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The Wizards entered Friday’s preseason game against the Raptors with 18 players. After their 119-82 blowout, they wasted no time finalizing their 15-man opening day roster in preparation for next Thursday against the Hawks. In a press release on Friday night, they announced that they parted way with Jarell Eddie, Johnny O’Bryant, and Casper Ware.
None of the three played during Friday’s game or last Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Two of the three cut players were on NBA rosters last season. Eddie was on the Wizards’ roster in 2015-16 as a midseason addition, while O’Bryant played the last two seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks. Ware also had some NBA game experience, when he played nine games for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2013-14 season.
Now that the cuts were made, here is what the opening-day roster looks like.
| Player | Position | Height | Nationality | College/Team before NBA | Exp | Age on 12/31/16 |
| Bradley Beal | Guard | 6'5 | United States | Florida | 4 | 23 |
| Trey Burke | Guard | 6'1 | United States | Michigan | 3 | 24 |
| Marcin Gortat | Center | 6'11 | Poland | RheinStars Köln (Cologne, Germany) | 9 | 32 |
| Danuel House | Forward | 6'7 | United States | Texas A&M | R | 23 |
| Ian Mahinmi | Center | 6'11 | France | Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez (Pau, France) | 8 | 30 |
| Sheldon McClellan | Guard/Forward | 6'5 | United States | Miami (FL) | R | 24 |
| Markieff Morris | Forward | 6'10 | United States | Kansas | 5 | 27 |
| Andrew Nicholson | Forward | 6'9 | Canada | St. Bonaventure | 4 | 27 |
| Daniel Ochefu | Forward | 6'11 | United States | Villanova | R | 23 |
| Kelly Oubre Jr. | Forward | 6'7 | United States | Kansas | 1 | 21 |
| Otto Porter | Forward | 6'8 | United States | Georgetown | 3 | 23 |
| Tomas Satoransky | Guard/Forward | 6'7 | Czech Republic | F.C. Barcelona Lassa (Spain) | R | 25 |
| Jason Smith | Forward/Center | 7'0 | United States | Colorado State | 8 | 30 |
| Marcus Thornton | Guard | 6'4 | United States | LSU | 7 | 29 |
| John Wall | Guard | 6'4 | United States | Kentucky | 6 | 26 |
And here are some takeaways now that we know what the roster looks like:
The Wizards have an infusion of youth this year - In the last three seasons, the Wizards added many veterans to fill out the roster. This season's roster will feature four rookies Draft Class in Satoransky, House, McClellan, and Ochefu. With the exception of Satoransky, everyone else was undrafted.
What's even more In total seven players will be 25 or younger by the end of the calendar year. It's not just bench players who are on the "right side" of 25. Beal and Porter are still just 23 right now.
That said, the Wizards remain older at the center position - All three Wizards centers will be 30 or older by the end of this calendar year. Fortunately, Gortat is the oldest Wizards player at 32 so no one on the roster is truly past his prime.
John Wall and Bradley Beal will truly be tasked to be the "emotional and locker room leaders on this team." - In past seasons, the House of Guards were able to lean on other older players to be that "commanding voice" when needed, whether it was Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, Nene, Andre Miller, or Paul Pierce. None of them are here anymore , and it's also important to realize that Wall and Beal aren't so young anymore. They may or may not have lingering "on-the-court tension" issues from last season.
But it's now time for them to step up and show what they can truly be together since they're among the longest tenured players on this roster, let alone the cornerstones of this franchise for the foreseeable future.