WASHINGTON –- More than 48 hours later, Bradley Beal was still in pain.
The kind of pain that stings much worse and lasts longer than any sprained ankle or broken hand.
After losing in the second round for the second straight postseason on Friday to the Atlanta Hawks, Beal and John Wall enter yet another summer hurting over what could have been.
"Discouraging because we shouldn't have been that close," Beal said on Monday of the Washington Wizards' 4-2 series loss to Atlanta. "In my opinion, we should've won 4-1."
Even though Wall and Beal made strides this season and continue to grow, it still feels as if D.C.'s backcourt of the future is stuck in neutral because of the Wizards' inability to get past the second round. And it's not because of a lack of effort or growth by Wall and Beal.
This loss to Atlanta was excruciatingly painful because Washington let a golden opportunity to make the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1979 slip out of its fingertips from Al Horford's offensive rebound putback to win Game 5 to Paul Pierce's nullified overtime-forcing 3-pointer at the end of Game 6.
"It still hurts," Beal said.
So now Washington and team president Ernie Grunfeld enter a pivotal summer. While all of D.C., Maryland and Virginia has its eyes fixated on the summer of Kevin Durant and bringing the local product back home in 2016, the East feels like it is up for grabs now.
Despite the fact that LeBron James resides in the conference, there's uncertainty all over the East. It's part of the reason Wall rushed back with a fractured hand/wrist knowing that there's no unanimous favorite in the East right now or even next season.
Top-seeded Atlanta, which looked awfully beatable in this past series, has key free agents in DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap. What will happen in Cleveland with Kevin Love? And Chicago appears to be bracing for an epic divorce this summer with coach Tom Thibodeau.
That's why you can understand how this offseason could be crucial for teams such as Washington, Toronto and Milwaukee –- young teams looking to take a step forward.
But is now the time to make a big move? Of the three, Washington is the most advanced with two bright stars who are now battle-tested in the playoffs. Toronto has lost in the first round two postseasons in a row and GM Masai Ujiri has to figure out how much he should shake things up.
Milwaukee just made the first round with a very young but promising team and Jabari Parker, whose rookie season ended after 25 games with a knee injury, will be back next season. Boston is only going to get better with Brad Stevens and you can never discount what Pat Riley and the Heat are going to do or how the Pacers will fare with a healthy Paul George back next year.
The Wizards are at a critical juncture. They're stuck at the second round and the goal is simple for next season –- East finals or bust.
"We just got to keep knocking on that door," coach Randy Wittman said after losing Game 6. "We are going to knock it down."
So the dilemma facing Grunfeld and his staff is how to improve this team to take that next step. Do the Wizards try to make some subtle moves and improve where they can? Or do they make a big splash and alter the makeup of the team around Wall and Beal?
It's tricky because San Antonio, the model franchise of the NBA, is built on consistency and longevity. So how much tinkering should Washington do?
Wall and Beal have some nice parts around them, and things might have been different if Wall had been healthy.
Otto Porter finally showed some of the potential that made him the third overall pick in 2013 and still has room to grow. Pierce showed he can still be a clutch shooter and can further mentor Wall and Beal if he decides to return for another season.
But what the Wizards need is a younger, more athletic presence in the paint. Like many teams, the Wizards need a force on the glass and an intimidator to protect the rim.
If Washington had secured a rebound at the end of Game 5, it might be preparing to play LeBron. Also in Game 6, the Wizards surrendered 12 offensive rebounds, seven in the first quarter alone. Who knows? Washington might not have blown so many leads with an athletic guy in the middle.
Nene started off the second round virtually non-existent with a total of two points and 0-for-9 shooting in the first two games. Then he had 29 points combined in Games 3 and 4 before scoring a total of 14 points in the final two games. He grabbed more than seven rebounds only once during the series.
Wall and Beal need more than that. Nene, who has dealt with his share of injuries, will turn 33 in September and has one year and $13 million remaining on his contract. The Wizards' other big, Marcin Gortat, is at his best when Wall is creating for him off pick-and-rolls and there were times against Toronto in the first round when the pair looked formidable together.
"We know what we have to do and the pieces that I would like to add moving forward. [Bradley Beal] and John [Wall] will be here a long time and so we got to utilize their strengths and find the right people to put around them." Randy Wittman
But without Wall for three games during the Atlanta series, Gortat averaged nine points and 8.3 rebounds. And he fell ill and needed IVs before lasting just 12 minutes in Game 6, the most important game of the season for Washington.
After signing a five-year, $60 million contract last summer, Gortat saw his numbers slip slightly to 12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in 29.9 minutes a game. So the Wizards will need a more dependable Gortat next season.
On top of that, Washington may lose a promising young body in free agent Kevin Seraphin, who shined off the bench in Game 6 with 13 points and eight rebounds. Grunfeld could use another athletic big man. The problem is the Wizards will have to do some maneuvering.
How much easier would life be for Wall on offense if he had a high-flying power forward/center to throw alley-oop lobs to off pick-and-rolls? Think Tyson Chandler, who will be a free agent this summer, but younger. And how much more could Beal and Wall gamble on defense with a shot-blocker behind them?
The perfect free agent for the Wizards, and many other teams, is DeAndre Jordan. Of course, that's a pipe dream.
You get the point. In order to get Wall and Beal past the second round, they need more help inside and that's likely not going to come with Washington's 19th overall pick in June's draft.
"We know what we have to do and the pieces that I would like to add moving forward," said Wittman, whose team shined with a smaller lineup utilizing a stretch 4. "Brad and John will be here a long time and so we got to utilize their strengths and find the right people to put around them."
Wall and Beal are ready to take that next step. They showed that before Wall broke his wrist/hand and even displayed it at times after.
So now the ball is in Grunfeld's court. Grunfeld has done a great job in D.C., but now he has to find a way to get younger and more athletic. The former New York GM has shown that he's not afraid to take risks, once shaking up an aging Knicks roster by acquiring Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby, two additions who sparked the Knicks on a Finals run in 1999.
Until we see what Grunfeld can do, Beal will have to convince himself that Atlanta didn't win to numb the pain this summer.
"I give Atlanta credit," Beal said. "That's a tremendous team.
"But whenever you're playing against me, even if you beat me, I'm a sore loser. They didn't really beat us."
