Reserve point guard Antonio Daniels really stepped up in the post season when Gilbert Arenas was injured and he will likely get a few more minutes this season. He played in 80 games (8 starts) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 22.1 minutes, 7.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Darius Songaila also stepped up last in the season when the Wizards really needed him and they will reward him with more minutes this season because of that. Songaila played in 37 games (1 start) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 18.9 minutes, 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Andray Blatche will need to step up as the back up center with Etan Thomas out for the season. He played in 56 games (13 starts) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 12.2 minutes, 3.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Rookie shooting guard Nick Young will fit right in on the Wizards as he’s a athletic player who can handle the running game. He should get a lot of playing time to show what he can do. Rookie big man Oleksiy Pecherov will likely get some playing time because the Wizards don’t have many players with his size (7′0″, 234 pounds). Roger Mason is a reserve shooting guard/small forward type and he likely won’t get much playing time this season. He played in 62 games (0 starts) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 8.0 minutes, 2.7 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game last year.

Injuries to Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler ruined the season for the Wizards last year but they head into the 2007-08 season renewed hope that if they stay healthy that they will be a threat in the Eastern Conference this season. Gilbert Arenas is the point guard in name only as he is a shoot first and shoot often type of player. “Agent Zero” played in 74 games (73 starts) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 39.8 minutes, 28.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Look for him to put up MVP type numbers this season. Caron Butler has a true breakout season last year and the Wizards hope it wasn’t a mirage. Butler played in 63 games (all starts) last season and he averaged 39.3 minutes, 19.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Power forward Antwan Jamison is the third amigo and he was incredible in the playoffs while Butler and Arenas were out. Jamison played in 70 games (all starts) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 38.0 minutes, 19.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson is the #4 option on offense for the Wizards so he just picks up the scraps. Stevenson played in 82 games (all starts) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The Wizards will need more from Brendan Haywood this season as his backup Etan Thomas had surgery on his heart which will likely knock him out for the season and possibly….a career. Haywood played in 77 games (49 starts) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 6.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.6 assist and 1.1 blocks per game.

Donell Taylor has been released by the Wizards as other players have passed him up on the depth chart. He played in 98 games (2 starts) in his two seasons with the Wizards and he averaged 8.5 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He also wasn’t a good shooter as he only hit 39.5% from the floor, 20.6 from three point range and 64.1% from the free throw line. The Wizards won’t miss Taylor at all this season.

Etan Thomas has recently had a physical that revealed a heart condition that could be career threatening.  Thomas played in 65 games (32 starts) last season for the Wizards and he averaged 19.2 minutes, 6.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Thomas has now played in 347 games (66 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 18.4 minutes, 6.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.  If the Wizards are without Thomas this season it will hurt them because he does his damage without the ball with his defense and rebounding.