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Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Is It Too Early To Panic?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Washington Wizards have dropped both of their games to the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies, but is it too soon to panic?

We’re two games into the 2016-17 season and the Washington Wizards are winless.

After a fairly competitive first half of basketball, the Wizards completely fell apart against the Atlanta Hawks on opening night and lost by double-digits.

On Sunday night, Washington had a chance to redeem themselves on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies, but failed to close out the game and lost in overtime.

There’s a new head coach leading the team and a revamped second unit, but the Wizards’ problems remain the same.

As always, we’ll begin the week by answering some of your questions. Thanks for participating.

Because it makes too much sense to play him, I guess.

Tomas Satoransky seemed to do enough to earn the backup spot over Marcus Thornton during preseason, yet Scott Brooks refuses to give the rookie actual run.

Sato is 6-foot-7, can defend, moves the ball really well and plays within the flow of the offense. He’s everything that Thornton, an inefficient backup, isn’t.

It’s an age thing, maybe. Brooks might not think Sato is ready.

I think there’s hope, though. Brooks will have to realize that Satoransky is the better option soon.

I don’t think it could possibly hurt the team. He’s done a decent job of staying aggressive, relying on getting to the basket instead of settling for deep twos.

For Beal to make “the leap,” he has to become more versatile offensively. There are going to be bumps along the way, but for the most part, Beal has done well with the ball in his hands.

There’s a problem that people haven’t really covered: Wall is way too ball dominant.

This isn’t Wall’s fault; he’s been the team’s go-to player for years and the Washington Wizards haven’t surrounded him with real talent since he stepped foot in D.C. seven years ago. But Brooks can’t keep asking Wall to bail the team out.

We saw a great example of it on Sunday, when Wall took it upon himself to close the game and failed miserably. He can score one-on-one, for sure, but he’s not Kevin Durant. Those possessions don’t end well and the offense becomes stagnant, especially in late-game situations.

Brooks has to utilize Wall more off the ball or figure it out another way. He’s the one getting $7 million annually, after all.

Health is the lone reason.

When the Washington Wizards are healthy, they could compete with any team in the league. That doesn’t mean they won’t be frustrating. That’s imbedded in the team’s DNA. But there’s no question that the team is a lot better with a healthy Beal and Markieff Morris on the floor.

For that reason, Washington will win more games this season than they did last year.

Tears post-Wizards loss.

It’s never too early to start “looking” at trades, but it is too early to execute any.

Washington will go through some growing pains – it’s inevitable, given the amount of changes that took place this past summer. The players have to become accustomed to their new roles. That applies to the players who were on the roster last year, too.

For instance, Kelly Oubre is actually getting to play this year. It will take some time before he gets his feet under him.

In terms of “looking” at trades, a general manager isn’t doing his job well if he isn’t looking to improve the roster, both for the present and the future. Washington doesn’t have many assets. True me, people aren’t calling about Jason Smith‘s services.

Point is, don’t hit the panic button…yet.

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