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After defeating the New Orleans Pelicans on November 15th, the Washington Wizards had a 10-3 record with the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. The Russell Westbrook trade seemed like a massive win for the Wizards organization as they received most of their key cogs from that deal. Even with Bradley Beal's struggles, Washington was rolling against any team on their schedule.
That did not last long, though, as a plethora of losses and disastrous locker room troubles started occurring inside their organization. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell were reported to have a verbal altercation at halftime of their match against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie reportedly did not have great chemistry as two ball-dominant guards.
Those were just some of the main issues surrounding the squad, and an active trade deadline addressed some of them while providing new ones. Here are the three most burning questions facing the Wizards over the last 24 games of the regular season.
Wizards burning questions after 2022 All-Star break
Is Bradley Beal picking up his player option?
Beal underwent a surgical procedure on his left wrist that has wrapped up his 2022 season with only 40 games played. Similar to Damian Lillard, Beal has been consistent in expressing his massive loyalty to the city and organization of Washington, but there might be a time he decides to jump ship if he wants to be part of a championship-contending franchise.
Beal is due for $36 million if he decides to opt into the final season of his three-year contract extension. On the other hand, Beal could opt out and sign a super-max extension with Washington for five more years, earning an additional $50 million in total.
It will be a dilemma for Beal and his camp to prioritize switching teams in the offseason or put the utmost trust in Tommy Sheppard to still build a legitimate squad around him.
Is Kristaps Porzingis ever going to get healthy?
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The Dallas Mavericks gave up on the unreliable durability of Kristaps Porzingis. His contract is still guaranteed for this year and next year for $31 and $33 million, respectively, along with an onerous $36 million player option for 2023-24. Dallas decided to split up his salary slot into Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, both of whom underperformed with the Wizards and are looking to bounce back alongside Luka Doncic.
With so much money already committed to Porzingis, the Wizards' flexibility could be heavily limited if they sign Beal to a super-max extension in the offseason. That duo has still played zero seconds together, so it does not seem ideal to commit some 70% of the salary cap to these two big names. It is an enormous risk to take a flier on Porzingis with a substantial length of a present contract, as this could easily be a disaster if he continuously gets hurt while they still pay him a salary normally reserved for superstars.
How will they balance the playing time of veterans and young guys?
For a roster that has a slew of role players in the fold, it has been tough for coach Wes Unseld Jr. to find the perfect combinations on a nightly basis. Every player in the lineup is still finding his niche or proving himself at the NBA level, which makes it hard for Unseld to impart team-first virtues of sacrifice, accountability and unselfishness.
Washington's center rotation has been a mess this year with Harrell, Daniel Gafford and Thomas Bryant. They decided to let go of Harrell before the trade deadline, but they added another big in Porzingis who will soak up a ton of minutes as the starting center when he is healthy.
Moreover, their depth chart at point guard position is severely compromised with the deadline departures of Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday. Ish Smith and Raul Neto have been alternating point guard duties, but those two facilitators will not be enough for the Wizards to compete with the best of the best.
