The Washington Wizards took plenty of strides forward this summer. They are younger, more dynamic, and finally have a direction. But perhaps the biggest gain for the Wizards this offseason was having financial flexibility for the first time in a long time.
The Wizards have been hampered by negative-value contracts in the last decade. The maximum contract extensions that John Wall and Bradley Beal had signed with the franchise were hindrances to financial flexibility for a long time. There were massive contracts for the likes of Otto Porter Jr. and Davis Bertans around the same time that completely tanked the Wizards’ ability to be players in the free-agent or trade market.