NBA: 7 teams with questionable futures heading into the offseason

Washington Wizards

Similarly to the Pistons, the Washington Wizards have two All-Stars who are on massive contracts, with slim chances of them making a deep run in the playoffs. However, I’d say the former is way better off; if you thought Andre Drummond’s contract was hard to move, try John Wall‘s deal, who will earn an average of $42.5 million over the next four years. Couple that with another year of backup big man Ian Mahinmi‘s $15 million annual salary, and owing Bradley Beal over $55 million over the next two years, and Washington’s cap situation will be as flexible as gym memberships.

In all seriousness though, where do they go from here? They don’t really have a young core to build around aside from Bradley Beal (who is their only tradeable asset) and maybe Thomas Bryant, who’s shown promising signs of development in his first year in D.C. Even if they wanted to be bad, John Wall coming back after next year will only ensure they stay somewhat relevant over the next couple of years, so a tanking plan is practically out the window.

At this point, their best option is to trade Bradley Beal. A guy of his caliber will obviously bring in a great return, and he’s another option for the Lakers in case they miss out on the big free agents. Trading him to LA will mean that the Wizards will get back a combination of either Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, or Brandon Ingram, all potential pieces they could build around in the future alongside Wall. If Bryant keeps developing and Troy Brown Jr., last year’s first rounder for the Wizards, emerges as a legitimate starting option in his sophomore year, they might not be in too bad of a situation regardless if they trade the talented shooting guard or not.