The Wizards preserved their 2026 lottery pick with their latest loss.
Washington won’t have to convey its first-round pick to the Knicks after falling to 17-62 on the season with a 129-98 loss to Chicago on Tuesday. The pick was top-eight protected and the Wizards are now assured of finishing among the bottom three teams in the league, Josh Robbins of The Athletic points out (Twitter link). That means Washington can’t wind up with a pick lower than seventh, regardless of the draft lottery results.
The Wizards no longer owe the Knicks a first-rounder. Instead, they’ll convey their second-round pick this June and their 2027 second-rounder to New York. This year’s second-round selection will be No. 31 overall if the Wizards don’t win one at least one of their final three games.
The Wizards cycled through 26 players this season while failing to win more than two games in a row. They added former All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis via midseason deals, but Young only appeared in five games for the team while Davis has yet to make his D.C. debut.
After winning their first two games following the All-Star break, the Wizards went into all out tank mode and have won just one of their last 24 games. They’ll wrap up their season with home games vs. Chicago on Thursday and Miami on Friday, followed by a visit to Cleveland on Sunday.
Mission successful, as painfully as it was to watch. Wiz have some young players to continue to build around. But will Trae and AD buy in? Will you have some damned lottery luck this year?
I’m a fan and can see some degree of value in the guys they currently have. But is the tanking going to profit this franchise? Its literally up to chance in that department.
I appreciate that they are trying something here, but we all know AD+Trae is on the “high risk/high reward” side. I would assume they would target the best SG or SF available in the draft no matter what pick they get, then go target the best guy they can get in the FA market.
Trae-SG-SF-AD-Sarr
Champagnie, Bagley, Johnson, Riley, Carrington, Coulibaly, George
Nice future the Wizards have, next year depends on who they get in the draft to play SG or SF, then adding the other position via FA or trade.
Bagley I would love to have back as he got traded, though Juju Reese might eventually be able to fill that role. I’m hoping Dybantsa and then Peterson, but I wouldn’t be disappointed with Boozer or Wilson. Just need some damned luck for this franchise at some point. They’ve got some pieces, just have t cobble them together. And you have some OKC Thunder former execs to do so. Hopefully that bodes well.
Exactly, Bagley is a FA, I would expect he would also be interested in a reunion, he was a great fit there before and even moreso with AD there.
But Silver trying to get some adjustments in before this lottery? The odds could change depending on if they implement anything.
Any changes made to the lottery this offseason would be implemented beginning in 2027, not 2026.