The Washington Wizards future is bright, there's no doubt about it. Especially after their flurry of moves this offseason, including the blockbuster trade to land one of the better veteran guards in the league to mentor their young core in CJ McCollum.
However, arguably the team's biggest steal of the offseason could be the acquisition of former first-round pick Cam Whitmore from the Houston Rockets for an incredibly cheap price.
Whitmore's talent alone speaks for itself, mostly on the offensive side of the court, where he flourishes as a slasher courtesy of his athleticism,
The Villanova product can put the ball in the bucket in a hurry and he's shown the potential of his ability to hold his own defensively at times.
The talent is there, and his confidence to match can't be overlooked.
Confident in his talent, confident in his work ethic and...confident in the Wizards.
Whitmore believes Wizards can win 35-40 games
Wizards general manager Will Dawkins has surely done a great job positioning the team to continue taking positive steps towards the future.
Obviously, Washington has assembled one of the best young cores in the league which feels wild to say considering where they were as a team just two years ago.
But even then, it's hard to imagine the Wizards going from a 18-win team to a squad competing for a potential play-in spot this coming season.
At least it's hard to imagine for most people not named Cam Whitmore.
Cam Whitmore says the eastern conference is up for grabs
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 29, 2025
“ I’m not gonna lie I’m really trying to win some games! I want to turn this whole organization around into a positive organization where fans will want to come to the games and fans will want to watch the Wizards play… pic.twitter.com/J50m5CxVvU
Whitmore clearly believes that the Wizards have the talent on the roster to compete this coming season and while he's right about the Eastern Conference being wide open, it may not be THAT wide open.
Can Washington improve from the season they put together this past year? Easily.
Is the roster in a better place than it was to start the offseason? No doubt.
Do the Wizards have multiple top young players in the league? They have a good argument.
Despite that, the Wizards likely don't have the firepower or depth to be a team playing for a playoff spot down the stretch of the regular season next year.
Washington isn't far away and if they can continue making the underrated moves that they have this offseason, there's certainly optimism about them being in the mix sooner rather than later.
But winning 35-40 games this coming season seems extremely far fetched.
If it happens, salute to Whitmore for his confidence and the team's front office for assembling a sleeper roster.
Nonetheless, fans should definitely be excited about the team's newest addition's excitment, but make sure to temper expectations at the same time.