Wizards only have 1 clear path forward with Johnny Davis now

The Washington Wizards drafted a new young core this year, adding Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George in the 2024 NBA Draft. But Johnny Davis still needs to be addressed.

With their three rookies and Bilal Coulibaly leading the way, Davis seems like the odd man out, and that’s no coincidence. Since he was drafted in 2022, Davis hasn’t done much in the league.

In his two NBA seasons, he’s been very inefficient, and the Wizards haven’t trusted him enough to give him a ton of run. That’s not a good sign for a rebuilding franchise.

Now, just two years into his NBA career and with the team on the brink of a shiny new rebuild with three rookies leading the way, the Wizards only have one option with Davis—play him more.

Wizards need to just play Johnny Davis more next season

The answer is not to cut Davis. That’s the last thing the Wizards should do. Washington is supposed to be bad this year, and, in the worst-case scenario here, Davis would help them do that.

But he’s still only 22 years old, and up to this point in his career, he hasn’t earned regular minutes. Sometimes, guys just need to see the court on a consistent basis to generate a rhythm.

Don’t get it twisted: Davis hasn’t been very good up to this point in his career, but what do the Wizards have to lose? Games? That’s fine. They can go get Cooper Flagg next year.

For now, giving Davis extended run will be good for his growth, and if they really want to test the young core, they could throw out a lineup of Carrington, Davis, George, Coulibaly, and Sarr.

Plus, Davis played pretty well in Summer League. It was a very small sample size, but in two games, Davis averaged 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 52.6% from the floor and 40.0% from behind the three-point line.

Nothing Davis has done early in his career should have Wizards fans super excited about his potential to be worthy of the lottery selection Washington used on him, but nobody should be giving up hope.

As the Wizards look to tank next season, Davis should be a staple in the rotation. He deserves a chance to play regular minutes, even if it’s for a very bad team.

Washington needs to figure out exactly what they have, and the best way to do that is by giving it one last-ditch effort with Davis.