The Washington Wizards began the 2021-22 NBA season quite strong having won 10 of their initial 13 games. Since that point, they have gone 13-23 in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Once again, the team is struggling to compete for a playoff spot with Bradley Beal as the franchise cornerstone.

Last season, the Wizards pulled off a strong late-season push led by Russell Westbrook and Beal to even gain position to earn a spot in the inaugural play-in tournament. The team managed to win their way into the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but the result was a 4-1 series loss in the first-round exit at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Now, there is no co-star to raise his game in order to help Beal carry Washington into playoff contention in the stretch-run of the regular season. The Wizards instead has received underwhelming results from their marquee offseason addition, Spencer Dinwiddie, who has been in recent NBA news as being unliked in the locker room and being described as a ‘shell of himself’ amid his poor play.