53-year old head coach Randy Wittman will likely get one more year with the Washington Wizards to prove that he deserves to keep his job.  Wittman led the Wizards to a 29-53 (35.4%) record, but it was a tad misleading.  The Wizards started the 2012-13 season with a 5-28 record while point guard John Wall was out of action.  When Wall returned, the Wizards were 24-25.  Wittman is now 47-84 (35.9%) in his first two years as the Wizards’ head coach.  He is now 147-291 (33.6%) in his first seven years as an NBA head coach and that is terrible.  If Wall is healthy and the Wizards struggle next season, Wittman will get fired.

19-year old shooting guard Bradley Beal turned in a very solid rookie year for the Wizards in 2012-13.  He played in 56 games (46 starts) for the Wizards last year and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 13.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.  He had 13 games in which he scored at least 20 points and he also had 3 games with 10 or more rebounds in his rookie year, which is impressive.  In the 32 games (29 starts) in which Beal played at least 30 minutes, he averaged 37.0 minutes, 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  The Wizards have to be very, very excited about the pairing of John Wall and Bradley Beal in their backcourt, as they both have HUGE upsides.

The Wizards built the team around 22-year old point guard John Wall, but he missed the first 33 games of the 2012-13.  The Wizards were 5-28 before Wall returned to action and they were 24-25 after he came back.  Overall, the Wizards were 29-53, which had them in 3rd place in the Southeast Division, 37 games behind the Miami Heat.  Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts in 2012-13, in my opinion:

TEAM MVP:  John Wall - 22-year old point guard John Wall has outstanding for the Wizards once again in 2012-13.  He played in 49 games (42 starts) for the Wizards last year and he averaged 32.7 minutes, 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Wall has 14 double-doubles in 2012-13.  I think the Wizards will be a playoff team in 2013-14, if Wall can stay healthy for most of the year.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  Martell Webster - 26-year old small forward Martell Webster had a good season for the Wizards.  He played in 76 games (62 starts) for the Wizards last year and he averaged 28.9 minutes, 11.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  He also shot 42.2% from three point range and he had 1 double-double in 2012-13.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  Trevor Ariza - The Wizards dealt for 27-year old small forward Trevor Ariza last summer with the idea of him starting.  But, he couldn’t stay healthy and he lost his starting gig to Martell Webster.  Ariza played in 56 games (15 starts) for the Wizards last year and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  He had only 2 double-doubles for the Wizards last year.

When 22-year old power forward Jan Vesely was drafted two years ago….he called Blake Griffin the American version of him!  That is laughable!  Vesely has played in 50 games (4 starts) for the Wizards so far this year and he is averaging 11.7 minutes, 2.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Vesely has now played in 107 games (24 starts) in his first two years with the Wizards and he is averaging 15.5 minutes, 3.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He is shooting 52.3% from the floor so far in his NBA career, but only 44.6% from the free throw line and that’s just not going to cut it.  Vesely is going to have to step up his game if he wants to see more P.T. in the future for the Wizards as they are well stocked on the depth chart above him at power forward.

28-year old SG/SF Cartier Martin has been playing a little better in April for the Wizards.  He has played in 5 games (1 start) for the Wizards so far in April and he is averaging 19.5 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Martin has now played in 39 games (1 start) for the Wizards so far this year and he is averaging 16.7 minutes, 6.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He is only shooting 38% from the floor so far this year.  Martin might not get a chance to return to the Wizards in 2013-14, as he didn’t play that well for them this year.

26-year old shooting guard Garrett Temple has been starting lately in Bradley Beal’s spot, but he hasn’t done much yet with his opportunity.  Temple has played in 21 games (17 starts) since March 1st and he is averaging 26.0 minutes, 6.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 46 games (31 starts) overall this year for the Wizards and he is averaging 21.5 minutes, 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.  Temple isn’t likely to see his role improve with the Wizards in 2013-14, if he’s even on the team.

The Wizards have shut down 19-year old rookie shooting guard Bradley Beal for the rest of the 2012-13 season due to a stress injury in his right fibula.  He played in 56 games (46 starts) overall this year for the Wizards and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 13.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.  After the All-Star break, Beal played in 12 games (7 starts) in which he averaged 31.9 minutes, 16.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  He got better as the season wore on and he has a very, very bright future for the Wizards.

30-year old center Emeka Okafor has really stepped up since January 1st.  He has played in 44 games (all starts) so far in 2013 and he is averaging 28.2 minutes, 11.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  He has now played in 72 games (70 starts) overall in 2012-13 and he is averaging 26.3  minutes, 9.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  He has 20 double-doubles so far this year.  The Wizards hope that Okafor keeps up the good work.

The Wizards will be without 26-year old small forward Martell Webster for at least the next two weeks due to an abdominal injury.  Webster has played in 68 games (54 starts) for the Wizards overall this year and he is averaging 29.1 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  This is a bad break for both Webster and the Wizards, as he was playing the best basketball of the season for them in March.  He played in 13 games (all starts) in March for the Wizards and he averaged 33.6 minutes, 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

UPDATE:  (3/30/2013) - Martell Webster made an amazing recovery as he returned to action last night in the Wizards’ 97-92 loss to the Magic.  He played 39 minutes last night in which he had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot.

30-year old power forward Nene has played solid basketball for the Wizards so far this year.  He has played in 54 games (42 starts) for the Wizards so far this year and he is averaging 27.6 minutes, 12.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  Nene has played in 12 games (all starts) so far in March and he is averaging 29.6 minutes, 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Nene is still a rock solid player for the Wizards.