After another disappointing season, changes have started with the Washington Wizards, starting with the front office. The Wizards sent shockwaves throughout the NBA, firing its president of basketball operations and general manager, Tommy Sheppard.
“Failure to make the playoffs the last two seasons was very disappointing to our organization and our fans, owner Ted Leonsis said in a statement, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Sheppard had been with the Wizards since 2003 as the team’s VP of basketball operations under former general manager Ernie Grunfeld. Sheppard got promoted in 2019 to replace Grunfeld as GM on an interim basis but later full-time.
The Wizards reached the playoffs once in four seasons with Sheppard as GM. He retooled the roster multiple times, hoping to strike a match.
Tommy Sheppard failed to hit trade swings
Before the 2020-21 season, Sheppard traded cornerstone player John Wall, who was prepared to return from his devastating Achilles injury, to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster deal.
Westbrook teamed with Bradley Beal, who became the face of the franchise. The two reached the playoffs with a 34-38 record advancing through the play-in tournament. Yet, the Wizards were bounced from the playoffs in five games to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Westbrook asked for a trade the following summer. Sheppard moved him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Washington also acquired guard Spencer Dinwiddie with a three-year, $54 million deal in a sign-and-trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
Sheppard pulled off the impossible, moving arguably the two most unappealing contracts in the NBA at the time with Wall and Westbrook in back-to-back offseasons.
The applause from fans and pundits didn’t last long. Chemistry issues infiltrated the Wizards during the 2021-22 season, leading to Dinwiddie and Harrell getting dealt before the trade deadline. Harrell played 46 games in a Wizards uniform; Dinwiddie played 44.
Dinwiddie got traded to the Dallas Mavericks with Davis Bertans in exchange for seven-footer Kristaps Porzingis. Once again, Sheppard worked magic on contracts other GMs may not have.
At season end, Washington failed to reach the playoffs with a 37-45 record. Still, The Wizards felt optimistic after a small sample size with the Beal, Porzingis, and Kuzma trio.
Beal, Kumza, and Porzingis are incomplete together
Adding guards Delon Wright and Monte Morris added fuel to the fire. Beal and Porzingis each averaged 23.2 points per game, and Kuzma added a career-high 21.2 points. However, the trio played a meager 35 games together.
Beal missed 32 games with various injuries, including the last ten games of the regular season. Kuzma missed 18 games; Porzingis sat out 17. As a result, the Wizards missed the playoffs with a 37-45 record for the second straight season.
Kuzma and Porzingis are eligible to become free agents this summer. Both expect to decline their player options for the 2023-24 season, forcing the Wizards’ hand to decide to commit to the big-three project with long-term deals without knowing how the three look together.
Sheppard whiffed on drafting Rui Hachimura
Another aspect that drew Sheppard criticism was drafting. In four drafts, the Wizards are still hoping for the maturation of Sheppard’s selection.
Rui Hachimura became Sheppard’s first draft choice as the Wizards GM. Washington selected Hachimura ninth overall in the 2019 draft.
Hachimura struggled to find a role on the team through four seasons and two head coaches. Dissention in the relationship between Hachimura and the Wizards was clear when the team chose not to give him a rookie contract extension.
Then, Hachimura seemingly fell out of favor with head coach Wes Unseld, Jr., resulting in the Gonzaga product getting traded to the Lakers for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round draft picks.
Sheppard chose Hachimura ahead of Cam Johnson, PJ Washington, and Tyler Herro. Now, Hachimura is in another uniform. It took some time to get acclimated with the Lakers, but now Hachimura’s value and potential are showing with back-to-back 20-point games in the playoffs.
Jury is still out on Sheppard’s other lottery picks
Questions remain about Deni Avdija, whom the Wizards selected ninth in 2020. Much like Hachimura, Avdija spent much of his three seasons in Washington, trying to find a role. Hachimura’s stagnant development was in the way of Avdija’s.
Only as of late, Avdija has flashed his potential. Avdija averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in his last ten games this season. Each number is well above his career averages prior. Yet, his outburst came mostly without Beal, Kuzma, and Porzingis on the court. Where does he fit next season with everyone healthy?
Several players selected after Avdija have found an identity on the court and thrived at a higher level. However, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, and Immanuel Quickley have had better starts to their careers elsewhere. They also would’ve filled the Wizards’ glaring hole at point guard.
This year’s lottery pick Johnny Davis had an underwhelming rookie season. Davis was non-existent, so much so the “bust” label has already stuck to him. Again, like Avdija — and 2021 first-round draft pick Corey Kispert — flashed in down the stretch of the season without the Wizards’ three stars. Yet, where does he fit next season?
As a GM, drafting is a glaring blemish on Sheppard’s resume. That doesn’t include Isaiah Todd, the second-round pick the team acquired in a draft day trade in 2021. The Wizards have seemingly already given up on the 6-foot-10 big man.
The Wizards are fixed in NBA purgatory. Re-signing Bradley Beal to a $251 million supermax deal also serves as a dark cloud over the franchise, but that’s not just tied to Tommy Sheppard. What is tied to him is how the team’s roster became a hodgepodge.
Sheppard failed to give the Wizards adequate direction. He picked projects in the draft while trying to masquerade as a playoff contender. Through all the misses, his unclear vision doomed the tenure of Tommy Sheppard.
