The Wizards Are Still Far from the Playoffs

At 24-34, the Wizards are now a full three games back of the Pistons and Heat for the eighth seed in the East. Merely getting that spot isn’t a particularly big carrot; a series against the Bucks or Raptors in the first round will be ugly. But with vets like Trevor Ariza and Jeff Green still on the roster and second-time All-Star Bradley Beal playing heavy minutes, it appears Washington is still in win-now mode.

A three-game deficit is a massive chasm with just 24 games left, though. In terms of opponent winning percentage, the Wizards do have sixth-easiest stretch in the league remaining. But the Pistons are right there with the seventh-easiest, and the Magic – with Nikola Vucevic still on the roster – rank third.

More importantly, all of the teams ahead of the Wizards are simply better. Opponents have outscored Washington by 3.6 points per 100 possessions over the last ten games. The Magic are on a 7-3 tear, with a league-leading net rating of plus-10.4 over that period. Detroit? Outscoring foes by 3.7 points per 100. Miami is down at minus-2.7, sure. It’s still better.

The Wizards doesn’t just need to make up three games. They need to make up three games on three separate teams all playing better basketball. I just don’t see it.

Bradley Beal Plays His Second All-Star Game

Thomas Bryant has been a revelation this season. Tomas Satoransky now looks like a must-keep with the Wizards out of the luxury tax dungeon. Those storylines are cute compared to the play of Beal. The dude is averaging 25-5-5 on 57 percent true shooting. Only 16 other players have done that in NBA history.

Beal deservedly received his second straight All-Star game selection this season. He was even picked last on national TV, just as he feared!

First off, the dude getting picked last is a joke. He’s better than Khris Middleton, D’Angelo Russell, and Nikola Vucevic by a wide margin. He’s having a better season than LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Lowry, and probably Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons. Giannis Antetokounmpo picking a truly cosmopolitan team – Team Giannis hails from seven different countries – didn’t help the guy from St. Louis, Missouri.

Beal played 16 minutes last year, scoring a cool 14 points on 4 of 8 shooting from three. He played 18 this year, but scored just 11 on 4 of 11 shooting overall.

Why Are Trevor Ariza and Jeff Green Still Here?

Wizards fans should be wary about the construction of their team with the trade deadline now gone. Trevor Ariza and Jeff Green are 33 and 32-year-old vets, respectively, with the size and shooting chops to help out a playoff team. They’re on expiring contracts. They’re the poster boys for a trade deadline swap that gets a team like the Wizards a few second-round picks and maybe even a heavily protected first.

And yet, team president Ernie Grunfeld chose the aging forwards over the picks, with reporting from NBC Sports Washington’s Ben Standig indicating that Grunfeld sees Green and Ariza as part of the team’s future.

Excuse me? This team is 24-34 and John Wall likely won’t even play next season. What future? The future is, in part, the assets that management declined by failing to cash in on Green and Ariza.

And with both players exiting one-year pacts, the Wiz don’t even have Bird rights on either. To keep both, they’ll have to convince Ariza to take a pay cut, take him (or Green) into a cap exception, and then persuade Green into accepting 120 percent of his current minimum salary. Uncle Jeff’s a hometown guy and a Georgetown product; maybe that holds some sway. My guess is that winning and the fatter paycheck he can get elsewhere will hold more sway.