A Look at the Losers: Washington Wizards

The Wizards were unceremoniously swept out of the post-season by the Cavs the other day, to the surprise of, well, nobody. The team's lack of firepower with stars Arenas and Butler sidelined was evident in the fact that they were able to average only 91 points per game in the series, a drop of over 12 points from their regular season average.

Were injuries the only thing keeping the Wizards from a run deep into the playoffs, or are there some fundamental personnel weaknesses that need to be addressed in the off-season? The Wizards have eight free agents, so it's likely that we'll see some changes, even though the key three of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison are all under contract through next season. The two players that are most likely to leave are Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

Haywood is still under contract for three more seasons, but has had issues with coach Eddie Jordan, and the rest of the team has noticed. Antawn Jamison has said that the situation has become a distraction, and would like to see things worked out, one way or another:

"It's a distraction we can't afford to have next year. And it was a distraction. With Brendan on this team, we have a great chance to win, so hopefully things can work out. I believe we can have a working environment."

As for DeShawn Stevenson, he plans to opt out of his contract and test the free agent market, and it's very possible that another club may be willing to outbid Washington for his services.

More after the jump.

The core players would like to stay together and see what this team can do in the playoffs with a completely healthy squad next season. They feel that they can get to 50+ wins (which they were on pace for this year) and are at least talented enough to get to the Conference Finals. But there's no way to guarantee that everyone will be healthy for next year's stretch run, and Jamison knows that you can only talk about these achievements for so long without actually making it happen:

"Without the injuries and everything, this was a 50-win team. But until we actually get to 50 wins and the Eastern Conference finals, it's just talk. If we have another season like we had this year, you can start all over and try to build that way."

The Wizards will likely get at least one more crack at it next season with their current core of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison. But if they fall short of expectations next year, for whatever reason, it's hard to envision that the team will be able to stay together any longer than that.