The Washington Wizards have been as active as any team not named the New York Knicks during the early days of the 2024 offseason. The Wizards parted with former top-10 selection Deni Avdija in a trade that left some scratching their heads, but soon made their intentions for a reset clear.
With three first-round draft picks that all grade as potentially strong selections and a key veteran added in a role that could be beneficial in multiple scenarios, Washington is getting back on track.
After perhaps waiting too long to part with Bradley Beal, the Wizards continued to reside in basketball limbo. They were bad enough to yield an early draft pick, of course, but their timing prevented them from kickstarting the rebuild when they had the chance to do so.
After missing out on the Victor Wembanyama draft, the Wizards were one year early to the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes—although that possibility still remains.
Rather than lament what could've been, the Wizards were aggressive in acquiring assets and landing new building blocks. They drafted the highly-touted Alex Sarr at No. 2 overall, landed dynamic scorer Bub Carrington at No. 14, and capped things off by adding upside wing Kyshawn George at No. 24.
All three of those players rank among the highest-upside picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, thus showing a commitment to the future—and it's better late than never.
Wizards are finally rebuilding—and there are still moves to be made
A young core of Carrington, George, and Sarr is interesting on its own. Add 2022 lottery pick Johnny Davis and 2023 top-10 selection Bilal Coulibaly, and the Wizards suddenly have a group of players who could be developed into starting-caliber contributors.
That doesn't even include Tristan Vukcevic, who was selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft and averaged 15.2 points per game in the limited sample size of April 2024.
For as compelling a prospect as it is to start over with promising young players, the veterans on the roster are equally as intriguing—whether they stick around or not. With a 31-year-old Malcolm Brogdon, 28-year-old Kyle Kuzma, and 25-year-old Jordan Poole, Washington suddenly has options.
It could go into this season with low expectations and a group of players who should at least be competitive, even if wins are tough to come by. It could also leverage Brogdon, Kuzma, and perhaps even Poole for draft compensation that can help improve its odds of striking gold in 2025 and beyond.
No matter what the Wizards ultimately choose to do, for the first time in what feels like an eternity, they have options to improve.
That may not sound as sweet as a championship, but every rebuild has to start somewhere—and Washington is finally beginning its own.