Washington Wizards Position Outlook: Center

Wizards training camp begins next week while preseason action will take place next month. With the regular season tip-off right around the corner, we continue our position-by-position breakdown with the centers. Who is the starter, backup, and reserve players? What did they do last year and what should we expect this year? Here are out breakdowns for the point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards.

Starter: Dwight Howard

Player Bio: 32 years old, 14 years experience, 6-foot-11, 265 pounds, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy

2017-18 Stats: 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 55.5 percent shooting, 14.3 percent three-point shooting in 30.4 minutes per game over 81 games.

The morning after the Wizards season came to an early end in the first round, falling to the top-seeded Raptors in six games, John Wall stood among a crowd of reporters for his exit interview and said that the team needed an athletic big. This past summer, the Wizards responded by trading Marcin Gortat to the Clippers for Austin Rivers. Adding a starting center would be a tricky add with limited cap space, but when Brooklyn bought out Dwight Howard, an avenue was created for Washington to sign the eight-time All-Star.

The Wizards will be the sixth team Howard has played on as he enters his 15^th season. He was previously a superstar for the Orlando Magic, leading them to the NBA Finals in 2009 before falling to Kobe Bryant’s Lakers. The Superman experiment failed in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte but when Howard was introduced to the D.C. media, he sounded confident that the Wizards would be the right fit. He even noted that his decision to come to the Wizards literally went down in the DM as John Wall reached out to Howard via Instagram.

Howard also had a memorable quote from that afternoon:

“I learned Magic for eight years. I traveled to La-La Land. I learned how to work with Rockets. I learned how to fly with some Hawks. I got stung by some Hornets. It’s just a joke. But through all of that, it’s taught me how to be a Wizard.”

Howard gives the Wizards a presence down low that they have lacked in recent years. He is a rim protector and a table-setter for the pick-and-roll. He may even give the Wizards an extra option behind the three-point arc as he has worked on his shot during his offseason training. One thing that will be different this season than the last two years is Howard will be playing alongside two All-Star guards.

If Howard understands his role on the team, gets along with John Wall and Bradley Beal and everyone leaves their egos at the door, the Wizards will shock a lot of people and rise as a serious contender in the Eastern Conference. If not, anarchy. It will be an interesting season and storyline nonetheless.

https://twitter.com/HoopDistrictDC/status/1021432239928770560

Backup: Ian Mahinmi

Player Bio: 31 years old, 10 years experience, 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, Pau Orthez (France)

2017-18 Stats: 4.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 55.6 percent shooting in 14.9 minutes per game over 77 games.

Ian Mahinmi enters his third season with the Wizards after he was signed to a ridiculous four-year, $64 million deal in the summer of 2016. That is a lot of money. He hardly played in the 2016-17 season due to a left knee injury and despite appearing in 77 games last season, did not have a consistent role in the rotation. He did have a few bright spots with six games of 10 or more points and 12 games with seven or more rebounds. He scored a season-high 17 points twice during a January contest with the Magic and during Valentine’s Day comeback against the Knicks.

Mahinmi needs to limit his fouls and turnovers if he looks to have a successful season. He averaged 7.2 fouls and 3.1 turnovers per game over 36 minutes. With two years and $31.4 million left on his big contract, the French native will have a lot to prove this season.

https://twitter.com/HoopDistrictDC/status/960696392825131014

Reserve: Thomas Bryant

Player Bio: 21 years old, one year experience, 6-foot-10, 248 pounds, Indiana

2017-18 (G League) Stats: 19.7 points, 7.4 rebounds 2.1 assists, 59.5 percent shooting, 36.4 percent three-point shooting in 30.7 minutes per game over 37 games.

The developing big man was claimed off of waivers by Washington in July after the Lakers began clearing cap space for LeBron James and company. His backstory includes a time when he was a highly sought-after, top-20 recruit and the fourth-best center prospect back in 2015. His college decision came down to Syracuse and Indiana where he eventually attended. In his two-year career as a Hoosier, Bryant averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds over 69 games started (nice). Last season, Bryant played just 72 minutes over 15 games in the NBA where he scored 22 points and grabbed 17 boards. The young man spent much of the season in the G League.

This past summer, Bryant began his transition from a Laker to a Wizard by appearing in Summer League for Washington. He scored 20 points in the second game on 9-of-11 shooting and added seven rebounds. Game 3 saw Bryant score 16 points and grab 12 rebounds along with blocking a pair of shots and posting a team-best +18. His best scoring game was in Game 5 when he scored 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds and three blocks.

VIDEO: Thomas Bryant has morphed into a dunking machine this off-seasonhttps://t.co/nLFGhnKcmU pic.twitter.com/jHwjvEkDPG

— Lakers Outsiders (@LakersOutsiders) June 25, 2018