#3: The East Is on the Rise

Looking around the Eastern Conference, there is no refuting that the road to the NBA Finals for the Washington Wizards is only getting tougher and tougher. In what was previously seen as a hollowed-out conference, the ascent of young talented teams, like the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers, will only make it more difficult for Washington to compete and stay relevant. It is growing more and more unlikely that the Washington Wizards can be a team that fights regularly for a playoff spot, let alone home court advantage.

Many of the star players on these teams are under 25 years of age. If Washington has trouble getting through them now, it is almost certain that in two or three years it will be just shy of impossible. If the Wizards were to seek a roster renewal, they could fit their timeline to counter the current landscape of their conference. Bringing in young talent in the next few years would place their emergence closer to the back end of these budding Eastern Conference juggernauts than the front end, and may be the best way to counter, rather than standing pat and getting older. That’s essentially a necessity at this point for the Wiz.