We’ll see what the Washington Wizards do when the NBA’s free agent period opens this evening, but the assessments and strategic direction of Tommy Sheppard and the team’s decisionmakers seem clear.
During draft night, the Wizards behaved like a team that just needs a few tweaks to win big. They stayed in place, used their picks, and went draft-and-stash with their second rounder.
Of course, there’s also the possibility they know they’re more than a few tweaks away from playing meaningful postseason basketball, but they’re content to make conventional moves, minimize risk and increase their odds of securing a bottom four seed in the playoffs.