Re: 2025 2026 Offseason The New Generation Wizards

[thomas1897]

Will Dawkins how will he and the coaching staff connect the pool of talent together as a contending team. Who will be the stars, who will be the floor general of leadership on the court. Will Dawkins is orchestrating a long-term rebuild for the Washington Wizards with a clear blueprint: assess, lay the foundation, build up, and fortify. His strategy centers on cultivating a synchronized, defense-first team with ball movement and player development at its core. Here's how that vision is taking shape: Connecting the Talent Pool
• Brian Keefe’s System: Head coach Brian Keefe emphasizes player and ball movement. The Wizards ranked 9th in assists last season, and Keefe now has a full offseason to install his system more deeply. Strategic Vision
Dawkins isn’t rushing the process. He’s stockpiling draft capital, fostering internal competition, and prioritizing “people-first” players who fit the culture. The goal isn’t just to win games—it’s to build a sustainable contender where talent peak Dawkins’ Vision: Cohesion Through Competition
• No guaranteed roles: Every player must earn minutes through effort, IQ, and fit within Keefe’s system.
• Defense-first identity: Long, switchable defenders like Sarr, Coulibaly, and Whitmore form the backbone.
• Ball movement and spacing: Keefe’s offense will rely on unselfish play, off-ball motion, and shooting development together.
• Bilal Coulibaly: While quiet off the court, his defensive intensity and work ethic set a tone. He’s a candidate for leading by example.
• Alex Sarr: As the centerpiece of the rebuild, Sarr’s development will be closely watched. If he embraces vocal leadership, he could become the emotional and strategic anchor. Dawkins’ Blueprint: Culture Over Stardom
Will Dawkins isn’t chasing stars in isolation — he’s building a cohesive, competitive unit where leadership is earned, and chemistry is cultivated. The goal is to let talent rise organically while reinforcing a system that values defense, ball movement, and accountability. How It Could Work
• Distributed Leadership: No single alpha — instead, leadership is shared across roles and personalities. This fosters accountability and resilience. Identity Through Defense: Sarr and Coulibaly anchor a defense-first culture, while Johnson ensures discipline and structure.
• Freedom Within Framework: Carrington and Whitmore get creative freedom, but within a system that values ball movement, spacing, and effort. With Carrington: CJ becomes the “mirror” — showing Bub what it looks like to lead with intelligence and restraint.
• With Tre Johnson: They form a veteran duo that model's professionalism, preparation, and purpose.1. Role Clarity = Emotional Stability
• Players thrive when they know what’s expected. Even if the role is limited, clarity reduces anxiety.
• Keefe must define roles early — starter, rotation, developmental — and communicate how each contributes to the team’s mission.2. Developmental Pathways
• Young players like Bub Carrington, AJ Johnson, and Kyshawn George need to see a growth arc. The Three Voices of Leadership: Point Guard Bub Carrington, McCullum, Tre Johnson a possibility AJ Johnson Bonus Voice: The Wildcard — AJ Johnson
• Voice: Instinctive, unpredictable, raw
• Leadership Style: Leads through disruption, athleticism, and flashes of brilliance
• Symbolism: AJ is the wildcard — not yet refined, but capable of shifting energy and breaking patterns.
• Keefe can keep them engaged by setting benchmarks: “Here’s what gets you more minutes,” “Here’s how you earn trust. "Cam Whitmore leads through competitive fire.
Keefe can empower leadership groups — small circles where players speak into culture, accountability, and cohesion. Bilal Coulibaly: The Defensive Engine
• Elite lateral quickness and long arms make him a menace on the perimeter.
• Can guard 1–4, disrupt passing lanes, and spark fast breaks.
• Offensively still developing but shows flashes in transition and as a cutter.
• Symbolically, he’s the “quiet leader” — the one who sets tone through effort and consistency. Kyshawn George: The Offensive Conductor
• Smooth handle, great feel for spacing, and a natural passer.
• Shot 40% from three at Miami — a floor-spacing weapon.
• Can initiate offense in secondary actions, especially in the middle quarters.
• Symbolically, he’s the “connector” — the one who makes others better through rhythm and flow.
Will Riley is a promising scorer with intriguing upside. The Wizards selected him with the No. 21 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and he’s already showing signs of being a versatile offensive weapon.
• Three-Level Scorer: Riley can score off the dribble, finish around the basket using touch and size, and hit mid-range shots with rhythm.
• Big Wing Advantage: At 6'8", he has the positional size to shoot over defenders and create mismatches. "The Purpose Five”
Carrington = The Architect — sees the whole, builds the play.
• Coulibaly = The Guardian — protects, sacrifices, leads through resistance.
• George & Riley = The Connectors — elevate others through rhythm and precision.
• Bagley = The Anchor — holds the center, absorbs pressure, finishes the mission.

[AFM]

All good points. Are you related to WizD by any chance?

[nate33]

I think all the emphasis on passing and diversified leadership is due to the fact that the team lacks a player talented enough to be a superstar. If we ever land a superstar caliber talent, all that "lead by committee" stuff will fall by the wayside. The NBA is a superstar's league.

[dckingsfan]

All good points. Are you related to WizD by any chance?

If he broke it into well formed paragraphs, that would be doc right

[doclinkin]

Funny. Too true. I was about to edit it into paragraphs. To respond. But I’ll let it float. I’ve got to read for my writers workshop.

[DCZards]

I think all the emphasis on passing and diversified leadership is due to the fact that the team lacks a player talented enough to be a superstar. If we ever land a superstar caliber talent, all that "lead by committee" stuff will fall by the wayside. The NBA is a superstar's league.

Most definitely agree that the NBA is a star-driven league. But ball movement matters. A lot. The two teams that played for the NBA championship (OKC & Indy) were both in the top 12 in team assists as was other top teams like Denver, the Warriors, Cleveland and the Knicks.

Even with a superstar—or two—ball movement is essential to countering good defense.

I like the ball movement that Winger is prioritizing with the drafting of wings like George, Bilal, and, possibly, Riley with solid playmaking skills. And Sarr looks like he’s going to be an above average passer for a big.

[payitforward]

I think all the emphasis on passing and diversified leadership is due to the fact that the team lacks a player talented enough to be a superstar. If we ever land a superstar caliber talent, all that "lead by committee" stuff will fall by the wayside. The NBA is a superstar's league.

Just a question -- are you concluding that Tre can't be that guy?

[doclinkin]

Will Dawkins how will he and the coaching staff connect the pool of talent together as a contending team. Who will be the stars, who will be the floor general of leadership on the court.

I think I agree with Nate we aren't quite there yet. Though I do agree with much of the individual points of your post. I think things will fall into place if we land an obvious centerpiece players. When you have a no doubt/no question star player the rest of the team is built around their strengths and weaknesses.

By *star* I mean the player who can be a high efficient scorer despite defenses geared to stop them. You need top dog types who can force defenses to warp in their direction but they score anyway, or find the open man. A heavy possession heavy hitter. I don't know that we have that guy yet.

Tre Johnson may get there. He showed he can score against anyone. This despite being a re-classified freshman against double and triple teams to carry his Texas squad. But to get there he will need to add the aspect of drawing fouls and distributing the ball. Hard to be an 'engine' (tm. wiz'nasty) as a shooting guard alone. Players like SGA, Stef, Haliburton, Brunson show you have to be able to create both for yourself and the entire team. Remains to be seen if Trae fits that mold, but if so he'd be displacing Bub in the role of lead ballhandling guard.

You're for sure not expecting the youngest player on the team to seize that role. Yet. That's going to require game winners and high scoring output and earned respect before teammates will give him the nod.

That said I like your vision and it does tend to jibe with the waxing chemistry we seem to be mixing up. We do have players that are willing to take responsibility even to lead.

Bub has a big personality. Game smarts and natural charisma. Hunger to learn. If he can siphon wisdom from CJ and Khris he will have a good base for playing the right way. CJ in the nuances of playing as a lead guard. Khris in keeping the game simple by doing the exact right thing at any given moment.

We've seen Kyshawn has taken a leadership role as well. He backs it up by doing the dirty work: defense, passing, being unafraid to shoot, communication.

In Tre and Cam we have natural scorers who you can feed the ball when you need a finisher or a jolt of energy. We only had Jordan Poole in that role last year. Now we have 2 veteran scorers in CJ and Khris, in addition to these 2 young prospects. Our offense should have at least one guy who can get hot in any game.

I like that Cam seems to have a slow burn over the idea that he's not a defensive player. I like that he takes it personally. At his best he plays with controlled anger. If this carries over to both sides of the ball Houston's loss is our gain. As a playmaker I don't care. If, as he says, he is seeing his teammates better than he did his first couple years in the league, that's fine, but he's not out there to pass. You have him out there to finish plays. And punish the rim or anybody under it. That rage to compete is contagious. For the team. The fans. The roar of a crowd. The reward for the guy who fed him the pass. That's his job, make them pay. The fact that he's surrounded by passers means he's positioned well for a breakout.

As of right now that's the heart of our most efficient offense among our young guys: Tre or Cam in motion, being fed the ball in scoring position.

[doclinkin]

I don't disagree with Jordan Poole that (with a sole exception) we don't have great screeners on this squad. We just don't emphasize it much. Thats a thing I want more for Tre so he doesn't get in the habit of overdribbling to force his shot. Some part of the freewheeling ball motion and player motion offense that Coach Keefe is supposed to input is because-- as good as he is as a motivator and developmental guy-- he's not a mad genius X's and O's coach. He'd rather get out of the way and let every player create for themselves. That's exciting and dynamic and can make everyone a weapon. It can also mean you have a band of soloists with no rhythm section, like.

There's a game within the game of screen setting and the pick & roll game -- all the subtle dirty off ball tricks that help spring loose a player so they have an easier time scoring. It's a team game, you shouldn't always have to create for yourself. There is an entire off ball skill suite that this team doesn't really intentionally feature. Possibly because these are veteran skills. Only picked up from team play and solid coaching over time.

What's surprising to me, but I guess it shouldn't be, is that as a rookie Alex Sarr was top 10 in the league in screen assists. Setting his teammates up for 9 points a game off his sticky screens. That's a pro move. Makes sense since his dad was a pro Big in the Euro leagues. And Alex came up through Madrid's academy, turned pro at 16. He is in fact a veteran, despite being a teenager. Maybe that's why he always seems too calm. It's a job he's done his whole life.

As he gets stronger and develops chemistry I expect teammates will really take advantage of this talent of his. I'd love to see the coaching staff take full advantage of it. Run plays to feature Alex as both passer and screener in pick and roll sets. Bub, Tre and Cam should all be able to take full advantage of it. The earliest we can get Tre and Alex developing timing with each other on this, the better. I'd love to see Cam and Sarr working some screen and roll off-ball action. It's a subtle game but I'd love for Cam to learn to set hard screens. One underrated aspect of Stef Curry's game is his ability to set a sticky screen. And he's puny. Picture defenders chasing after quick-trigger Tre at full speed, running into a solid wall of Whitmore. Tre gets an open shot. The defender gets to rest on the bench til they get their breath back. Seems to me a smart coach would develop Cam's off ball offensive skill set to keep him from tuning out when he doesn't have the ball. It can lead to easy scores. Set a few hard screens and defenders will flinch away from you. Makes it easier then to show a screen then roll instead for an easy feed to the hoop.

Anyway in this respect I think Sarr may become a quiet leader. In the Tim Duncan mold, not vocal, stoic even, but calling his own number. I saw in Euro play this summer how remarkable an effect he had on team defense and offense alike. Whether or not he was scoring. When he went down with injury that whole team fell apart. On both ends. As trast points out. Bilal has been tasked with being the team's best man-on defender. I actually think Sarr is our best overall defender. If you sort those same hustle stats for contested shots Sarr (vs 2 pt shots, and overall) and Keyshawn (vs 3 pt shots) show up high on the list of guys in the picture on defense.

Bilal shows up well on loose balls recovered, but that's maybe 1 per game.

All of which indicates at least guys like Bilal, Sarr, and Kyshawn are motivated and putting in the effort. Even if they don't force teams to miss yet, they are in position. Right place right time. That's a good sign. Not surprising that the Euro players are the ones with these skills. (And Vukcevic is decently high up the rankings of Charges Drawn). I'll be curious to see if other players can pick up on these habits.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Will Dawkins how will he and the coaching staff connect the pool of talent together as a contending team. Who will be the stars, who will be the floor general of leadership on the court.

I think I agree with Nate we aren't quite there yet. Though I do agree with much of the individual points of your post. I think things will fall into place if we land an obvious centerpiece players. When you have a no doubt/no question star player the rest of the team is built around their strengths and weaknesses.

By *star* I mean the player who can be a high efficient scorer despite defenses geared to stop them. You need top dog types who can force defenses to warp in their direction but they score anyway, or find the open man. A heavy possession heavy hitter. I don't know that we have that guy yet.

Tre Johnson may get there. He showed he can score against anyone. This despite being a re-classified freshman against double and triple teams to carry his Texas squad. But to get there he will need to add the aspect of drawing fouls and distributing the ball. Hard to be an 'engine' (tm. wiz'nasty) as a shooting guard alone. Players like SGA, Stef, Haliburton, Brunson show you have to be able to create both for yourself and the entire team. Remains to be seen if Trae fits that mold, but if so he'd be displacing Bub in the role of lead ballhandling guard.

You're for sure not expecting the youngest player on the team to seize that role. Yet. That's going to require game winners and high scoring output and earned respect before teammates will give him the nod.

That said I like your vision and it does tend to jibe with the waxing chemistry we seem to be mixing up. We do have players that are willing to take responsibility even to lead.

Bub has a big personality. Game smarts and natural charisma. Hunger to learn. If he can siphon wisdom from CJ and Khris he will have a good base for playing the right way. CJ in the nuances of playing as a lead guard. Khris in keeping the game simple by doing the exact right thing at any given moment.

We've seen Kyshawn has taken a leadership role as well. He backs it up by doing the dirty work: defense, passing, being unafraid to shoot, communication.

In Tre and Cam we have natural scorers who you can feed the ball when you need a finisher or a jolt of energy. We only had Jordan Poole in that role last year. Now we have 2 veteran scorers in CJ and Khris, in addition to these 2 young prospects. Our offense should have at least one guy who can get hot in any game.

I like that Cam seems to have a slow burn over the idea that he's not a defensive player. I like that he takes it personally. At his best he plays with controlled anger. If this carries over to both sides of the ball Houston's loss is our gain. As a playmaker I don't care. If, as he says, he is seeing his teammates better than he did his first couple years in the league, that's fine, but he's not out there to pass. You have him out there to finish plays. And punish the rim or anybody under it. That rage to compete is contagious. For the team. The fans. The roar of a crowd. The reward for the guy who fed him the pass. That's his job, make them pay. The fact that he's surrounded by passers means he's positioned well for a breakout.

As of right now that's the heart of our most efficient offense among our young guys: Tre or Cam in motion, being fed the ball in scoring position.

We're going to have to downright throw games to end up at 21-61.

This team should finish with around 30 wins.

[nate33]

I think all the emphasis on passing and diversified leadership is due to the fact that the team lacks a player talented enough to be a superstar. If we ever land a superstar caliber talent, all that "lead by committee" stuff will fall by the wayside. The NBA is a superstar's league.

Just a question -- are you concluding that Tre can't be that guy?

Probably not.

I think Tre might pan out to be a #2 guy, but probably not a #1. I think his best case upside looks something like Devon Booker or Rip Hamilton, which would be awesome; but still not a true #1 option SG like Jordan, Wade, Harden or SGA.

But with zero NBA games under his belt, it's a little premature to conclude anything.

[gesa2]

Will Dawkins how will he and the coaching staff connect the pool of talent together as a contending team. Who will be the stars, who will be the floor general of leadership on the court.

I think I agree with Nate we aren't quite there yet. Though I do agree with much of the individual points of your post. I think things will fall into place if we land an obvious centerpiece players. When you have a no doubt/no question star player the rest of the team is built around their strengths and weaknesses.

By *star* I mean the player who can be a high efficient scorer despite defenses geared to stop them. You need top dog types who can force defenses to warp in their direction but they score anyway, or find the open man. A heavy possession heavy hitter. I don't know that we have that guy yet.

Tre Johnson may get there. He showed he can score against anyone. This despite being a re-classified freshman against double and triple teams to carry his Texas squad. But to get there he will need to add the aspect of drawing fouls and distributing the ball. Hard to be an 'engine' (tm. wiz'nasty) as a shooting guard alone. Players like SGA, Stef, Haliburton, Brunson show you have to be able to create both for yourself and the entire team. Remains to be seen if Trae fits that mold, but if so he'd be displacing Bub in the role of lead ballhandling guard.

You're for sure not expecting the youngest player on the team to seize that role. Yet. That's going to require game winners and high scoring output and earned respect before teammates will give him the nod.

That said I like your vision and it does tend to jibe with the waxing chemistry we seem to be mixing up. We do have players that are willing to take responsibility even to lead.

Bub has a big personality. Game smarts and natural charisma. Hunger to learn. If he can siphon wisdom from CJ and Khris he will have a good base for playing the right way. CJ in the nuances of playing as a lead guard. Khris in keeping the game simple by doing the exact right thing at any given moment.

We've seen Kyshawn has taken a leadership role as well. He backs it up by doing the dirty work: defense, passing, being unafraid to shoot, communication.

In Tre and Cam we have natural scorers who you can feed the ball when you need a finisher or a jolt of energy. We only had Jordan Poole in that role last year. Now we have 2 veteran scorers in CJ and Khris, in addition to these 2 young prospects. Our offense should have at least one guy who can get hot in any game.

I like that Cam seems to have a slow burn over the idea that he's not a defensive player. I like that he takes it personally. At his best he plays with controlled anger. If this carries over to both sides of the ball Houston's loss is our gain. As a playmaker I don't care. If, as he says, he is seeing his teammates better than he did his first couple years in the league, that's fine, but he's not out there to pass. You have him out there to finish plays. And punish the rim or anybody under it. That rage to compete is contagious. For the team. The fans. The roar of a crowd. The reward for the guy who fed him the pass. That's his job, make them pay. The fact that he's surrounded by passers means he's positioned well for a breakout.

As of right now that's the heart of our most efficient offense among our young guys: Tre or Cam in motion, being fed the ball in scoring position.

We're going to have to downright throw games to end up at 21-61.

This team should finish with around 30 wins.

I feel you and start to agree with all you’re saying until I remember that we literally have no Centers that are above replacement level on the roster.

[payitforward]

I think all the emphasis on passing and diversified leadership is due to the fact that the team lacks a player talented enough to be a superstar. If we ever land a superstar caliber talent, all that "lead by committee" stuff will fall by the wayside. The NBA is a superstar's league.

Just a question -- are you concluding that Tre can't be that guy?

Probably not.

I think Tre might pan out to be a #2 guy, but probably not a #1. I think his best case upside looks something like Devin Booker or Rip Hamilton, which would be awesome; but still not a true #1 option SG like Jordan, Wade, Harden or SGA.

But with zero NBA games under his belt, it's a little premature to conclude anything.

Right... & here's hoping he attains some high set of goals!

[TheBlackCzar]

Will Dawkins how will he and the coaching staff connect the pool of talent together as a contending team. Who will be the stars, who will be the floor general of leadership on the court.

I think I agree with Nate we aren't quite there yet. Though I do agree with much of the individual points of your post. I think things will fall into place if we land an obvious centerpiece players. When you have a no doubt/no question star player the rest of the team is built around their strengths and weaknesses.

By *star* I mean the player who can be a high efficient scorer despite defenses geared to stop them. You need top dog types who can force defenses to warp in their direction but they score anyway, or find the open man. A heavy possession heavy hitter. I don't know that we have that guy yet.

Tre Johnson may get there. He showed he can score against anyone. This despite being a re-classified freshman against double and triple teams to carry his Texas squad. But to get there he will need to add the aspect of drawing fouls and distributing the ball. Hard to be an 'engine' (tm. wiz'nasty) as a shooting guard alone. Players like SGA, Stef, Haliburton, Brunson show you have to be able to create both for yourself and the entire team. Remains to be seen if Trae fits that mold, but if so he'd be displacing Bub in the role of lead ballhandling guard.

You're for sure not expecting the youngest player on the team to seize that role. Yet. That's going to require game winners and high scoring output and earned respect before teammates will give him the nod.

That said I like your vision and it does tend to jibe with the waxing chemistry we seem to be mixing up. We do have players that are willing to take responsibility even to lead.

Bub has a big personality. Game smarts and natural charisma. Hunger to learn. If he can siphon wisdom from CJ and Khris he will have a good base for playing the right way. CJ in the nuances of playing as a lead guard. Khris in keeping the game simple by doing the exact right thing at any given moment.

We've seen Kyshawn has taken a leadership role as well. He backs it up by doing the dirty work: defense, passing, being unafraid to shoot, communication.

In Tre and Cam we have natural scorers who you can feed the ball when you need a finisher or a jolt of energy. We only had Jordan Poole in that role last year. Now we have 2 veteran scorers in CJ and Khris, in addition to these 2 young prospects. Our offense should have at least one guy who can get hot in any game.

I like that Cam seems to have a slow burn over the idea that he's not a defensive player. I like that he takes it personally. At his best he plays with controlled anger. If this carries over to both sides of the ball Houston's loss is our gain. As a playmaker I don't care. If, as he says, he is seeing his teammates better than he did his first couple years in the league, that's fine, but he's not out there to pass. You have him out there to finish plays. And punish the rim or anybody under it. That rage to compete is contagious. For the team. The fans. The roar of a crowd. The reward for the guy who fed him the pass. That's his job, make them pay. The fact that he's surrounded by passers means he's positioned well for a breakout.

As of right now that's the heart of our most efficient offense among our young guys: Tre or Cam in motion, being fed the ball in scoring position.

We're going to have to downright throw games to end up at 21-61.

This team should finish with around 30 wins.

It'd be wonderful if we could win 30 games and still grab Darryn Peterson... I think that would be an amazing result to this season......

[doclinkin]

Watch on YouTube

Good to hear Bub saying Khris is more talkative this year after being kinda silent last year. Funny he calls himself ‘annoying’ with the questions. I hope CJ and Khris have fun with the energy of this young squad, win or lose. The chemistry seems evident between the young dudes, Bub talked yesterday about heading over to Tre’s place to hang out after practice. I caught one interview where Bub said it’s like the team has 15 of the same guy.

A toss off but check Bub saying “JP” Jonathan Pierre has impressed him with his energy and skill. 6’9” shooter with passing chops.

I like that we are now also adding the seniors and super seniors like Pierre and Watkins. Naturally they’ll pick up concepts quickly since they’ve been drilling fundamentals 4+ years. That’ll help especially if they slide to the GoGo for a bit, adding maturity and experience to the G league where players don’t tend to stick around long enough to develop cohesion.