2018–19 Washington Wizards season

2018–19 Washington Wizards season
Head coach Scott Brooks[1]
General manager Ernie Grunfeld
Owner(s) Ted Leonsis[2]
Arena Capital One Arena
Results
Record 0–0
Place Division: 0th (Southeast)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television NBC Sports Washington
NBC 4
Radio Federal News Radio
106.7 The Fan

The 2018–19 Washington Wizards season will be the 58th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 46th in the Washington, D.C. area.

Background

Off-season

Shortly after the Washington Wizards exited the 2018 NBA Playoffs in late April, General Manager Ernie Grunfeld was quietly granted a two-year extension for his incumbent role with the team.[3] In May, Jason Smith exercised his player option to stay with the team.[4] Jodie Meeks also exercised his player option[5] nearly a month later, despite having to serve the remainder of his 25-game suspension in the 2018-19 NBA season for violating the NBA's Anti-Drug Program in April.[6]

The Wizards made several moves over the summer to overhaul their roster. On June 27th, the team traded their starting center Marcin Gortat to the Los Angeles Clippers for Austin Rivers[7], as both players were entering the final year of the respective contracts and were growing increasingly disgruntled with their teams. The Wizards then boosted their depth by acquiring veterans Thomas Bryant[8], Jeff Green[9] and Dwight Howard[10] in free agency. Meanwhile, the team chose not to re-sign five players whose contracts had expired and became unrestricted free agents: Mike Scott, Tim Frazier, Ty Lawson, Chris McCullough, and Ramon Sessions.

Unlike in the previous two years, the Wizards did not trade away their picks in the 2018 NBA draft. Instead, they used the draft to acquire two additional players: Troy Brown Jr., a Freshman from Oregon who traditionally played at Small Forward, was acquired with the Wizards' 15th pick in the first round. Issuf Sanon, a Ukrainian Guard, was selected with the team's 44th pick in the second round. Brown later joined the team, while Sanon was chosen as a "draft-and-stash" player, who would be allowed to continue playing with the professional Slovenian basketball team Olimpija Ljubljana while the Wizards retained his draft rights.

The Wizards rounded out their roster by signing Jordan McRae to a two-way contract[11], officially adding him to the team in September.

Capital City Go-Go

On August 7, 2018, the Wizards unveiled the new management team behind their first ever NBA G League franchise to be directly affiliated with the team, the Capital City Go-Go, as they were set to play their inaugural season in 2018. Pops Mensah-Bonsu was chosen as the Go-Go's General Manager, and Jarell Christian as their Head Coach.[12] The Go-Go also held open tryouts in September to fill the remaining spots on their roster.[13]

Preseason

The Wizards opened their preseason with an overtime loss to the New York Knicks, 124-121. The game was notable for the combined 83 fouls, resulting in 90 shots, accumulated by both teams over the course of the game. Among those fouls, Markieff Morris was ejected in the second quarter after picking up a second technical foul from a verbal altercation with Knicks rookie Mitchell Robinson. [14]

Meanwhile, Howard dealt with a recurring back injury throughout the preseason, leading to speculation he would miss the team's season opener on October 18.[15]

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club
1 15 Troy Brown Jr. SF  United States Oregon (Fr.)
2 44 Issuf Sanon PG  Ukraine Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana

Roster

Washington Wizards roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 3 Beal, Bradley (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1993–06–28 Florida
F 6 Brown, Troy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999–07–28 Oregon
C 13 Bryant, Thomas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1997–07–31 Indiana
F 32 Green, Jeff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1986–08–28 Georgetown
C 21 Howard, Dwight 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1985–12–08 SW Atlanta Academy (GA)
C 28 Mahinmi, Ian 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 262 lb (119 kg) 1986–11–05 France
G 52 McRae, Jordan (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1991–03–28 Tennessee
G 20 Meeks, Jodie (S) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1987–08–21 Kentucky
F 5 Morris, Markieff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1989–09–02 Kansas
F 12 Oubre, Kelly 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1995–12–09 Kansas
F 22 Porter, Otto 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1993–06–03 Georgetown
G 1 Rivers, Austin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1992–08–01 Duke
F 7 Robinson, Devin (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1995–03–07 Florida
G/F 31 Satoranský, Tomáš 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1991–10–30 Czech Republic
F/C 14 Smith, Jason 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1986–03–02 Colorado State
G 2 Wall, John 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1990–09–06 Kentucky
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2018–09–20

Standings

Division

Southeast Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div GP
Atlanta Hawks 0 0 – – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0
Charlotte Hornets 0 0 – – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0
Miami Heat 0 0 – – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0
Orlando Magic 0 0 – – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0
Washington Wizards 0 0 – – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0

Conference

Eastern Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 Atlanta Hawks 0 0 – – 0
2 Boston Celtics 0 0 – 0.0 0
3 Brooklyn Nets 0 0 – 0.0 0
4 Charlotte Hornets 0 0 – 0.0 0
5 Chicago Bulls 0 0 – 0.0 0
6 Cleveland Cavaliers 0 0 – 0.0 0
7 Detroit Pistons 0 0 – 0.0 0
8 Indiana Pacers 0 0 – 0.0 0
9 Miami Heat 0 0 – 0.0 0
10 Milwaukee Bucks 0 0 – 0.0 0
11 New York Knicks 0 0 – 0.0 0
12 Orlando Magic 0 0 – 0.0 0
13 Philadelphia 76ers 0 0 – 0.0 0
14 Toronto Raptors 0 0 – 0.0 0
15 Washington Wizards 0 0 – 0.0 0

Game log

Preseason

2018 preseason game log
Total: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0)
Preseason: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0)
2018–19 season schedule

Regular season

2018–19 game log
Total: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
October
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 October 18 Miami Capital One Arena
2 October 20 Toronto Capital One Arena
3 October 22 @ Portland Moda Center
4 October 24 @ Golden State Oracle Arena
5 October 26 @ Sacramento Golden 1 Center
6 October 28 @ LA Clippers Staples Center
7 October 30 @ Memphis FedExForum
November
December
January
February
March
April
2018–19 season schedule

Transactions

Trades

June 27, 2018[7] To Washington Wizards
Austin Rivers		 To Los Angeles Clippers
Marcin Gortat

Free Agents

Additions

Player Date Signed Contract Former Team Ref.
Thomas Bryant July 2, 2018 2 years, $2,193,857 Los Angeles Lakers [8]
Jeff Green July 10, 2018 1 year, $2,393,887 Cleveland Cavaliers [9]
Dwight Howard July 11, 2018 2 years, $10,940,850 (MLE) Brooklyn Nets[note 1] [10]
Lavoy Allen September 20, 2018 Northern Arizona Suns [16]
Chris Chiozza Florida Gators [16]
Tiwian Kendley Morgan State Bears [16]
Jordan McRae Two-way contract Saski Baskonia [16]
Chasson Randle Real Madrid Baloncesto [16]
  1. ↑ Howard played with the Charlotte Hornets through 2018, and was officially traded to the Brooklyn Nets on July 6, 2018, but waived later that same day.

Subtractions

Player Reason Left Date Left New Team Ref.
Mike Scott UFA July 9, 2018 Los Angeles Clippers [17]
Tim Frazier UFA
Ty Lawson UFA
Chris McCullough UFA
Ramon Sessions UFA

References

  1. ↑ "Scott Brooks vows changes are ahead for Washington Wizards". NBA.com. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Wizards owner Ted Leonsis issues statement on Supreme Court decision to allow legalized sports betting". NBC Sports Washington. May 14, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ Standig, Ben (3 May 2018). "The curious case of Ernie Grunfeld's quiet extension". The Sports Capitol. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Hughes, Chase (16 May 2018). "Jason Smith exercises player option to remain with Wizards". NBC Sports Washington. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Hughes, Chase (12 June 2018). "Meeks picks up player option to remain with Wizards". NBC Sports Washington.
  6. ↑ "NBA suspends Washington Wizards' Jodie Meeks 25 games | NBA.com". NBA.com. 13 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 Rosen, Zach (June 26, 2018). "Wizards acquire Austin Rivers". NBA.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Wizards Claim Thomas Bryant off Waivers". NBA.com. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Wizards sign Jeff Green". NBA.com. July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Wizards sign Dwight Howard". NBA.com. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ Hughes, Chase (10 August 2018). "Wizards agree with shooting guard on two-way deal". NBC Sports Washington.
  12. ↑ Raim, Jacob (August 7, 2018). "Capital City Go-Go Name Pops Mensah-Bonsu as GM and Jarell Christian as Head Coach". CapitalCity.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  13. ↑ Buckner, Candace (15 September 2018). "Hoop dreamers follow the path to the Go-Go open tryouts". Washington Post.
  14. ↑ Buckner Candace (2 October 2018). "Wizards' preseason opener marred by too many fouls and three-point misses". Washington Post.
  15. ↑ Buckner, Candace (8 October 2018). "Dwight Howard experiences another setback, returns to D.C. for pain-relieving injection". Washington Post.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Wizards announce 2018 Training Camp roster and schedule". NBA.com. September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Press Release: L.A. Clippers Sign Forward Mike Scott". NBA.com. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
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