Are the Wizards Destined for Another Era of Mediocrity?

Last week, the Wizards took Bradley Beal with the number 3 overall pick and addressed a severe need for perimeter shooting.  For many Wizards’ fans, things are starting to look up.  Most likely the Wizards will start Nene and Emeka Okafor up front, Trevor Ariza at forward, Beal at guard, and of course John Wall at point guard.  By no means is this a joke roster anymore, but how far can they go?  In today’s NBA, are the Wizards already approaching their ceiling?

This may sound ridiculous, but think about it.  Lebron James and the big 3 changed NBA free agency.  The NBA is driven more by its stars than any other sport, and Lebron showed how they can group together to win a championship.  Now the stars come together and pick storied franchises or big markets and the smaller markets have to cross their fingers and hope for a superstar in the draft.

The Knicks, the Heat, the Celtics, the Bulls, and the Lakers will always be relevant.  GMs can always make these teams attractive to free agents.  Other teams struggle to bring in big names unless they’ve drafter a superstar already.  Nobody cared about the Cleveland Cavaliers before Lebron came and no one has cared about them since he left.  There is no question that the Wizards have gotten better this offseason, but how will they continue to build?

Let’s say next season the Wizards finish in the top ten in the conference.  They play better, but in the end, finish just out of the playoffs.  The year after, they do even better.  Maybe they aren’t up there with Miami or Chicago, but they finish as a middle playoff team.  Perhaps they even make it out of the first round.  Then what?  I see this roster developing in much the same way as the Wizards of the Gilbert Arenas error, oops, I mean “era”.  Only once did that team make it past the first round.  Some of you may say that’s not fair as the Wizards kept coming up against the Lebron-led Cavs, but that’s my point.  The Wizards could not beat a team with a major superstar.  They put together a solid roster that did well in the regular season, but they never truly competed for a championship because they did not have their own major superstar.  Arenas was good, but he was never one of the elite; he was never a Lebron, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, etc.  He was not good enough for them to build around and he was not notable enough to bring in top free agents.

If the Wizards climb in the standings, they will fall on the draft board.  Yes, the draft lottery allows for the possibility that the Wizards could still land a top player, but I think it is a safe bet that John Wall will be the key player for this team.  It is pivotal that he continues to develop or the Wizards will continue to struggle to bring in free agents.  The best players simply are not looking to DC.  If Wall establishes himself as a top player, the Wizards may be able to continue to build.  If not, then the Wizards will reach their ceiling a lot faster then we all are hoping.