3. The young guns
Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton, last season’s rookies, are now older and wiser and should be better. Vesely, the sixth overall pick in 2011, is still a work in progress. The Wizards believe the high-flying Czech can continue to improve, specifically in the area of shooting.
The defensive-minded Singleton started 53 games last season. He averaged five points and four rebounds but clearly is capable of more.
Forwards Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin and guard Jordan Crawford all are heading into their third seasons and have shown improvement each season. Booker plays with energy and gusto, Seraphin was one of the most improved big men in the second half and the volume-shooting Crawford may be the starting shooting guard if he can make better decisions on offense.
It’s too early to say how much of an impact rookie guard Bradley Beal will have this season. But the third overall pick has shown a scoring knack in the preseason and likely will see a lot of minutes, especially now with Wall out for the first month.
4. A needed veteran presence
The team’s front office said it needed more experienced players and delivered on that promise in the offseason. The Wizards acquired two proven NBA players in small forward Trevor Ariza and power forward Emeka Okafor from New Orleans for high-priced forward Rashard Lewis and his burdensome contract.
Ariza is an eight-year veteran who has always been able to score and comes to D.C. with a championship ring collected in 2009 as a starter with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Okafor played just 27 games last season but is healthy now. The 2005 Rookie of the Year is a career double-double guy, averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds over eight seasons.
Most important, both are high-character guys, a severe issue in recent seasons in Washington.
“Obviously, with Emeka and Nene, we’ve got guys that have been around the block, have been to the playoffs, have been on good teams and understand what it takes to do those things,” Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said.
5. Randy Wittman was retained as coach
Unlike other coaches who coddle their players, Randy Wittman takes a different approach. Now in his first 
full season, he is a straight-shooter who doesn’t play favorites and makes his players earn their minutes – and that’s exactly what this young team needs. The Wizards haven’t made the playoffs in five years so they have a ton to prove, and Wittman’s self-proclaimed “old school” approach is exactly what this franchise needs.
After taking over for Flip Saunders last season, Wittman made it clear right away that it was his way or the highway. Who could forget the permanent benching of Andray Blatche because he was out of shape? Blatche was waived via the amnesty clause in the offseason and clearly the message was sent by the Wizards that a big contract guarantees nothing.
“We need to have those guys that when it does become tough, when it does become uncomfortable, they’re not asking the whys, they’re becoming tougher themselves and digging deeper,” Wittman said.
Wittman has seven players still on their first contract, so he knows there will be continued growing pains this season. But at last they will know where they stand.
“A lot of these kids that come into the league, they are hearing one thing, ‘Man, it’s great you’ve made the NBA, you’re going to have a lot of money, you’re going to have a big house, you’re going to have lots of cars,” Wittman said. “Nobody tells them how hard it’s going to be. You don’t hear that, so they don’t know. It’s not a knock against any of them. It’s just they don’t hear those things.”
With Wittman running things, the players will know how hard they have to work to turn the Wizards’ fortunes around. The best-case scenario for the Wizards is to be fighting for a seventh or eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. If they can do that, it would be a serious step in the right direction.
Season Preview Index
Frank Hanrahan covers the Washington Wizards for CSNWashington.com and is a contributor to Wizards TV broadcasts on Comcast SportsNet. The D.C. native also is the play-by-play voice of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. You can follow him on twitter @JFrankHanrahan
Kinda reaching with Randy Wittman as a reason to be optimistic. Guys had a few coaching gigs, usually bad situations, but there is a reason he never stuck. I can’t imagine his win % as a coach is above 35%.