What happened to Will Barton?

What happened with Will Barton?

There was a lot of optimism this offseason with the Wizards landing Monte Morris and Will Barton in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Both were starters in the competitive western conference and played for a formidable playoff team.

Barton averaged close to 15 points per game two of the last three seasons and shot no less than 43% from the field during that three-year span.

But in his first year with the Wizards, Barton is only averaging 7.7 points per game and shooting 38.7% from the field through 40 games. In some cases, he was a DNP warming the bench. So, what happened in DC?

Is it me or do good players somehow see their careers diminish when they come to Washington?

We know Rui Hachimura expressed his unhappiness with his lack of playing time that ultimately led to his trade. Now it seems Barton is the next victim of Wes Unseld Junior’s (WUJ) lineup decisions. WUJ (or perhaps the front office) have decided that players such as Kispert, Avidja, and Jordan Goodwin are more worthy of those minutes.

Should we be asking ourselves if this is the right approach?

I will say that I was gravely concerned with the lack of playing time Daniel Gafford was receiving at the beginning of the season. Fortunately, WUJ finally came around and we’ve seen the benefits of that. With players such as Hachimura and Barton, we will never know.

Upcoming Schedule for this week:

• Monday: Wizards vs Warriors, Feb. 13th @10:00pm (Steph Curry is still injured so there may be an opening here for the Wizards to get a revenge win, especially if Kuzma is back in the line-up)

• Tuesday: Wizards vs Blazers, Feb. 14th @10pm (Blazers ended our 6 game winning streak earlier this month after the Wizards blew a 20 point lead. Would be nice get this one)

• Thursday: Wizards vs Timberwolves, Feb. 16th @ 8pm (Wizards blew out the Timberwolves by 20 points the last time they played @ Capitol One, with KP getting 41 points)