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Washington Wizards Rumors: Wiz Want To Keep Bradley Beal But They Have A Lot Of Decisions To Make, Including The Fate Of Coach Randy Wittman

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 11:48 PST, Mar 5, 2016

The Washington Wizards, one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this year, have a lot of decisions to make this offseason as they have eight free agents scheduled to hit the open market.

Washington (30-31) has clawed its way back into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference after starting the season in poor form. The Wizards, who were expected to contend for the South Division title at the beginning of the season, have dealt with injuries to several key players but they have seemed to weather the storm and are now in position to qualify for the playoffs.

Washington is 9-5 in its last 14 games and is just a game out of the eighth playoff spot heading into its home game against Indiana Saturday night. The Wizards are coming off a 108-83 shellacking at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night as the Wiz shot just 39.5 percent from the field and a paltry 15 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 20) – for the season, Washington makes over eight three-pointers a game and shoots 35.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Washington, which has hung its hat under coach Randy Wittman on the defensive end, has struggled mightily on that end of the floor this year. The Wiz are ranked in the top 11 of the league in scoring, shooting, and three-point shooting, but they ranked in the bottom third in those three categories defensively.

Washington is surrendering 104.4 points this season, which is 6.8 points more than the Wiz gave up last year when they were tied for ninth in the league in scoring defense. The Wizards also ranked in the top eight in the league in scoring defense during his first two full seasons with the club.

According to J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic, Wittman will not likely be back next season if the Wizards continue to struggle.

The Wizards have improved in each of their first four seasons under Wittman after he took over for Flip Saunders, who was fired, during the 2011-12 season. Washington went 18-31 under Wittman the rest of the way in 2011-12 and followed that up by going 29-53 in 2012-13 before winning 44 and 46 games the past two years. The Wiz reached the second round in each of the last two seasons as well. The 56-year-old has compiled a 167-189 record with Washington and is 267-396 in 10 NBA seasons overall.

While Wittman’s future is up in the air, it appears the Wizards are all in on restricted free agent Bradley Beal, added Michael.

Beal has appeared in 40 games this season and is currently on a minutes limit though he is still having a productive season. The 22-year-old is averaging a career-best 18.0 points a game while shooting at a 45.5 percent clip from the floor. His other numbers are a tad bit off from the past few season but not by much.

Beal, an elite three-point shooter, has been injury prone throughout his four-year NBA career as he has not played more than 73 games in a season. Pro Basketball Talk believes the Wizards may have to offer Beal $15 million a year to ward off any potential teams from trying to poach the 6-foot-5 shooting guard.

Washington will also have decisions to make on several other players as the Wiz have seven potential unrestricted free agents. Veterans Alan Anderson, Nene Hilario, and Garrett Temple will likely not be back with the team. Anderson is currently 33 years old and broken physically, while Nene is also 33 years old and may demand more money than he is currently worth.

Jared Dudley and Ramon Sessions are the two free agents that the Wizards will try to return, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if Gary Neal and J.J. Hickson are brought back on minimal deals as well. Dudley is a versatile scorer off the bench, while Sessions is a role player who likes to get to the rim.

Washington will have a lot of salary cap space as will about 20 other teams and no draft picks. The Wizards owe this year’s first-round pick to Phoenix (top-9 protected) as a result of the Markieff Morris trade and their second-round pick to Atlanta in the Kelly Oubre trade, per Pro Sports Transactions.

[photo by Lynne Sladky/Associated Press]

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