Apr 10, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) dunks the ball as Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams (2) and Hornets guard Courtney Lee (1) look on in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 113-98. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Wizards are putting faith into their young, developing players and have created one of their youngest rosters in recent memory

Midway through April, the Washington Wizards were the most injured team in the NBA.

Injuries seem to be unavoidable. Freak accidents happen and luck is arguably the most important part of a successful season.

When the Golden State Warriors won the NBA Championship a few years ago, they defeated a LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers team that was missing both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

When the Cavaliers won the NBA Championship this past season, they beat a Warriors team that was missing their starting center, Andrew Bogut.

But, teams can also avoid injuries by forming their roster around players who tend to stay healthy.

Washington missed the playoffs last season after making the semifinals for two consecutive years, and internally the staff probably attributed most of their failures to injuries. They’re unavoidable, right?

The problem with that is, the Wizards could have avoided most of their troubles if they did what most healthy teams do: don’t sign washed up, injury prone veterans who cannot complete 82 games without missing a significant amount of time.

Over the past several years, the Wizards have been very reliant on veteran players with long lists of injuries. At some point, players’ bodies begin to break down.

Players like Nene and Alan Anderson, for instance, were asked to lead the second unit, even though both players have been incredibly unreliable in their mid-30s.

The lack of young, spry legs on the team really hurt Washington’s chances of withstanding such a brutal schedule.

As the season progressed, the players Washington hoped would stay healthy started to fall out of the lineup.

Nene, as predicted, missed time and Anderson was never truly available.

Martell Webster was waived prior to the beginning of the season, which shortened Washington’s already depleted small forward rotation.

Then the Wizards were forced to employ makeshift lineups, slotting Garrett Temple at three positions.

Ernie Grunfeld also had to make roster moves to fill gaps after waiving the injured Gary Neal and trading numerous players to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Markieff Morris.

Like they always do, the Wizards tried to clean up the mess they created last off-season this summer.

Washington got rid of virtually all of their bench players and replaced the broken down veterans with developing young talent.

Morris will now become the full-time starter, replacing Jared Dudley. Andrew Nicholson, 26, will become his primary backup.

Trey Burke, who’s 23, and Tomas Satoransky, a 24-year-old rookie, will compete for minutes as backup guards.

Kelly Oubre, a 20-year-old sophomore, will play a relatively big role behind Otto Porter, who’s just 23.

After being one of the oldest teams in the league, the Wizards have finally decided to put responsibilities into the hands of young players.

John Wall and Bradley Beal no longer have veterans like Al Harrington and Trevor Ariza to lean on.

They both have legitimate NBA experience and it’s time for them to lead. There’s no reason to waste roster spots on players who can only provide “veteran leadership,” which the value of cannot even be measured.

With that said, the Wizards are now the youngest they have been in years – since 2010, in fact.

According to RealGM, the average age of the Washington Wizards’ roster is 25.9.

For reference, here’s a list of the team’s average age throughout the years:

2016-17: 25.9

2015-16: 27.8

2014-15: 28.8

2013-14: 27.2

2012-13: 26.2

2011-12: 26

2010-11: 25.2

That’s right: the Wizards are the youngest they have been since John Wall was picked first overall seven years ago.

The addition of Scott Brooks has put more emphasis on player development, allowing the team to take chances on players like Burke and Nicholson, who’ve shown flashes of potential but haven’t been consistent.

Washington should, in theory, avoid the injury plague this upcoming season.

The secret to staying healthy really isn’t much of a secret. When your roster is complete with injury prone players, there’s a solid chance the season won’t end well. The opposite is true for when the roster is complete with proven, young talent.

The Wizards have a mix of veteran players, like Jason Smith and Marcin Gortat, and developing ones. Unlike in the past, though, these vets won’t be asked to carry such a big load. Ultimately, it’s going to be on the young players to lead the way.