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Washington Wizards: Five biggest issues for team this offseason

By Ben Palmer

May 12, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) gestures on the court against the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 92-91, and tied the series at 3-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) gestures on the court against the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 92-91, and tied the series at 3-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) looks on with teammates from he bench against the Brooklyn Nets in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 118-95. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) looks on with teammates from he bench against the Brooklyn Nets in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 118-95. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Build depth

One of the biggest issues the Wizards had all year was a lack of depth and that was never more obvious than during the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Celtics, especially in Game Seven where the bench scored a whopping five points all game.

Some of the players on the bench were solid. We’ve already talked about the contributions that Bojan Bogdanovic made, as well as Kelly Oubre and Ian Mahinmi (when he’s healthy). Brandon Jennings was a solid contributor as well, but the rest of the bench just was not there more often than not.

The Wizards starting five is excellent, and they can make up for some of the ground the bench loses, but there’s only so much they can do. The Wizards need depth, they need solid reserves, guys they can count on when John Wall and Bradley Beal are resting on the bench.

And on the off-chance (or not-so-off-chance when it comes to Beal) that one of the starters is injured for an extended period of time, the Wizards need backups they can depend on, and they just don’t have that right now.

The Wizards bench had the second-fewest points per game in the NBA this past season with 27. Not only that, out of the 16 teams in the playoffs, the Wizards bench finished 13th in scoring and 14th in net rating.

Re-signing Bogdanovic could really help the bench, and there will be plenty of talented free agents available, plus the Wizards have the draft to look towards, so there’s opportunities.

Next: A few bullpen fixes could go a long way for Orioles

But if there’s one issue the Wizards need to address more than anything this offseason, it’s their bench. Their starters are excellent, now they need to back them up.

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