The Conversation: Are the Wizards doing their rebulid right?

The Washington Wizards have won a total of 33 games in the last two seasons, and the rebuild is not over. Now that they've acquired three "second draft" guys -- AJ Johnson, Cam Whitmore and Dillon Jones -- they have nine players on the roster who were picked in the first round of the last three drafts. All that youth represents possibility, but it doesn't bode well for the Wizards' competitiveness in the short term. Neither does the fact that their 2026 first-round pick is top-eight-protected. 

This season, then, is about development. Veterans Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are here to steady the ship, but the big questions are all about the young core: Where is the 20-year-old Alex Sarr's game going on offense? Can the 19-year-old Tre Johnson be more than a bucket-getter? Can the 21-year-old Bilal Coulibaly and the 20-year-old Bub Carrington improve their spot-up shooting? And with so many 19-to-21-year-olds competing for minutes, can Washington start to carve out an identity?

The State of Play

Last year: Twenty games into the season, the Wizards had defeated only one team: The Hawks (twice). And it didn't get much better from there: They finished with the league's worst net rating, worst offense and second-worst record. Midseason, Washington's front office made a bunch of moves, picking up two future second-round picks for Jonas Valanciunas, swapping four future seconds for a 2026 first (likely at the end of the round), absorbing Marcus Smart's contract to get an additional 2025 first and sending Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks for Middleton, AJ Johnson and a 2028 pick swap. 

The offseason: Washington fell to sixth in the lottery, where it selected Tre Johnson, a 6-foot-5 wing out of Texas. It then traded down from No. 18 to No. 21, where it selected Will Riley, a 6-foot-9 forward out of Illinois, in the process picking up the No. 43 pick (which it used on Jamir Watkins) and two future seconds. The Wizards also acquired Whitmore for two second-round picks, Jones for a future second and McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick from the Pelicans. Assuming Jordan Poole was not a part of Washington's future, the McCollum move was savvy: It sent Poole's (longer) contract, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick (which became Micah Peavy) to New Orleans. It then flipped Olynyk to the Spurs in exchange for Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley and a 2026 second, and it re-signed Marvin Bagley III and Anthony Gill to minimum deals.

Las Vegas over/under: 21.5, per BetMGM

The Conversation

Wizards believer: If you want to prove that you're not a casual, get it on this team now. Tell your friends that Will Riley is going to be the steal of the draft. Draft Bilal Coulibaly in your fantasy league. Don't just make outlandish claims about the potential of the Tre Johnson-Alex Sarr pick-and-roll; make outlandish claims about the potential of the inverted Sarr-Johnson pick-and-roll. Remember when Draymond Green praised Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington for getting the Wizards to play harder than they had in years? For a rebuilding team, that's the stuff that matters, not the record … which, admittedly, is going to be pretty bad again.

Wizards skeptic: Playing hard matters, but accumulating talent matters more. To me, the Wizards are interesting because they didn't get Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper and, as they position themselves to get Darryn Peterson or A.J. Dybantsa, they will be figuring out which of their young players are worth continuing to invest in. They've already given up on Johnny Davis, the 10th pick in the 2022 draft, and, while there should be plenty of minutes available for Carrington and Johnson in the backcourt, the wing rotation is looking pretty crowded. It's a weird roster in that way, and also in that there are barely any bigs here. I'm concerned that Washington still might not have found a real centerpiece, and that, with this odd collection of players, it'll be hard for the front office to even tell what it has.

Wizards believer: People say this kind of thing about every rebuilding team. If you don't have the patience to watch these young guys, then don't! You can just tune in when the Wizards are playoff-bound and ascendant and pretend that you saw it coming all along. Personally, I think they're going to be a more mature, well-balanced team in 2025-26. Jordan Poole was fine last season, I guess, but I'm much more excited to watch Johnson with the ball in his hands. There's a ton of length on this team now, and there should be internal development across the board.

Wizards skeptic: What kind of internal development, though? Will Sarr actually be able to finish around the rim consistently in Year 2? Will Coulibaly make defenses pay for ignoring him? Flagg would have changed everything for this franchise, but I'd feel so much better about the Wizards if they'd just wound up with Kon Knueppel. There is a long history of guys like Johnson -- tough shot-maker, not much of a driver, not much of a passer, not much of a defender -- flaming out.

Wizards believer: Flaming out?! Johnson hasn't even played an NBA game yet, and you're predicting he's going to be out of here like Davis? Again, be patient! Think about the big picture. The Wizards have a clean cap sheet going forward, a bunch of extra picks at their disposal and a ton of young players with upside. They also have guys like Middleton, McCollum and Corey Kispert -- yep, still here, and still a solid role player! -- to tie lineups together. You can complain about the lack of bigs, I guess, but I like that Sarr will be forced to play the 5 and I'm fine with guys like Coulibaly, George and Cam Whitmore sliding up to the 4 spot.

Wizards skeptic: I would have been fine with that a few years ago. Now more teams are playing double-big, and I expect Washington to get beaten up on the boards virtually every night. And while Kelly Olynyk wouldn't have done much about the rebounding issue, I kind of wish the Wizards had kept him anyway. He would have at least served as a connective playmaker and floor spacer, and there's a glaring shortage of guys like that on this roster. And to be clear, I'm not predicting that Johnson will flame out. I'm merely saying that, for a player with his strengths and weaknesses, it's in the realm of possibility. You can call me impatient if you'd like, but I really don't care what Washington's record is this season. I just want to know that the Wizards have found a real keeper or two.