What are the Washington Wizards Doing?

The day after the NBA Draft should be one full of hope for struggling and mediocre teams—but that was not the case for Washington Wizards fans as the sun rose on Friday, June 24th.

Another season of underwhelming results has bled into another draft with underwhelming results. With the 10th pick in the draft, the Wizards stood pat and drafted All-American Johnny Davis out of Wisconsin. Yippee.

Now, Johnny Davis is a good basketball player. He has the intangibles and a skill set that will keep him in the league for a little while. If you breakdown his game, there’s a good bit to like. He’s got combo-guard potential and knows how to crash the boards.

Hell, he’s got that proverbial “dog” in him that all of us (including the players) have been clamoring for.

But liking a player doesn’t give the team the hope it needs to be better next year. This team needs juice. They need a lightning bolt to strike them where it hurts. Johnny Davis is fine. Just as Kispert was fine and Deni was fine and Rui was fine.

There’s little to be excited about if you’re a Washington Wizards fan. The team still needs a starting point guard. They still need a dynamic playmaker of any sort.

While the other lottery teams in this league are loading up on the new Nimbus 2001s, the Wizards are still flying Cleansweep Fives, because that’s all they can afford once they give Bradley Beal 35% of the salary cap.

And last night’s draft didn’t do anything to make them a more competitive basketball team.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Wizards fans woke up feeling refreshed this morning because last night’s draft was such a big yawn.

Tommy Sheppard talks a lot about big swings. If he’s going to take one, this is the summer to do it. No excuses. There’s still free agency to come at the end of the month. The KD2DC hashtags are back. When Kyrie Irving forces his way to Los Angeles, or Miami, or across the Brooklyn Bridge, Wizards fans are going to be foaming at the mouth for something to happen.

Something big, Tommy. The Athletic’s David Aldridge reported that the Wizards tried to trade up so they could grab Jaden Ivey at four, but the price was too steep. Fine. Bravo for trying. So what’s next?

Malcolm Brogden? No. Monte Morris? Only if he’s a chess piece. Colin Sexton? Tempting, but not what the Wizards need right now.

We’ve yet to see Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis share the floor together. Rui Hachimura was lights out from beyond the arc and should be available on day one this year. Kyle Kuzma could make the leap to a true star. Deni Avdija’s defense could turn supernova. He might even find his left hand and start making layups.

But we’ve been feeding on shoulda and coulda for years and somehow are still starving for something more.

July is a week away and the season is four months after that. What are the Washington Wizards doing? Does Tommy even know?