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The new season in the National Basketball Association is off to a slow start. The main attention of fans and experts is focused on the teams that plan or hope to compete for the title. In this material, we want to talk about the team that is perhaps one of the biggest mysteries in the league and has bid farewell to two key players over the summer. We're talking about the Washington Wizards.
It's worth noting that you can place bets on Wizards' games, like any other NBA team, at the bookmaker company Mostbet. You can find a detailed review of the bookmaker on their website at
https://mostbet-az-qeydiyyat.com/.
Key Facts
Last season's results: 11th place, 35-47 record.
Roster:
Arrivals - Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones, Landry Shamet, Bilal Kulibali (7th pick), Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala.
Departures - Delon Wright, Cory Kispert, Deni Avdija, Kyle Kuzma, Daniel Gafford.
What to Expect from the Team
Better late than never. This is the best way to describe the modern development trajectory of the Wizards, who only decided to undergo a rebuild after the NBA Draft. They traded Bradley Beal for his lowest career value. It seemed like the main achievement after trading their former franchise player was freeing up cap space and shedding his gigantic contract. This essentially speaks to the level of the club's management and the situation they buried themselves in for years.
In addition to Beal, the Wizards traded Kristaps Porzingis to Boston in a three-team trade, from which Washington received Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala. They also acquired Chris Paul and Landry Shamet after trading Beal to Phoenix, and later, they converted Paul into Jordan Poole.
In the summer, they re-signed Kyle Kuzma to a 90/4 contract.
In general, the team's goals for the next few years will be the accumulation of draft capital, vying for top picks, and finding and developing players who are a good fit for the team.
Among those to watch closely, Bilal Kulibali stands out. The promising 19-year-old French 6'7 forward with a 7'2 wingspan used to be a teammate of Victor Wembanyama, who played alongside him for "Metropolitan 92." While he is a relatively raw player, he has an incredibly high potential ceiling, given his existing physical attributes, athleticism, and skills on both offense and defense.
Season Joker
Jordan Poole Despite how his tenure with the Golden State Warriors ended and the bitter events that preceded it, Poole should start a new chapter in his career with a clean slate.
Over the past two seasons with the Warriors, where Poole became an essential part of the rotation, he proved himself as a starting five-level player. His statistics speak for themselves:
As a starter: 94 games, 60.6% win rate, 22.7 points, 4.4 assists, 43.6% shooting on 17.2 attempts per game.
Off the bench: 64 games, 56.3% win rate, 14.8 points, 4 assists, 45.3% shooting on 11.3 attempts per game.
Breaking into the starting lineup on a team with players like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, living legends of basketball, was almost impossible. However, the Wizards can easily and painlessly provide Poole with the opportunity he needs, especially since Poole is undeniably talented.
Prediction: 15th place in the Eastern Conference.
