Washington Wizards 2024-25 season preview: A lottery staff with a protracted rebuild forward

The 2024-25 NBA season is right here! We’re breaking down the most important questions, best- and worst-case eventualities, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 groups. Take pleasure in!

WASHINGTON WIZARDS

2023-24 end

Offseason strikes

• Additions: Alexandre Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, Jonas Valančiūnas, Malcolm Brogdon, Saddiq Bey

• Subtractions: Deni Avdija, Tyus Jones, Landry Shamet, Eugene Omoruyi, Jules Bernard, Hamidou Diallo

• Complete roster

The Huge Query: How lengthy will it take to go from “deconstruction” to “reconstruction?”

Any thriller in regards to the route of the Wizards was gone after new staff president Michael Winger and new basic supervisor Will Dawkins spent their first months on the job jettisoning Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porziņġis in alternate for veterans on short-term contracts, future draft picks, 19-year-old French lottery ticket Bilal Coulibaly and erstwhile Warrior Jordan Poole.

That route: down, as cheaply and shortly as doable.

Poole endured a brutally memeable and joyless season, replete with look-away lowlights and tried saucings gone awry. Issues went higher for Kyle Kuzma, who put up numbers; Avdija, who performed career-best all-around ball; and Jones, who remained each ounce the high-floor caretaker as a starter that he was as a backup in Memphis.

And none of that mattered. Like, not even a little bit bit.

Washington sank like a stone, posting its worst net rating in at least two decades and the worst record in franchise history — which, when you think about the historical past of this franchise, is saying one thing. (A mind-blowing stat from NBA.com’s John Schuhmann: The Wizards grew to become the primary staff within the final 39 seasons to go winless within the second recreation of back-to-backs, shedding all 13 of them.) Coach Wes Unseld Jr. took the autumn, “transitioned” into a “front-office role” for a number of months earlier than assistant-turned-interim head coach Brian Keefe bought the full-time gig — and, with it, a short-term outlook that also seems awfully gnarly.

The 2023-24 Wizards’ top three finishers in value over replacement player — Jones, Avdija and Daniel Gafford, dealt midseason to Dallas — will all ply their commerce elsewhere. Veteran guard Brogdon, imported from Portland within the Avdija deal, is already damage, having torn a ligament in the thumb on his shooting hand. The Wiz signed Bey understanding that he’d miss most of this season rehabilitating a torn ACL — a possible upside play, however not one with a lot instant worth.

That’s type of the vibe on this complete roster. Between Coulibaly, Sarr, Carrington and George, the Wizards will doubtless give actual rotation minutes to 4 gamers aged 20 or youthful. All provide some intrigue — Coulibaly as a feisty perimeter defender, Sarr mixing pick-and-pop 3-pointers with onerous rim-runs whereas blocking photographs and defending in area, Carrington as an attention-grabbing shot-creator, and so on. — however you may’t actually anticipate far more than “intrigue” from such younger prospects.

Past that quartet, solely three Wizards are owed guaranteed money past 2025-26. There’s Poole, who’s a superb guess to remain put, given the three years and $95.5 million remaining on his contract. There’s Bey, who’s scheduled to make lower than 4% of the wage cap in ’26-27. And there’s Kuzma, who famously declined the opportunity to join the Mavericks ultimately February’s commerce deadline, and who — as a 6-foot-9 ahead who can rating and rebound, and whose contract declines over time — is keenly conscious he’ll proceed listening to his title come up. (As Kuzma not too long ago put it to Josh Robbins of The Athletic: “I’ve been in commerce rumors for eight years. That is my eighth yr within the NBA.”)

The remainder of the Wizards’ vets — Brogdon, Marvin Bagley III, Richaun Holmes (whose two-year, $25.9 million deal has only a $250,000 assure for subsequent season, successfully turning the middle right into a $12.6 million commerce exception) — are short-timers, as prone to be flipped for no matter draft choose isn’t nailed down as to stay in D.C. Even Valančiūnas — whose measurement, rebounding and talent to take the pounding of enjoying the 5 have real value for a staff trying to ease Sarr’s acclimation to the NBA — is priced to maneuver on a sub-midlevel contract with an unguaranteed last season.

All of it feels very threadbare, short-term — an ugly home almost completed being stripped right down to the studs earlier than contractors can begin constructing off of the brand new blueprint.

“If we’re actually to consider it — the phases of the rebuild — there’s the deconstruction section. There’s the laying-the-foundation section. There’s the constructing it again up, after which there’s fortifying what you construct,” Dawkins told reporters on media day. “We’re nonetheless targeted on deconstructing and laying that basis.”

Translation: If anybody presents us something for any of our non-rookie-scale dudes — together with sharpshooter Corey Kispert, set for restricted free company after the season — we’re most likely going to take it. Let the not-old-enough-to-drink collective take its lumps, and let the chips — and lottery ping-pong balls — fall the place they could.

Everybody knew Washington wanted to rebuild, and would really feel loads of ache within the course of. Realizing one thing and truly feeling it, although, are two very, very various things.

“I feel that’s necessary to remind everybody,” Dawkins stated on media day, “that we’re nonetheless early [in the process].”

Translation: This season’s gonna damage, too.

Finest-case state of affairs

Sarr, Coulibaly, Carrington and George all present indicators of being official NBA rotation gamers sooner moderately than later … however don’t achieve this in dramatic sufficient vogue to, y’know, win a bunch of video games. Winger and Dawkins are capable of finding draft-compensation-rich takers for a number of of the Wizards’ vets, reloading Washington’s choose coffers and giving the entrance workplace extra flexibility to pursue roster-reshaping trades that may add expertise on the identical timeline as its shiny younger issues. Poole replicates his post-All-Star surge, serving to rehabilitate his worth each inside and outdoors the District. The Wizards look extra constantly competent, however nonetheless lose sufficient to land close to the highest of the lottery odds, land a type of top-tier prospects, and enter the summer season feeling nearer to seeing the sunshine on the finish of the tunnel.

If every little thing falls aside

Not one of the children really pop, all seeming like they’re going to want a lot longer within the proverbial developmental oven. Poole doesn’t bounce again, wanting like one of many very worst contracts within the league, and the very best Washington can get for any of its good-not-great vets are some spare second-rounders. The Wizards lose much more than final season however get jumped within the lottery odds, and have to observe different groups get the cream of the crop whereas they attempt to make the very best of what’s left. D.C. followers really feel a well-known encroaching dread: that the sunshine on the finish of the tunnel is definitely a prepare about to run them over.

Fantasy spin

It’s going to be a bumpy experience rostering any Wizard this season. Poole was abysmal for lengthy stretches final season, however he got here alive as soon as he took over the purpose guard duties. Brogdon is damage, so Poole opens the season because the lead facilitator, which ought to assist his help numbers. Kuzma’s capturing 30% from the ground within the preseason. He is additionally been airballing photographs left and proper currently, so I am out on Kuzma until you are enjoying in a factors league.

Sarr is an intriguing prospect recognized for his protection. Nevertheless, his offensive bag is not prepared, so Sarr will primarily be a rim protector, rebounder and disruptor. I like Valančiūnas, however I am involved for his long-term outlook. If he doesn’t intend to go away D.C. by way of commerce, there’s a straightforward double-double ready within the eighth spherical. — Dan Titus

2024-25 schedule

I feel this staff is likely to be dangerous sufficient to lose 62 video games with out buying and selling any of its veterans, and I feel it’s going to commerce these veterans. It’s an underneath for me. Braveness, Washingtonians. Braveness.