Am I the only non DC fan excited about Washington and their future ?

[zero rings]

They've been terrible for ages, and they don't have a single blue-chip prospect on their roster. What's to be excited about?

[ArksNetsSince99]

I think they will struggle (I prefer that term than the more harsh/negative stink) for another season, but The DC front office is quietly building a very talented (if raw) roster with plenty of upside and also tradeable contracts and flexibility for improvement (if they so chose to go down that path, which I think they will, eventually, but not next season)

Bub Carrington, Alex Sarr, Justin Champaigne, Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly is a solid core to build around, plus Will Riley looks a certainty to play a lot of games next season I assume, plus they have a few handy vets in Smart, Bey, Middleton etc

They are a team that will be capable of causing big upsets next season as well as getting blown out occasionally, but I think they will be nothing but entertaining to watch, at the very least.

I make this thread cause I get the impression that rightly or wrongly, The Wizards seem to be the forgotten/least discussed team/franchise on this forum, but yet I feel like they potentially could very well be a top 3 team in the NBA (least in The East) within the next 5 years or so, especially if their front office holds their nerve and doesn't do any previous foolish moves or short cuts in their rebuild.

They are somewhat flying under the radar in the media, at any rate

Yes you’re the only one

[Jamaaliver]

They seem to have a general direction.

Still in need of an alpha dog.

It'll be interesting to see what Tre Johnson grows into.

[MavsDirk41]

See what Tre Johnson and Whitmore can do. I think Sarr is a bust. Middleton, CJ and Smart are trade bait.

[Knightro]

The Wizards have made mostly good to quite good decisions since Winger and Dawkins took over the front office.

Completely cleaned up the cap sheet moving forward, brought in some tradable veterans and added a lot of interesting/semi interesting talent on rookie contracts.

Unfortunately, they still lack that one tentpole north star kind of player and it's going to remain tough sledding until they find that player.

But this new Wizards front office certainly seems like they know what they're doing, which is a highly positive development. They just need some lotto luck moving forward.

[BigGargamel]

Bump this thread 12 months from now if they have Dybansta/Peterson/Boozer and I'll say yes. But right now, I don't see that one difference maker on the roster. A lot of young complimentary pieces, but it's kind of like a Jazz situation, and this team doesn't even have a Markkanen level veteran on it. Goes to show you that you can tank as hard as you want, but the lottery balls still have to work in your favor. And the year you get the #2 overall pick can't be a total stinker.

[Dominator83]

How can you be a Boston fan and DC fan? Am I missing something?.

I'm a Kobe/Laker fan but no other team excites me more then the Lakers. Use to be a player follower back in the day, but now all around NBA fan, maybe that's you? But calling yourself a DC fan while being a Boston fan oof?? Just curious lol (maybe missreading this?)

Didn't read the title of my thread ?
Said only non DC fan ?

Washington seem to be the ugly duckling/forgotten franchise of the NBA and I think they have a future that is well worth discussing/talking up, especially as I don't see a lot of pro Wizards media articles or buzz (least here in Australia)

Alex Sarr was projected to be a bust by many (for example) especially on this forum, but he put together a more promising rookie season than most thought ans he still has so much improvement and growth too.

As for Godymas's rightful concerns, the vets like Middleton and Smart added a lot of leadership and competitive edge to the Wizards after you guys traded for them before the deadline, obviously you don't want them to start (unless injuries dictate it) but they are very good for the education of your young players and building a more professional culture at the ball club.

At the very least, the worst/most painful years of the Wizards years of mid/tanking or bog ordinary purgatory are behind them, I hate to toot my own horn, but I tipped the Pistons to be the big improvers in the East before last season started, I do think the Wizards are still one year/season away at least from at least contending for the play in/play offs, but they are not as far away as most folks think.

Having 100 million or so in free cap space at the end of next season is also going to be a massive advantage for The Wiz.

Definitely much more optimistic about The Wizards and their future than say The Bulls or Nets, whom frankly I am confused what their ultimate agenda is.

As a Bulls fan, our agenda is not confusing. It's to treadmill and be an annual play-in team

Wizards are alot like us. Just a collection of guys but no real potential superstar. Main difference is were more watchable during the regular season.

[tsherkin]

I suppose this is all in the wording of the question, right?

Like, are you excited about the specific roster? No, there isn't a good reason to be. But as has been discussed by several, they've moved to a different set of decision-makers, so finally having confidence in the folks up top regularly making quality decisions is basically a paradigm shift in the fandom. It may not lead to anything tangible in the W column for a couple seasons (there's a fair amount of luck involved in the draft, after all), but it's leading in the right direction.

[Curmudgeon]

I think you are the only one, but what do I know?