What do we make of the Washington Wizards Rebuild so far?

[Blame Rasho]

Well let’s put this into perspective, the last time they won a playoff series they had Wall and Beal. Heck even if you put that 2017 team in today’s nba, I don’t think they are a playoff team with how much the nba has changed. I think overall they lack talent, and hope they can find a way to be relevant. I have some good friends who are fans of them back when they were the Bullets and yeah… they should upgrade their front court talent.

[Godymas]

Tre Johnson looks like a slam dunk pick

I'm taking Alex Sarr 2 overall 100% of the time, the dude is basically in the same vein as a Chet/Wemby which is pretty much the future of the league. He is actually an underrated passer.

https://streamable.com/6gn357

Already shows his ceiling as a DPOY level defender, even if his offensive game doesn't truly develop at worst he's a poor man's Rudy Gobert.

Now let's talk about the real gem, Tre Johnson is going to become a likely star for the Wizards one day if he can fix things up on the defensive side of the ball. This dude is a beautiful shooter, I mean his shot as a ROOKIE is so damn gorgeous and he's already making buckets at an elite rate.

One of my favorite plays of the Mavs game is Alex Sarr goes to work in the paint, see Tre open from the edge, makes the easy pass and Tre obviously nails it, this kind of chemistry development and vision for the game between these two is going to be essential for the future.

Kyshawn George breaking out on a hot streak, he's shown flashes before. I don't know how much of this is him being a star vs. a hot start, time will tell how the team adapts, but if this is real, obviously it's amazing.

But I really love the idea of Kipsert, Tre and Sarr together on the floor just completely stretching defenses dry, if both can be capable defenders on the edge you've got the foundation of something exceptional.

Anyways, I'll be at the home opener tonight, I haven't had a chance to watch my Wizards play start to finish so hopefully tonight will give a better idea. A team like Charlotte should open up a ton of shots for the young group to make, but Charlotte actually has a scary rookie at Center which should be an interesting test for Sarr tonight. Tonight is a good "vibe check" game for this team. If we come out strong and finish with confidence then it's a good sign of things to come when you consider how unserious Charlotte as an organization and team is, especially with LaMelo Ball.

I'd love a star point guard in DC to tie this group together, I don't know if Bub Carrington is going to be it, it doesn't look like a PG heavy draft, but the #1 overall pick right now is a combo guard.

I'd love to see Michael Malone come in and coach this team. One of his guys, Wes Unseld Jr. is already in the FO. Brian Keefe is the coach right now, but I think that Malone could really help mold Sarr and take advantage of some of that vision he has for playmaking.

[jasonxxx102]

Gave up on Poole / Kuzma too soon.

Both terrible players who have no business being around young and developing talent.

You too.

[pipfan]

I like what they're doing. They have some interesting young pieces with Johnson, George, Sarr, Bilal, Whitmore, Carrington, Riley, Kispert-they could REALLY use a stud at PF in this draft-Boozer would be a great fit. I could see them being a good team in 2 years, with TONS of cap space. They also have tons of swaps on 1sts coming up (many complicated-not sure of their value) and all their picks (unless they are not bottom 8 this year, then their 1st goes to NY). They just need time, and some lotto luck

[dans1230]

I like what they're doing. They have some interesting young pieces with Johnson, George, Sarr, Bilal, Whitmore, Carrington, Riley, Kispert-they could REALLY use a stud at PF in this draft-Boozer would be a great fit. I could see them being a good team in 2 years, with TONS of cap space. They also have tons of swaps on 1sts coming up (many complicated-not sure of their value) and all their picks (unless they are not bottom 8 this year, then their 1st goes to NY). They just need time, and some lotto luck

Theyve had alot of time and some decent lotto luck but still have had no results. Unless by lotto luck you mean picking the right players with their picks. I dont agree though thats all luck, theyve had a top 10 pick in each of the last 4 years.

[-Luke-]

I think the current front office did a pretty good job since they took over. Traded what I thought was the most untradeable contract in the NBA without attaching picks, but even got something for him. The young players they drafted look decent to good (haven't seen Tre Johnson so far, but what I read sounds good).

I mean, they are bad, but at least they are out of the Beal era purgatory (pretty bad, but never bad enough to draft high) and have something to work with. Hopefully for them they have more lottery luck next summer and can draft a franchise player.

[nate33]

I like what they're doing. They have some interesting young pieces with Johnson, George, Sarr, Bilal, Whitmore, Carrington, Riley, Kispert-they could REALLY use a stud at PF in this draft-Boozer would be a great fit. I could see them being a good team in 2 years, with TONS of cap space. They also have tons of swaps on 1sts coming up (many complicated-not sure of their value) and all their picks (unless they are not bottom 8 this year, then their 1st goes to NY). They just need time, and some lotto luck

Theyve had alot of time and some decent lotto luck but still have had no results. Unless by lotto luck you mean picking the right players with their picks. I dont agree though thats all luck, theyve had a top 10 pick in each of the last 4 years.

The current management did not run the show when the Wizards drafted Johnny Davis.

The current management has had 3 drafts:

In 2023, they drafted Bilal at #7. The next 8 guys drafted were: Jarace Wallker, Taylor Hendricks, Cason Wallace, Jett Howard, Dereck Lively, Gradey Dick, Jordan Hawkins, and Kobe Bufkin. I'm satisfied with the pick. Lively and Wallace may pan out a little better but that's not yet certain. Bilal is an elite defender with a suspect shot. But at his age and with his 80% FT%, I think the 3-ball is likely to improve.

In 2024, they drafted Sarr at #2 in a horrible draft. The next 8 guys were: Sheppard, Castle, Holland, Salaun, Clingan, Dillingham and Edey. I think they have the best guy over the long term. Maybe Castle is better, we shall see. But either way, it's not a bad pick at all. It's just a bad draft.

They drafted Bub Carrington at #14, missing out on Ware and McCain, but the next guys were Knecht, Da Silva, JaKobe Walter, Tyson and Missi. The jury is out, but it looks like it wasn't a great pick. Bub did make 2nd team all-rookie, so there's that.

They drafted Kyshawn George at #24 which looks like a home run. The best value pick in the draft and maybe will be the best player in the draft.

In 2025, the drafted Tre Johnson at #6, I guy who was projected in the top 5 for the entire draft cycle. It looks like a good pick to me. They then drafted Will Riley at #21 and the team is very excited about him. It's too soon to tell much on this draft though.

You can't control your lotto luck, but you do control who you draft. And so far, the new Wizards management has done pretty well.

[cupcakesnake]

Seems like they've been rebuilding for decades.

They really haven't. They've been bad for a while, but until 2 seasons ago, they were doing everything in their power to build a competitive team around Beal. Fans and media were screaming at them to tear it down and rebuild after John Wall's injuries, but the Wizards kept making moves around Beal like bringing in Westbrook and Trez in 2021, and Porzingis in 2022. They also signed Beal to one of the worst contracts in NBA history.

I think there's been a collective sigh of relief that the Wizards have committed to a multi-year rebuild where they focus on stockpiling young guys and assets. There's actual hope for a future good team.

The Wizards nabbing Wall and Beal was a really nice foundation. They made the playoffs in Beal's second year (2014), and beat their first round opponents 2 years straight. They had nice veterans (Nene, Gortat, Ariza), and even drafted another promising guy in Otto Porter Jr. who fit in next to their guards. Injuries did this team in. John Wall and Otto's careers were both ruined by injury, and the veterans aged out. They were left with Beal and not a lot of assets. There's no question they held onto the idea of Beal for too long.

[cupcakesnake]

Both terrible players who have no business being around young and developing talent.

Both were great with the Warriors and the Lakers on their championship runs though.

"Great" is a hearty exaggeration. Kuzma was a 61-game, 25 mpg player who started 9 games and shot 31.6% from 3 during the 2020 RS. He then started no games in the postseason and scored 10 ppg while shooting 31.3% from 3 during the playoffs. He, as he has subsequently done, actually sucked.

Poole was pretty good for the 2022 Warriors, and then better in the postseason... but he's also a moron, and hasn't been able to recapture anything like that level of success since.

Kuzma played well enough on defense to be useful for the Lakers during that run. He's always been a glorified transition scorer without enough tools to do much in the halfcourt. In the playoffs, with transition defense more locked in, Kuzma was always doomed to be a playoff faller.

Opposite for Poole. His offensive stats paint the 2022 run as pretty successful, but his defense was a big problem for the Warriors. They cut his minutes back more and more as the playoffs went on because he wasn't playable against too many lineups (32mpg in round 1, 20mpg in the finals). His decision making was also problematic on a team that already struggles with turnovers and wild play.

[tsherkin]

Gave up on Poole / Kuzma too soon.

Nope, that's definitely horribly off-base.

You missed the sarcasm… maybe we needed green font for you amigo.

It's entirely possible. I'm old. xD

[JRoy]

WAS fans have cause for some optimism.

Need to hit in the draft and dumping losers like Kuzma was a great move.

[HadAnEffectHere]

It's difficult to determine yet, they have a lot of interesting guys but most of them still have a lot of uncertainty about them. Sarr, Kyshawn, etc have really wide outcomes still.

[Lucky Once]

I think it's important to take into account that the Wizards started the rebuild (post Beal) with virtually no assets. They've done a really good job working on the margins collecting guys that at least look like they belong on an NBA team. IMO, George, Sarr, and Johnson (admittedly too small a sample) look like they could play on a winning team. Coulibaly needs to show enough offense to stay on the floor but he's a stellar defender. Whitmore, Carrington, etc have a ways to go so far.

I like what the Wizarsa have done given their starting point, but they're going to need to hit on a draft picks that can be more of that #1 if they're ever going to start winning.

[Warspite]

I lived in the DC area in the late 90s and early 2000s and they were rebuilding then. That team is in year 47 of their rebuild. Still trying to find a replacement for players who have been retired for 30 years.

[Saul Goodman]

Theyre on the right track. George/Sarr/Tre/Bub all look like theyre going to be real pieces. Add Dybansta/Peterson or Boozer and they may not be bad for long.

[badpotato]

I still don't get why they traded Deni - they locked him into killer contract and then shipped him out for corpse of Brogdon and some meh picks (one of those turned into Bub) that would always be on the table for player like that.
I think they would be on the verge of being good team with Deni in the mix.

[CobraCommander]

Gave up on Poole / Kuzma too soon.

You think so? I assumed the Wizard had plenty of time with the two of them. Kuzma has always been a liability to me.

Anyone thinking they gave up on Poole and Kuzma too soon has never watched basketball before

[Sane]

Seems some structure has been introduced this season. I like how Sarr is actually thinking about shot selection this season, it's going to aid his development tremendously. I see him as a rich man's Adebayo in the future.

We haven't seen Coulibaly who imo is the second best prospect and player on the team. I see him as a future Mikal Bridges tyope of players with slightly better driving/dishing ability.

The rest of the pool of young players will at least yield a couple of excellent role players. Picks to come. I think they're in a good spot. Could compete for the playoffs next season if they sign a couple of veteran FA's next summer.

[jasonxxx102]

Seems some structure has been introduced this season. I like how Sarr is actually thinking about shot selection this season, it's going to aid his development tremendously. I see him as a rich man's Adebayo in the future.

We haven't seen Coulibaly who imo is the second best prospect and player on the team. I see him as a future Mikal Bridges tyope of players with slightly better driving/dishing ability.

The rest of the pool of young players will at least yield a couple of excellent role players. Picks to come. I think they're in a good spot. Could compete for the playoffs next season if they sign a couple of veteran FA's next summer.

Sane with the completely insane take lol.

Rich mans Bam is a perennial all star, multi time DPOY, borderline MVP.

[Godymas]

Sarr will be the best player from the 2024 draft. He scored an efficient 21 points on 15 shots and had 3 blocks. He's 100% in the same line as a guy like Wemby/Chet, except unlike Chet he's going to the guy on his team which means he could be a mini Wemby.