The Washington Wizards’ season came to an end on Friday night at the hands of the Toronto Raptors. The two teams squared off in a must-win Game 6 for the Wizards in Washington, but by the time the clock hit zero, the Raptors were able to pick up a 102-92 win and advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
It was an ending that many expected, but was still the cherry on top of a lost year in Washington. This 43-win season was defined by a lengthy injury for John Wall, some apparent internal strife, and of course, a first round exit in the postseason. Optimism will be high that next year, with a healthy backcourt duo of Wall and Bradley Beal, the Wizards can build and take a step forward.
For that to happen, Wall has a few ides of what the team needs. One is by filling out the roster with guys who want to suit up for the Wizards, another is to upgrade their frontcourt.
John Wall has repeated often about wanting “guys who want to be here.” And he said it’s obvious the #Wizards need “athletic bigs” moving forward.
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) April 28, 2018
Both of these points are pretty direct, and kind of build on what Wall said after the team’s loss to the Raptors. The former implies pretty strongly that there were dudes in Washington who didn’t really want to suit up for the team this season, and that the Wizards need to get more guys who will buy into what the team wants to do next year.
The latter is especially interesting considering what Wall said earlier this year about one of his big men, Marcin Gortat. It’s no secret that the team’s two centers, Gortat and Ian Mahinmi, are older, less mobile players, and Washington can certainly stand to get an injection of youth at that position. Whether that would be through the draft or free agency remains to be seen, but Wall is making his demands to the Wizards’ front office known.
