When Michael Winger and Will Dawkins took over the Wizards' front office in 2023, they got the go-ahead from ownership to rebuild a roster that had hovered between 25 and 35 wins for five straight seasons. And they wasted no time in tearing things down.
A 15-67 season in 2023/24 - the worst mark in franchise history - earned Washington the No. 2 overall pick in a 2024 draft without any clear-cut future superstars at the top of the class. Alex Sarr was a fine addition in that spot, and the Wizards had acquired a couple extra first-round picks that they used on Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George. But the front office would need a more ample base of young talent - and ideally a singular young cornerstone to build around - before moving onto the next stage of its plan for the roster.
As a result, the 2024/25 season was another slog for the rebuilding Wizards, who traded Deni Avdija to Portland last summer and then leaned further into player development by sending out Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Kuzma midway through the 2024/25 campaign. With the exception of Jordan Poole, the team's top five players in total minutes ranged from 19 to 21 years old, with second-year forward Bilal Coulibaly joining Sarr, Carrington, and George on that list.
Having relied so heavily on first- and second-year players who probably weren't ready for such major roles, the Wizards unsurprisingly finished dead-last in the NBA in net rating (-12.2) by a significant margin. Unfortunately, a victory over Miami on the final day of the regular season dropped Washington to second in the pre-lottery draft order, and some bad luck on lottery night pushed the club all the way down to No. 6 in the actual draft.
It was a brutal - and unlikely - outcome for a team that had a hard time buying a win for most of the season. Having reduced the roles for productive veterans like Poole down the stretch, the Wizards can't say they avoided outright tanking altogether, but they weren't doing it as egregiously as some of their fellow bottom-feeders -- their 18-64 record was much more about an inability to win than a deliberate effort to lose.
There will be some promising young players available at No. 6, but the prospects with the most obvious star potential - like Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, and V.J. Edgecombe - figure to be off the board by that point, forcing Winger and Dawkins to get more creative, and perhaps more patient, as they continue trying to build a roster capable of making it back to the playoffs.
The Wizards' Offseason Plan
In addition to the No. 6 overall pick in this year's draft, the Wizards will control No. 18, having acquired it in a deadline deal with the Grizzlies. They also own a small handful of extra first-rounders and swaps in the coming years, along with a plethora of second-rounders.
This ones pretty simple, they have to lose and lose a lot to keep the top 8 protected that transfers to 2 2nd rders if they do (Sorry Knicks fans)
I dont see the need to sign another Valcunias under the MLE for flipping purposes, currently they can just use that MLE to take in 3rd party trade monies and generate more draft capital with none of the risk. Sucks for the mid range player like JV who now possibly faces vet min land without those services
If Khaman is there at 6 its an easy pick for me. Nice pairing w Sarr moving forward, I could see him moving up to 3 or 4 tho here in the next 33 days . Really love what I see with him, he plays slow and with a purpose, while slow usuall equates to bad in his case its actually a boon Imo as its so controlled and he covers so much ground with a great feel/anticipation
* Basically the anti Jaxson Hayes who plays like he slammed a rail of meth while LBJ was throwing the chalk in the air as a diversion
The Wiz def have quite a few options should they decide to keep the 6 pick. They have plenty more options if they decide to move back a couple as well depending on what they’re looking for. I could see them dealing their 18th and moving up depending on the risers and fallers before the draft. Personally (as someone who lived in Maryland for about 25 years) I could see them targeting Queen, though his stock took a bit of a hit from the combine. I could see them moving back from 6 depending on how his stock falls and perhaps independent of that 6 pick moving down from the 18th to grab Khaman if they opt to go in a different direction from Queen. Both are high potential guys.
Wiz have Sarr and a decently good potential offensively oriented big man in Vukcevic who is also super young. But I will say I have a bit more faith in the current front office based on what I’ve seen from them, so even if it doesn’t align with my opinion they’ve so far earned my benefit of the doubt.