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Heading into the 2022-23 NBA campaign, plenty of folks viewed the Washington Wizards as a legitimate threat to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. After all, the Wizards had a star-studded duo of Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis with a number of solid complementary players around them, such as Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert, and Daniel Gafford, just to name a few.
But fast forward to the current day, and it's clear the Wizards fell very short of their postseason expectations, as their 2022-23 regular season was nothing short of a disaster.
Thanks in part to Beal missing almost half of the regular season with the injury bug, the Wizards finished the year with a poor 35-47 record — the 12th-best in the Eastern Conference — and missed out on the play-in tournament. Despite Beal's inability to stay on the floor for Washington this season, it became clear that this Wizards team, even when fully healthy, wasn't more than a play-in team at best. So, the Wizards shook up their roster this summer and made some blockbuster trades.
The Wizards dealt arguably their best player in franchise history, Bradley Beal, to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team trade in exchange for Chris Paul (who was subsequently traded to the Golden State Warriors for Jordan Poole), Landry Shamet, and picks. And the Wizards also traded star Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics in another three-team trade. They received Danilo Gallinari, Tyus Jones, Mike Muscala, and the 35th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft in exchange for the Latvian big man.
Even after all the players the Wizards have traded for over the last few weeks, though, they are still very light on depth at one important position, thanks to a big mistake they made in free agency. With all of that said, let's look at one big mistake that the Washington Wizards made in free agency:
1 big mistake by Wizards in 2023 NBA free agency
Not signing a center in free agency after Kristaps Porzingis' departure
After trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics, the Wizards are very light on big men. Daniel Gafford is the only player left on the roster who can play the center position. Gafford is a starting-caliber center who's rock-solid on the defensive end of the floor, but he's a limited offensive player and a non-threat to score from the perimeter. So the Wizards would be wise to add another center to their roster via free agency. But over one week into free agency, the Wizards have yet to sign a big man.
One name still available on the market that makes a lot of sense for the Wizards as a free agent target is Dallas Mavericks big man Christian Wood. Wood is a sub-par defender, but there's no denying that he's one of the most talented offensive players at his position in the NBA. Very few power forwards/centers are better than Wood at shooting from behind the three-point arc (37.6% three-point percentage with the Mavericks), playmaking (dished out 1.8 assists per game in the 2022-23 season), and handling the rock.
At this juncture, only time will tell if the Washington Wizards will stand pat with their current roster or decide to add more players via free agency. But what's already abundantly clear is that the Wizards should sign a big man in free agency after trading Kristaps Porzingis.
