The Washington Wizards went through a roster overhaul this summer.
Nene, Jared Dudley, Ramon Sessions, Garrett Temple, Drew Gooden and Alan Anderson are all gone. The status of J.J. Hickson is pending, but there’s no indication that he’ll return to D.C.
While the departures of the preceding players will be felt to varying degrees, the one departure that the Wizards still have yet to recover from was not one that occurred this summer, but last year: Paul Pierce.
In one season (and more specifically one postseason), Pierce had an impact on this roster that went beyond anything that could realistically have been expected of him after the Washington Wizards signed him in the summer of ’14 using the mid-level exception.