#1: They Have Hit Their Ceiling
Along with the expressed desire to hit the 50-win mark, Leonsis also stated that the team needed to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The last time this happened, the team was still named the Bullets and they went on to lose to the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals. In the last ten years, the Wizards have made only four playoff appearances, where they lost in the second round three out of four times, and to a different team each time. Not only has Washington not ever been as close to a championship as they have believed, but all signs point to their best attempt being behind them.
The 2016-17 season was undoubtedly the best the Wizards have seen in a long time. John Wall and company tallied 49 wins and finished the season with home court advantage. Everything seemed to be clicking for this team in the regular season. John Wall saw career-high numbers in points, assists, and steals, while finishing in a tie for seventh in MVP voting. Otto Porter Jr., headed into restricted free agency in the upcoming summer, took a leap forward, improving his three-point shot 6.7 percent from the season prior and becoming a reliable wing defender for the team. Newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic, who was brought in from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline, offered them additional depth and shooting, helping Washington start to look dangerous heading into the postseason. Despite the team firing on all cylinders, they still fell to the first-seed Boston Celtics in seven games during the second round of the playoffs.
The Washington Wizards fell off the following season. John Wall missed half of the 2017-18 season with injury, and when he was playing, he saw a drop-off in numbers almost across the board. Other foundational pieces of the team, such as Bradley Beal and Porter Jr., saw a decline in production and didn’t look the same as they had the year before. The Wizards locker room became surrounded with more turmoil than usual. As the 2018-19 season seems to be more of a dim reflection of last year’s 43-39 season, which ended with an early playoff exit by way of the Toronto Raptors, it is safe to say it is only downhill from here.
Next Up: No Flexibility
