Entering the season, the Washington Wizards had all eyes on them as a potential sleeper in the Eastern Conference.
Not only due to the abundance of offseason moves from general manager Will Dawkins, but because the team possessed a Rookie of the Year candidate with the chance to make an immediate impact througout his first seaon on the team.
Tre Johnson, who was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft this past offseason was viewed as the prospect who could immediately take the league by storm.
As a quick riser throughout the NBA Draft process, the Texas standout's play throughout the NBA Combine turned heads and put high expectations on him entering his rookie campaign.
Following his strong showing throughout Summer League, the hype only grew.
Johnson looked like a smooth operator, a player with extreme confidence in his abilities and the craftiness to get to his spots at will.
Throughout the start of the season, the playmaker has shown flashes of his ability to do exactly that, but not nearly as consistently as he was able to throughout college or even Summer League play.
Considering the step up in talent, it doesn't come as a total surprise to see the guard struggling a bit, but the harsh reality is that there's areas of his game that must improve if he hopes to develop into the player Washington drafted him to be.
As a result, those rookie struggles have added a bit of frustration among the fanbase, especially with players the team opted to pass on such as Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen emerging
Nonetheless, if the team's fanbase needed any words of encouragement, Cleveland Cavaliers' star Donovan Mitchell may have just given them the exact words they needed to hear.
"He's [Tre Johnson] good, he's talented, he can shoot it," Mitchell said when asked about Johnson. "Didn't really feel like he was a rookie out there. Just kinda felt like someone who could get to his spots."
Johnson hasn't looked like a bust by any means, but his lack of dominant play to start the season, especially on a rebuilding team like the Wizards has been just a bit discouraging.
Regardless, when one of the league's premiere talents in Mitchell sings high praise about the rook, it's safe to say that fans should listen.
Johnson's rookie struggles aren't the end of the world and there's still a ton of potential for him to be a future building block for the Wizards.