The Washington Wizards finally decided to commit to a change of direction this offseason. After rebuilding the front office to include three executives all worthy of running their own team, the Wizards started trading away players. Monte Morris, Kristaps Porzingis, and least surprisingly Bradley Beal were all traded away.
While they did commit to a rebuild, they have yet to completely tear everything to the ground. They still have Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala on the roster. All of whom are capable of producing wins for the Wizards this season. This is without noting Delon Wright or Landry Shamet, two top-tier role players in the NBA.
With all the talent currently on the roster, it makes sense that the 2024 NBA Draft may not be the target draft for Will Dawkins and co. This makes the latest development in the 2025 draft class even more exciting for the Wizards.
Cooper Flagg has reclassified and will be available in the 2025 NBA Draft
It was recently announced that Cooper Flagg, one of the brightest prospects in high school basketball, reclassified to be NCAA eligible for the 2024-’25 season, making him available in the 2025 NBA Draft.
This is exciting for nearly every team looking to tank that season as he is one of the brightest prospects in recent memory, excluding Victor Wembanyama of course. Not only is he an extremely promising young player, but he will also be one of, if not the youngest player in his class, giving teams even more time to develop his skills.
Standing at six-foot-eight, Flagg is widely considered to be a generational talent. He is extremely sound in the fundamentals of the game and is an elite defender. It was this past season when he emerged as an elite threat on the offensive end of the floor that the world took notice.
He is very likely the best high school basketball player in the world at the moment and has only refined his skills this summer where he was featured during Stephen Curry’s camp where he allegedly beat Bradley Beal in a game of one on one. Although, both players deny that report.
He has no clear weaknesses during high school competition so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to not only the NCAA, but also the NBA as one of the youngest players in either league.
The Wizards’ chances of drafting Flagg are far better now than they were before
The Washington Wizards are currently in a situation where they could be too competitive early in the season to fully commit to a top pick in the upcoming draft. However, should they move on from players like Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, and the various bench role players in the offseason, they could be interesting for the 2025 draft.
However, by the time the 2025-’26 season starts, Bilal Coulibaly, Patrick Baldwin Jr, and other young players on the roster may develop into quality enough players to remove themselves from contention for the top pick.
This places the 2025 draft as the most ideal spot for a generational talent to end up in the draft for the Wizards. With Flagg now available, things just keep looking better for them.
The Washington Wizards luck just continues to shine as the new front office keeps looking better and better. The reclassification of Cooper Flagg just increases the likelihood of the DMV drafting a truly generational basketball player for the first time since Wes Unseld.