That brings us to the Wizards. For a half a decade, they were a distant fourth in the collective mind of those actually from the area, which is a shame because DC is a fantastic basketball town. Not only are there high quality college teams like Georgetown, Maryland, GW and George Mason, but you also have some of the best high school teams in the country in the area. If you took a starting 5 made up of only current guys from the greater DC/Baltimore area, it would look like this (courtesy of elitedaily.com)-
That would be one hell of a starting 5. They'd average 110 points a game... even if they gave up that much too. So DC is a basketball town deserving of a solid basketball team. And it looks like the Wizards are actually becoming one.
The Wizkids made it to the second round of the playoffs last year before bowing out to a Pacers team that remembered how to play basketball just in time. John Wall and Bradley Beal are legitimate young stars whose ceilings are just getting higher. The team re-signed the Polish Hammer Marcin Gortat in order to keep the excellent front court of him and Nene (when healthy) together. But it is the smaller moved that may have made the team even better.
The first, and biggest, move was not re-signing Trevor Ariza. Now, I like Ariza a ton, and he was the best two way player on the team last year for sure. But he was due for a pay day that we didn't want to give him. When he signed with the Rockets, it left us a bunch of money to move around to other players. It also gave the team a chance to see if Otto Porter Jr was worth the #3 pick in last season's draft. He and Glen Rice Jr have been tearing it up in Summer League recently, both knowing that they now have a chance to get substantial minutes with Ariza gone.
Second, the Wizards signed Paul Pierce. Yes, he is old, but he has a ton of experience with winning, dealing with tough losses and getting back up, and how to overcome adversity. He can be the veteran leader that this team did not always have last year. Nene could only do so much, and what can a center really say to a team run by its two starting guards? Also, if he is able to tutor Otto Porter and teach him how to really play, then this could be the biggest steal of free agency.
Next, the Wizards added depth to their front court. One of the main reasons the Wizards struggled at times recently was that Nene is injury prone. The way to solve this was to find better backups. Over the past two days, the Wizards have added Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair, both solid veterans who have had moments of brilliance for playoff teams. Getting them (for practically nothing) will help fill the void that Nene will almost certainly leave when he gets hurt.
And then there is the real reason that not signing Ariza is a good thing, and why the Wizards fans are starting to talk more about this franchise. In the summer of 2016, Kevin Durant becomes a free agent. The Wizards will have a sizable amount of cash available, and the idea of the Slim Reaper coming back home to play for his childhood team is almost too tantalizing not to talk about. Every DC sports writer is starting to think that Durant may pull a LeBron and come home to revive the team. The Wizards will still be a solid team then too, since Wall and Beal are so young. The Wiz could offer Durant a max deal and still have money left for other (cheaper) players to pair with the big 4 of Wall, Beal, Durant and Gortat. It is a beautiful scenario, and one that those of us in DC would love to see.
So, yes, even while (my favorite team in DC) the Nationals are tied for first, while the Caps are trying to rebuild around Ovechkin without a goalie once more, and while Dan Snyder continually fights for the right to keep THAT name, the Wizards are slowly turning heads over to F and 7th Streets, NW for some compelling action on the hardwood. Finally, a great high school and college basketball town may have a NBA team worthy of its fandom. The city wants it. The city needs it. And it looks like the Wizards are ready to be it.
