The 2023-24 NBA season is right around the corner. The training camp starts in two weeks, followed by preseason games, before the season opener tips off on October 24th. The Washington Wizards were one of the busiest teams of the summer, completely changing their front office, reshaping their roster, and deciding on a new vision for the franchise. This naturally created plenty of intriguing storylines for next season.
The main focus of the storylines for the Wizards will obviously be the future. Whatever the on-court performance of individual players or the team, what matters more is how this impacts the future of the organization. The team can no longer be concerned about the present, as that was the root cause of decades of mediocrity.
This doesn’t mean that the Wizards fans should not care about how the team looks this season. It just means that it should be considered a developmental season for everyone involved in the franchise. This includes the players and the coaches. How each piece fits into the puzzle going forward is the most important thing.
So, the most interesting storylines have this focus in mind. These storylines will have the most impact on where the Washington Wizards are in the league hierarchy three or five years from now.
Is Bilal Coulibaly a franchise cornerstone?
The storyline the Washington Wizards fans should be most interested in all season is Bilal Coulibaly and how good the rookie looks in his first season.
The 19-year-old Frenchman is the highest draft pick for the Wizards in a decade and is a different type of rookie the Wizards have been accustomed to drafting. He is young, raw, and athletic with an endless upside. He is one of the most exciting young players Washington had in a long time.
Yet, he is still a relative unknown. The sample size for him playing at a high level is very small as he only played half a season with the pros in his team Metropolitans 92 in France. He has shown elite athleticism, defensive chops, and intriguing playmaking ability, but how well each of these will translate to the NBA is a question mark.
Therefore, the expectations from Coulibaly’s rookie season should be tempered. He is likely not going to dominate as a 19-year-old. That almost never happens. However, the Wizards fans should be looking for signs that he is a real building block for the future. They will want to see signs of a future star that the franchise can build around. This includes flashes of athleticism, defensive playmaking, and improvement in shooting, passing, and playmaking.
If Coulibaly starts looking like a future All-Star type of player, this changes the future of the Wizards. It makes the rebuilding process that much easier and less painful. Everything is much easier once you have the star to build around. It’s very early to tell whether Coulibaly can be that guy, but we’ll have a better idea after his rookie season.
How good is Jordan Poole?
Perhaps the biggest factor that will determine the success of the 2023-24 Washington Wizards is Jordan Poole’s performance. How good is he? Did the Golden State Warriors system make him look better than he was, or is he potentially an All-Star level player who will shine running his own offense?
The answer to those questions will determine whether the Wizards are a competitive team that can win over 30 games or one of the worst teams in the league.
There may not be another player in the league whose best-case scenario and worst-case scenario have such a large gap in terms of performance outcomes. It wouldn’t be too surprising if Poole was a borderline All-Star next season. It also wouldn’t be a shock if he topped out as a high-volume, low-efficiency scoring guard who hurts his team defensively and is therefore a sixth man at best.
Which outcome Poole is closer to also has an impact on the future of the Wizards. Poole has a contract worth $128 million for four years, and whether he is a positive value or a negative value on that salary will be massively important for team building. If Poole plays well and rehabs his value, the Wizards can presumably flip him for future assets. If he proves he is not worthy of that contract, Washington might be stuck with him going forward as they likely would not attach draft assets just to move on from him.
It is always exciting when young, promising players get a chance to have their own team and be the primary option. Whether a player can thrive in a new team in an expanded role and become a star is always interesting to watch. The Jordan Poole storyline is no different.
Is there any hope for Johnny Davis?
The Washington Wizards drafted Davis with the 10th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. It was a reach and a risky pick as Davis was considered a low-upside prospect. So far, the doubters have been proven right.
The 21-year-old shooting guard has failed to produce at an NBA level. He spent most of his rookie season in G League with the Capital City Go-Go where he wasn’t too impressive either. He had a decent stretch in the last few weeks of the season but these flashes have been few and far between. He looked better in the Summer League but not dramatically different from his rookie campaign.
The Wisconsin product needs to improve in a variety of areas. He needs to shoot better from the outside and be more assertive offensively. He might never be a high-level scorer due to his athleticism and shooting limitations, but an improvement in passing and playmaking will help unlock his offensive game. The Wizards fans need to see incremental development on these fronts to feel better about the future of the franchise.
Another way Davis can improve his stock is on the defensive end. He is further along on that end of the floor, but if his offensive game is still not ready, he needs to be even better. His future may be as a defensive stopper in the league.
It’s not a good idea to give up on any prospect in their second season, but if a significant improvement doesn’t come on either end, it will be difficult for Wizards fans to maintain their faith in Davis. Whether Davis can be at least a rotation-level player will be a big factor in how hopeful the Wizards fans can be going forward.
Is Wes Unseld Jr. the right coach for this team?
Washington Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. will not be judged by the number of games his team wins this season. But after going 35-47 in back-to-back seasons, he doesn’t have too much credit with the fans either. Plus, the administration that hired him in Washington is no longer there. Unseld Jr. will have to show the front office why he is the man for the job going forward.
This will basically be an audition season for Unseld Jr. He has to demonstrate his player development chops in order to earn the job as the leader of the rebuild. This may be especially difficult with plenty of high-profile NBA head coaches without a job.
There wasn’t one particular area that the Wizards excelled in under Unseld Jr. in the last two seasons. The team didn’t necessarily overperform their offensive or defensive personnel. No young player went through an unexpected improvement. On the contrary, Rui Hachimura immediately blossomed in Los Angeles after underwhelming performances with the Wizards.
This is not an excellent track record by any means. But, Unseld Jr. has an opportunity to thrive with lower expectations and a different organizational vision. He has a chance to put his stamp on this team. Otherwise, it will be hard for him to make the case for why he needs to keep his job.
Updated Washington Wizards depth chart ahead of preseason
The Washington Wizards just added Taj Gibson. What do their updated rotation and depth chart look like ahead of the season opener?