Washington Wizards: Brief History of the Wizards and Team USA by David Statman

The Washington Wizards are entering a season that when looked back upon may possibly be seen as when they finally turned the corner into a true title contender, or got mired in mid-seed purgatory.

The Wizards have had a busy, but splash-less summer. Here’s how the off-season shaped up:

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The roster is set at 15 players signed to guaranteed contracts. So what do they have to show for all of Ernie Grunfeld’s reshuffling: shooting, and lots of it!

Wherever you look, especially in work about the Washington Wizards, there’s a good chance shooting and working on 3-point range are mentioned early and often.

Everything we’ve read from the organization post-playoffs and into the off-season points towards playing smaller and emphasizing shooting. When 30-year old Kris Humphries and soon to be 33-year old Nene are both working on their 3-point shot, you know there’s been a dramatic shift in philosophy inside the Phone Booth.

Randy Wittman sounds like he’s finally ready to embrace a style of basketball that’s going to emphasize the strengths of his backcourt….and that’s what this season is all going to be centered around — the backcourt.

House of Guards/BW Parkway, whatever you may call them, John Wall and Bradley Beal has been tabbed as potentially one of the best backcourts in the NBA for a several seasons now.

Although they’ve lead the team in field goal attempts per game the past three seasons, I find it difficult to say that it’s been their team.

The Washington Wizards have had strong veteran presences in recent years from Emeka Okafor, Al Harrington, Trevor Ariza, Paul Pierce, Andre Miller, Marcin Gortat, and obviously Nene.

When a free agent is acquired or a player is traded for, the first words you typically hear Ernie Grunfeld are veteran, leader, or good in the locker-room.

While none of the names I listed above were the focal point of the respective Wizards teams they’ve played on in any of the past three seasons, there was always a sense that that the backcourt deferred to them in terms of leadership.

Additionally the ball would work through these veterans at times.

If the backcourt got out of control, they were quickly reminded or reprimanded for out of control play or failing to get the ball to Nene, for example.

Wall and Beal have matured though and entering their 6th and 4th seasons respectively, the sense is the organization from the front office down is finally ready to give them the keys to the car.

With Paul Pierce’s departure to his hometown Los Angeles Clippers, it’s Wall’s time to assume the leadership role.

He’s had great opportunities to learn from likes of Trevor Ariza and Paul Pierce, and heading into his 6th pro season, John Wall knows it’s his time.

The early returns are positive as John Wall organized a recently completed 4-day mini-camp in Los Angeles and has encouraged teammates to report to Washington D.C. two weeks before the start of training camp for additional work according to Ben Standig of CSNwashington.com.

The challenge for Wall will be maintaining that level of leadership throughout an 82 game schedule and the playoffs while also carrying the brunt of the offensive burden for this roster along with his backcourt mate.

Bradley Beal is coming off a tough 2014-2015 campaign where he battled through injuries and inconsistent play. Similar to the 2013-2014 season however, Beal capped the season off with a strong playoff performance averaging 23.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.

He reminded people yet again of the type of talent he has and his ability to rise to the occasion.

Now the next step is for Beal to do that for 82 games, and as importantly, stay healthy for 82 games.

Beal’s field goal attempts took a dip last season as they were down to 13.5 from 15.7 the prior year.

With the absence of Paul Pierce, those numbers should shoot back up.

As Beal stated in an interview with me earlier this summer, his goals are to continue to improve and work on creating for himself and his teammates.

Based on recent reports of his work on his ball handling and ability to shoot off the dribble, he may be ready to do just that. Adding to the optimism surrounding his upcoming season, Ben Golliver with SI recently picked Beal as his Most Improved player candidate for the upcoming season.

This team is searching for a closer with the departure of Paul Pierce. With the burden that John Wall already carries on both sides of the floor, Beal assuming the closer mantel would be a welcome sight.

After five seasons of developing John Wall and three seasons of developing Bradley Beal, the front office finally took steps to build a team that can accentuate their strengths. The shooting and wing depth they’ve added should ensure that this team always has enough shooters readily available to help open the floor.

They’ve also built a diverse roster that should be able to play big or small. What the front office didn’t do was bring in an alpha male. They clearly want the backcourt to be that presence for this team on the court and off the court.

John Wall and Bradley Beal won’t have anyone to look to for help. Reinforcements aren’t on the way, at least until next summer and the willingness for a certain enforcement to sign with the Washington Wizards may be dependent on if this backcourt shows the willingness and ability to rise to the challenge this season.