Despite suffering through a 13-28 slog of a season, the Washington Wizards are still clinging to life. In the wide-open race for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, the Wizards are just 4.5 games back. Wizards coach Scott Brooks spoke about the possibility of attaining that mythical spot in the playoffs:
Via Fred Katz of The Athletic:
Brooks on the possibility of getting the 8 seed: "I watch the game. I watch the standings, but we’re not talking about. We’re just gonna try to play better every game…We just wanna finish the second half of the season getting better, playing better.” Wiz 4.5 games back of 8th.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) January 20, 2020
Making the playoffs would probably not be particularly beneficial for the franchise. Star guard Bradley Beal has made it clear he’s not particularly happy with the franchise. Meaning he might be looking to get traded when the possibility arises.
However, that possibility will have to wait until the offseason due to the fact that the All-Star signed a huge extension this offseason – negating any chance he has to be included in a trade until the 2020 offseason.
John Wall has not played in two years and the Wizards have been playing in relative obscurity since. The team has been making the moves of a rebuilding franchise by sending away notable players such as Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre as well as picking up multiple young players from the Los Angeles Lakers (in a cost-cutting move to make room for Anthony Davis).
The Wiz also nabbed a high-profile draft prospect in the form of No. 9 overall pick Rui Hachimura, who has been quite impressive so far in his rookie season.
For the long-term health of the franchise, tanking down the end of the season would likely make more sense for the Wizards, but it seems unlikely that ownership will see it that way.
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