Which Wizards Are On the Hot Seat?

McCollum has looked out of sync and out of rhythm in a Wizards uniform. His skillset hasn't blended well with the Wizards system, resulting in his play hurting the team. Washington has thrusted him into a point guard role, making him one of the focal points of the offense. The returns on this has been a dysfunctional offense that lacks a consistent lead playmaker. McCollum's poor play and his ever aging body makes his future in Washington look more and more questionable by the day.

Khris Middleton

On a very similar note, Khris Middleton has too not played to the level that the Wizards hoped when they traded for him last season. Middleton has taken yet another step back in production and has regressed steadily over recent seasons. This season Middleton has looked especially bad and has been a shell of his former self. His 11.3 points a game is the second lowest total of his career and his 2.2 assists are the third lowest. Middleton’s 41.2% mark from three does shed some light onto this season, but his overall impact in Washington has been poor.

Much like McCollum, Middleton has struggled to fit into the Wizards system. He hasn't seemed very comfortable accepting a tertiary role, resulting in him trying to assert himself at odd times. There are stretches in nearly every game where Middleton will be absent from the offensive flow, which he will break with an out of rhythm isolation possession that his teammates don't really know how to play off. Middleton's floor spacing is very beneficial, especially considering the Wizards high paced downhill attack. However, with Middleton's trade value dwindling by the day, a trade that involves him will likely happen sooner rather than later. 

Brain Keefe

Head coach Brain Keefe is in a very odd spot with the Wizards organization. Keefe has received praise in the past from general manager Will Dawkins, but with each day it becomes harder and harder to defend his approach to coaching.The Wizards record of 1-5 is bad enough at face value. If Washington continues on the trend of losing games then coach Keefe will surely be out of a job come season's end. However, if he continues to make the same mistakes he has been, that move could be made far earlier. 

Coach Keefe’s handling of minute allocation and the lineups he has rolled out this season have been questionable to say the least. Keefe has shown a strong loyalty to the veterans in Washington, giving them a far longer leash to play through their struggles — which is not only counter intuitive to the teams rebuild, but also is hurting the teams short-term success. If Keefe wants to keep his job in Washington, buying into the young talent will be vital.