5. Washington Wizards
There’s a lot of options to slot in the fifth spot on this list. But since the Washington Wizards were a victim of the Chicago Bulls on the trade market of late, and it looks as if this franchise won’t be treading water in the East anytime soon, this is a fitting spot for them.
Ernie Grunfeld brought mixed results to the Wizards over the course of his more than 15 year tenure with the Wizards. But he’s handcuffed to the likes of supermaxed point guard John Wall and star shooting guard Bradley Beal for at least the next three seasons. There’s little to no chance that the Wizards have of dealing out the massive deadweight of Wall’s contract in the near future.
Until Wall recovers to full health from that torn Achilles he suffered early last year, this team isn’t going anywhere. And the supporting cast that Beal has in the meantime is less than stellar. At least the Wizards could’ve built a solid team of role players around Beal and Wall. But that isn’t the case now.
It might not be long before former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks is chased out of the nation’s capitol. But like is true with so many head coaching cases with bad NBA teams, this doesn’t really look like Brooks’ fault.
The Wizards don’t have much direction and won’t be title contenders it appears until at least five years from now.