Austin Brown checks in on the Washington Wizards in our newest Team Preview in the Fantasy Lounge NBA Draft Kit.

Washington Wizards Team Preview 

There are two obstacles the Washington Wizards need to overcome to ensure this season will be better than the ones just before it. The first less assured one is to beat the Cavaliers in the first round because each of the past three seasons that is how they have gone out. The second is to be healthy, which will be necessary if they have any plans of accomplishing number one.

Last season the Wizards were anything but healthy as Caron Butler once again missed a small chunk of the season and Gilbert Arenas missed 69 games due to a knee injury.

Arenas is having surgery on his knee again, a third time, which is bad news for fantasy owners everywhere. Arenas was a fantasy stud prior to last season. In ’05 he finished ranked ninth on BBM and was sixth in ‘06. The surgery is being done to remove a small amount of debris from his knee, which was left over from the last surgery. The team and Arenas are trying to put a positive spin on it, saying the surgery was a proactive step to ensure that Gilbert gets healthy for the long haul. And why wouldn’t they after the $111 million dollar deal he signed this offseason?

Conflicting reports are a bit of a concern here as Arenas told reporters he thought he’d be back by early December, which would mean him only missing the first month or so of the season. But one team source told ESPN on the DL that he doesn’t expect Gilbert back until January, meaning he likely wouldn’t be anywhere near full form until after the All Star Break. He was a risky proposition to begin with this season and this is just a testament to why it’s smarter to hold your draft closer to the start of the season and why early season mocks should be taken with a grain of salt. 

With this unfortunate turn of events, fantasy owners can expect the injury to alter the fortunes of the same Wizards players it did last season. This means an increased value for Caron Butler, making him a solid first round pick to everyone willing to go a few weeks of the season without him. It also increases Antonio Daniels’ value, making him a legit late round draft pick in all leagues 12 teams and over.

Luckily for the team, this offseason Arenas took less money than they were offering him to return. Along with the money saved from the modest contract Jamison signed, the Wiz could have used this savings to add some more talent. But they haven’t and that is one reason why you can expect Wizards players to have similar fantasy value as last season. A great spot to find Wizards info on the net is the popular blog truthaboutit.net. According to it’s author the Wiz ought to add a better wing defender, which should now be coming as a result of the Arenas news. If you can’t play great offense why not shoot for better defense?

On this team other than the big three there isn’t much fantasy value until you get to the later rounds at which point Brendan Haywood brings defensive numbers from the center spot, while Andray Blatche  touts great upside, worth a draft pick in deep leagues and keepers.

Depth Chart

PG Gilbert Arenas / Antonio Daniels
SG DeShawn Stevenson / Nick Young
SF Caron Butler / Dominic McGuire
PF Antawn Jamison / Andray Blatche
C Brendan Haywood / Etan Thomas

Value Picks

Caron Butler As stated, health is the main concern here. The last two seasons he has averaged 22 DNPs. When healthy he is a top fantasy option as proved by last season’s fifth overall BBM ranking. Some people will point to his freak wrist injury in ’07 to help explain why he’s missed so many games. Bottom line is there have been other “freak” injuries and until he proves otherwise, he warrants the “injury prone” label.

Andray Blatche ranks as a nice sleeper this year. Last season he showed real potential in the points, rebounds and defensive cats. This summer in Vegas the 22-year-old averaged 28 MIN, 17.6 PTS, 6.8 REB, 1.4 STL and 1.2 BLK over five games. Even with the return of Etan Thomas and Jamison’s knack for staying healthy, look for Blatche to see another solid leap in numbers and an increase from the 20 MPG he averaged last season so long as he can stay out of foul trouble.

Brendan Haywood Last year was Haywood's seventh season and all I can say is where have you been Brendan Haywood? Without Etan Thomas breathing down his neck the 7-footer posted career highs in games played, MPG, PPG (10.6), RPG (7.2), BLKs (133) and FT% (.735). The bad news is Thomas is back this season. The good news is Haywood has established himself as the clear number 1 center on the team and his confidence should be sky high. He'll be drafted in the last few rounds of your draft, at a time when big men are scarce, which makes him a value pick.

Free Agents

Gilbert Arenas is one to avoid in drafts this season as this was his third knee surgery in the last 17 months.

Antawn Jamison Analysts have beaten to death the fact that Jamison is undervalued in drafts every year. He is the unique breed of power forward that will get you near 20 and 10 with lots of threes. Blatche will have to steal his minutes from somewhere though so just be aware.

Rookies

JaVale McGee NBADraft.net compares him to Andrew Bynum and Patrick O’Bryant, while the knocks on him regard his toughness and basketball IQ. The 20-year-old from Nevada is definitely a work in progress and is not fantasy relevant this season.

Projected Stats

Gilbert Arenas – 42 FG% / 80 FT% / 1.9 3PG / 23.4 PPG / 4.0 RPG / 5.7 APG / 1.8 SPG / 0.1 BPG / 3.6 TO

Deshawn Stevenson – 42 FG% / 73 FT% / 1.1 3PG / 10.5 PPG / 2.8 RPG / 2.7 APG / 0.9 SPG / 0.2 BPG / 1.4 TO

Caron Butler – 44 FG% / 89 FT% / 1.3 3PG / 20.8 PPG / 6.8 RPG / 4.5 APG / 2.1 SPG / 0.3 BPG / 1.9 TO

Antawn Jamison – 44 FG% / 74 FT% / 1.7 3PG / 19.7 PPG / 9.2 RPG / 1.8 APG / 1.2 SPG / 0.5 BPG / 1.5 TO

Brendan Haywood – 51 FG% / 70 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 10.3 PPG / 6.9 RPG / 0.7 APG / 0.4 SPG / 1.5 BPG / 1.6 TO

Antonio Daniels – 44 FG% / 79 FT% / 0.2 3PG / 8.3 PPG / 2.1 RPG / 4.1 APG / 1.0 SPG / 0.0 BPG / 1.2 TO

Andray Blatche – 46 FG% / 70 FT% / 0.1 3PG / 10.8 PPG / 6.1 RPG / 1.4 APG / 1.0 SPG / 1.5 BPG / 1.9 TO

Nick Young – 44 FG% / 74 FT% / 0.8 3PG / 8.5 PPG / 2.0 RPG / 1.0 APG / 0.7 SPG / 0.1 BPG / 1.1 TO

Eton Thomas – 56 FG% / 58 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 4.1 PPG / 4.4 RPG / 0.2 APG / 0.2 SPG / 0.9 BPG / 1.0 TO