Wizards’ Michael Winger Talks Trae, Cap Room, Keefe, More

During a media session on Thursday, Wizards president Michael Winger said he’s not “setting some kind of barometer” for what he expects from his team in 2026/27 (Twitter link via Ben Strober of 106.7 The Fan). However, he anticipates that a full season of point guard Trae Young should put a young roster in position to take a step forward.

“My expectation is that particularly with Trae Young on the basketball team and the development of our young players … we are going to be better next season than we are this season,” Winger said, according to Gene Wang of The Washington Post. “How much better remains to be seen, but I think that we all would expect us to be better, more competitive next season, and Trae by himself will put us in more competitive basketball games.”

Despite adding a veteran point guard who has earned four All-Star nods, the Wizards will continue to exercise patience as they build their roster and won’t skip any steps in that process, according to Winger. He referred to the acquisition of Young as a move that has “gas-pedal implications,” but stressed that the front office isn’t putting its full weight on that gas pedal yet and will continue to be “opportunistic” as it weighs next steps.

Winger added that the club plans to spend the next six-to-18 months evaluating which of its young players on rookie contracts appears capable of making “material contributions to our eventual contention” (Twitter link via Strober). Figuring out what to do with their 2026 cap room is another item that’s high on the Wizards’ to-do list, he acknowledged.

“Whatever we do with that cap space, it might evaporate in the next two weeks,” Winger said, per Wang. “We just don’t know, but we’ll do something creative with that cap space, whether that be acquiring players, trading for a player, signing some of our own players. We’re working through all those scenarios right now.”

Here’s more from Winger on the Wizards:

• One reason why Winger is reluctant to accelerate the rebuild too aggressively is a desire not to compromise the Wizards’ future flexibility unless the roster has legitimate championship upside. “We are not pursuing short-term success,” he explained (Twitter link via Strober). “We believe that mediocrity is frankly easily achievable, but there’s a very low ceiling of hope.”
• Brian Keefe has a dismal 36-128 (.220) record since taking over the head coaching job in 2024, but Winger said he likes the job Keefe has done, citing his player development work and the culture of competitiveness he has instilled (Twitter link via Strober).
• Since the Wizards traded Deni Avdija to the Trail Blazers in 2024 for two first-round picks (one became Bub Carrington), two second-round picks, and Malcolm Brogdon, Avdija has emerged as a star in Portland. Does Winger think it was a mistake to part ways with Avdija after signing him to one of the NBA’s most team-friendly contracts? “No, not a mistake,” Winger said, per Strober (Twitter link). “We did it for the reasons we said then, which is to in effect take us back a couple years so that we could reset the roster.”