s is a roster that is stuck in neutral, something Sheppard disagrees with.
“When was Devin Booker in the playoffs before last year?” he told The Athletic. “So one player can come in and change a franchise, right? Devin’s one of the best players in the league and had never been in the playoffs. … To get to where you want to go, you have to be willing to take steps.”
Those steps begin with exploring what options are available at starting point guard, like what the Phoenix Suns went through in the 2020 offseason before they acquired All-Star Chris Paul. In his postseason press conference, Sheppard addressed the need for a more traditional point guard that can get Washington into its offensive sets more.
Per ESPN Stats & Information research, Washington’s point guards averaged 10.9 points, the fewest in the NBA this season. Since the trade deadline, that number dropped to 8.2 points, last in the NBA. For the entire season, the Wizards’ starting point guards have ranked 27th in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage.
The inefficient play on offense can also be attributed to the lack of a playmaker on the roster.
This season, 88.6% of the Wizards’ 3-point attempts that came directly off a pass were contested, the most in the league, resulting in the team ranking toward the bottom in quality of shots, Per Second Spectrum tracking.
Bradley Beal
The ink was not dry on the two-year, $70.1 million extension Beal signed in October 2019 before questions about his future were being asked.
Was the contract a way for him to ask out if the team struggled? Or was it merely seen as a financial decision because the guard would reach ten years of service in the 2022 offseason, making him eligible to sign a max contract for 35% of the salary cap?
Both of those questions were eventually answered.
Beal stayed loyal to the Wizards and did not ask to be traded, and in early March indicated that his future would likely continue to be in Washington.
“It’s fair,” he told the Washington Post’s Ava Wallace when asked whether he is leaning toward staying with the Wizards. “It’s fair.”
Beal is eligible to sign a five-year $248 million contract this July if he declines the $36.4 million player option in June. That number drops to four-years $183.6 million if he explores free agency or a possible sign-and-trade, something the Wizards would have to agree to. Beal will run into a dead end in free agency because there are no teams with $42.5 million in cap space to sign him outright.
- 2022-23 | $42.7M
- 2023-24 | $44.1M
- 2024-25 | $49.5M
- 2025-26 | $53.9M
- 2026-27 | $56.4M
The biggest contract in NBA history certainly comes with a risk for both Beal and the Wizards.
From the perspective of Beal, securing the most money is the goal, but what happens if this roster does not improve in the offseason and the Wizards are a perennial team competing just for the play-in tournament?
“The priority No. 1 is taking care of yourself, making sure that you get every dollar that you possibly can make and that you feel comfortable with doing [it],” Beal told Draymond Green on his podcast.
“But that also comes with — when you make that money, you want to win ball games. You want to be able to play for something. Right? I want to play in meaningful games. Right? I want to be playing in late June. That’s what I want. And I think people don’t understand that I want to do that here. And my mindset is like, OK, why can’t I do it here? There’s a lot of other teams that are out here doing it.”
The trend in recent years with players has been to sign now and ask out later, something that would likely continue in Washington if the roster does not improve. That is a problem for another day, and at the very worst if Beal does ask to be traded down the road, Washington has one of the more appealing trade assets in the NBA.
The Wizards at one time were financially straddled by the super max extension that John Wall signed and would now inherit the lucrative contract of Beal. That is the financial risk however, and the price of doing business in the NBA if you want to keep an All-NBA player on your roster.
“Players like Bradley don’t come along very often,” Sheppard told The Athletic. “And 10 years in, and maybe I’m a little bit biased, but I saw last year an All-NBA player who led the league in scoring for most of the entire season. That was pretty amazing. And we changed the roster up. And certainly his responsibilities got a lot more this season with the ball in his hands and stuff. But he was playing through a lot of injuries, had a lot of things hit him during the season, too. It’s not the season that he wanted, certainly, but it’s still pretty darn good. He led us to a lot of wins.”
Beal averaged 30.1 points in 2020-21 but is coming off a year where he averaged 23.2 points. Per ESPN Stats & Information, the -8.1 points per drop-off was the largest by any player to play at least 40 games in each of the two seasons.
The drop off is in large part due to the lack of a quality point guard on the roster, something Sheppard has placed a priority on this offseason.
According to Second Spectrum, only 29% of Beal’s shots came directly off a pass, his lowest rate in a season since 2013-14.
“Ideally, you have a guy who can keep us organized, who can defend his position, obviously make a shot when the ball finds him, but I don’t think you need a guy that’s tasked with having to orchestrate everything,” Sheppard said after the season.
Offseason cap breakdown
In the scenario that Beal signs a new contract, his $36.6 million salary would then be replaced by a $42.5 million cap hit in 2022-23.
The increase in salary still allows the Wizards to use the $10.3 million mid-level exception and stay below the $149 million tax threshold.
Team needs
- Starting point guard
- Wing defender
Resources to build the roster
- Lottery pick in June
- Own free agents: Bradley Beal and Thomas Bryant
- Tradable contracts: 10 players earning $1.5 to $14 million
- Exceptions: $10.3 million mid-level and $4.1 million biannual
- Cash: $6.3 million to send or receive in a trade
Dates to watch
- June 28: The $14 million contract of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope becomes fully guaranteed. In the unlikely scenario that Washington waives the guard, it would be stuck with a $4.9 million cap hit. Caldwell-Pope is one of the more durable players, having missed only 19 games because of injury since he was drafted in 2013. He started all 77 games he played this season, averaging 13.2 points and shooting 39% from 3. Per NBA.com, Caldwell-Pope held shooting guards to 42.7% from the field and 28.6% from 3. The Wizards would not create cap room if Caldwell-Pope is waived and would only have the $10.3 million midlevel exception to replace him.
- June 29: The last day to tender Cassius Winston ($1.8M), Anthony Gill ($2M) and Jordan Schakel ($50K) a qualifying offer.
- July 1: The 4.3 million contract of Ish Smith becomes guaranteed. Since the trade from the Charlotte Hornets, Smith played in 28 games, averaging 8.6 points and 5.2 assists.
Restrictions
- Beal has a 15% trade bonus but only if he opts into his contract.
- The Wizards owe the Oklahoma City Thunder a protected first-round draft pick from 2023 to 2026. They are allowed to trade a first-round pick, but only two years after it is conveyed.
Extension eligible
- If not for a late-season slump, Kyle Kuzma would be in the running for Most Improved Player of the Year. The former Laker started 66 games, averaging 17.1 points, a career high 8.5 rebounds and 45.2% from the field. Starting on Sept. 30, the Wizards can extend Kuzma to a four-year $70 million extension if his $13 million player option in 2023-24 is declined. Without an extension, it is likely that Kuzma will decline his option and become a free agent in 2023.
- Porzingis is entering the fourth year of the five-year $158.3 million extension that he signed with his former team Dallas. Starting on Aug. 11, the Wizards can extend him for an additional three seasons and up to $130.7 million in new money. Because of his injury history, it is unlikely that they entertain a new contract.
- If the Caldwell-Pope contract is guaranteed, Washington is then eligible to extend him for an additional four years and up to $75.3 million.
- Vernon Carey Jr. is eligible for an extension starting on Aug. 11. He appeared in only three games, averaging 9.1 minutes since he was acquired from Charlotte at the trade deadline.
The draft
The Wizards have their own first and a second from Dallas.
From the Westbrook trade in 2020, the Wizards owe Oklahoma City (via the Houston Rockets) a top-14 protected in 2023, top-12 protected first in 2024, top-10 protected first in 2025 and a top-10 protected first in 2026. It will turn into a second-round pick in 2026 and 2027 if not conveyed in any of the prior years.
Here’s how ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have Washington selecting in June:
No. 10 (own): Dyson Daniels | PG/SG | G League Ignite
The fact that Daniels is shooting just 26% from 3 and 59% from the free throw line according to our database while still turning down rhythm looks too often will give some executives pause. He’ll likely never be overly shifty with the ball, isn’t the most outwardly confident prospect and is a bit too reliant on his patented spin move and two-foot floater in the lane at times.
But if you view Daniels as more of a secondary ball-handler who can defend three or four positions, given his size and defensive instincts, knock down open spot 3s and make reads off second-side pick-and-roll, it’s easy to envision him eventually evolving into an NBA starter, potentially sooner than later. Having been able to watch him shoot extensively, he has the mechanics and touch to develop into a reliable floor spacer, as long as he can keep speeding up his release and remain confident after misses. — Schmitz
No. 54 (via DAL): Gabriela Procida | SG | Fortitudo Bologna
Watching him warm up in Brescia, Italy, it didn’t take long to realize that he is one of the best shooters in this draft class, with the ability to knock down shots on the move and finish above the rim in space. On the season, the 19-year-old is shooting 42% from 3 on 81 attempts in his first full season at the first division level, shooting the ball with confidence, even sprinting off screens or rising into pull-ups. — Schmitz
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