What’s Next for the Washington Wizards?

Marcin Gortat reportedly signed a five-year deal with the Wizards. Is Trevor Ariza next, and if so, what would that mean for Washington moving forward?

For the first time in many years, there was a buzz surrounding the Washington Wizards during the 2013-14 season. Led by a youthful, but powerful backcourt and an arsenal of veterans, the Wizards advanced in the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 season. There were certainly reasons to be excited about the Wizards last season, but with a vital offseason just beginning, where do the Wizards go from here?

The biggest question mark surrounding this offseason deals with Marcin Gortat and Trevor Ariza. Both players are established veterans in the NBA and had good years last season. Gortat averaged 13.2 points per game along with 9.5 rebounds. He was the anchor of the eighth-most efficient defense and scored in a variety of ways offensively. The Wizards gave up their first round pick and Emeka Okafor’s expiring contract before the season to acquire Gortat from Phoenix. The move was made because the consensus surrounding the organization was that the Wizards needed to make the playoffs this year to help establish a winning culture and create an excitement around the team. Gortat played a big role in moving toward that.

Ariza had a career year. He averaged 14.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc. He did all of this while also being the Wizards’ best wing defender. While Ariza was extremely good this year, the fact that it was a contract year for him has to be acknowledged. Ariza was playing for money, and the way he played is going to earn him that cash.

Now both players are unrestricted free agents and the Wizards are put in a tough position. Do they bring both back? Only one of them? Neither? All indications point toward the Wizards looking to bring both of these veterans back.

Gortat reportedly signed a five-year deal worth $60 million Tuesday night and the Wizards brass appears to be in LA to make a pitch to Ariza. This is no surprise. Wizards management made it clear it wanted to bring back a group it thought finished the year strong. Gortat is worth $12 million. He is a big body who’s solid on both ends of the floor and brings an excellent work ethic and attitude. My only concern with the deal is the length of the contract. It is hard to see Gortat, 30, being a $12 million per year player at age 34 or 35. However, with other teams like the Miami Heat highly interested in Gortat, a five-year deal may have been the only way to retain him. I suspect Ariza will be in the $8-$9 million range. That is a lot of money for two players who are good, but are not taking you to that next level.

The salary cap is increasing around $4 million this season to $63.2 million and with the new TV deal lurking, many people suspect the cap is going to continue to increase. If that is the case, signing these two will not have a huge long-term effect, but if this is just a one-year bump, the Wizards are in potential trouble. Mike Prada of Bullets Forever provided an in-depth salary cap breakdown of the Wizards.

I really would like to see the Wizards go after a bunch of young assets or go all-in for a max player (they have room for it) to team up with Beal and Wall. Signing Gortat and Ariza just seems like the Wizards will continue on their current path for the next couple years. These guys aren’t cornerstones of your franchise or getting you to the NBA Finals.

So, if Gortat and Ariza return to the nation’s capital, the Wizards have to find a way to expand on last season and get over that hump. First off, Ariza is going to have another big-time year if he comes back, because Martell Webster is out three to five months after back surgery and Otto Porter does not look poised to play big minutes. Ariza needs to be a good 3-and-D player again and prove that last year wasn’t just a contract-year outlier.

The growth of Bradley Beal is something that could really make the Wizards a legit team in the East. Beal was good at times last year, especially in the playoffs, but I think most people overrated his season. He shot 41.9 percent from the field and shot only 2.6 foul shots per game. Beal routinely shot long two-pointers that stalled the Wizards’ offense and led to his low shooting percentage. He has to get better attacking off the dribble and pick n’ roll to find other ways to score and increase the effectiveness of the Wizards’ offense. But this isn’t all on Beal; coach Randy Wittman needs to put Beal in better positions offensively. More often, he needs to get him on the move and be more creative with him offensively.

Lastly, the Wizards have to really learn how to win. They lost 12 double-digit games last season. That is the difference between 44 and 50 wins. Hopefully, their playoff “success” last season combined with Beal and All-Star John Wall having another year under their belt will cut down those blown leads.

The Wizards are going to basically be the same team next year, barring injuries. They will win around 45 games and have a chance to advance past the first round. It’s better than what they were a few years ago, but is that what you want to be year after year? Seems like it.