Wizards Front Office Earns Strong Offseason Grade

The Washington Wizards have spent the summer by avoiding flashy transactions and signings, a practice that many fans have come to accept since control of the team changed hands, but the buzz surrounding the organization's direction is palpable.

They've drafted with intent over the last three offseason cycles, building an all-new foundation without inheriting much to salvage. The Wizards' knack for accumulating intriguing talents has slowly won over much of their D.C. fan base, and despite their routine loss totals, their appeal now looks to have spread to national outlets who are similarly high on their process.

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey awarded Washington's front office with a strong grade when evaluating the job that every team's general manager has done over the summer months on a Grade Point Average scale. The Wizards earned a respectable 3.7 mark for their careful maneuvering, as well as a trio of A- finishes in the new additions, draft and continuity categories.

"The acquisitions of both CJ McCollum and Cam Whitmore can pretty easily be sold as positives," Bailey wrote. "The former allowed Washington to get out of Jordan Poole's contract (which expires a year later than McCollum's), while also giving it a guard who could be traded for more in February. The latter is a classic flyer on a first-round talent who just didn't fit in at his first stop."

All the prospect-heavy Wizards lost in the offseason was Poole in that McCollum swap, the team's top scorer who's shots will be split among the remaining perimeter guards and wings. But all of the remaining ball-handlers and bucket-getters will benefit from the opportunity that's now opened up, as Washington's now known as one of the league's ideal destinations for prospects who couldn't make it elsewhere.