As a resident from the Washington, D.C. area, I am once again disappointed and surprised by the Wizards. I am not going to lie; I thought the trade for Russell Westbrook with John Wall was a good one. I was hopeful that the upcoming season would be a winning one, but now, the Wizards are 7-17 with Bradley Beal acting as a major scoring force. 

It was just last night when the Wizards faced their former teammate John Wall and were able to beat them with Beal scoring 37 points, with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. While Beal has been able to stand out and average about 33 points and 5 rebounds per game, fans have been disappointed with what they received with the trade of Wall for Westbrook. 

Last year, it felt like the Wizards played well but could never finish out a game for the win. It was a consistent problem, and by the time the pandemic hit and the season was put on hold, the Wizards were 25-47. They ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference, and Wall had been injured. During the 2018 season, Wall missed the last 47 games with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Wall had to miss all of the 2019-20 season, and fans knew that when he came back, it would be a successful season. 

Wall was just as surprised as I was when he was traded. Wall was healed and ready for the season to begin. The Wizards had acquired new talent such as Deni Avdija and Davis Bertans, both from overseas, Israel and Latvia respectively. 

Ten seasons later, Wall was traded for Westbrook, a star player that can be considered controversial. Westbrook has been labeled a ball hog and a selfish player, yet in his last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he averaged a triple-double. In the previous year, he also averaged a triple-double with the Thunder and won the Most Valuable Player award. 

Westbrook asked to be traded because he knew that his teammates were not doing enough to help him. He had been doing all he could to win. Still, the Thunder could not make it to the playoffs. Westbrook went back to his former teammate, James Harden, who plays for the Houston Rockets, but still could not make it work. Now, back with his former Thunder coach, Scott Brooks, Westbrook is hoping to be able to turn around the streak that he has had. 

Wall has not played a proper game in a while, and because of this, Rockets fans did not know what to expect. It is pretty clear that the Rockets are not as good as they used to be. With an 11-16 season, they still have a lot of work to do in order to get where they want to be. 

The Wizards have a similar story but now rely on Beal to be their driving force toward a season that is like no other. Westbrook has not been able to help the Wizards win, but let’s hope Beal doesn’t get too frustrated and leave because he is all we have left.