The projected Washington Wizards starters have been nearly set in stone for the majority of the offseason. Trae Young, Kyshawn George, AJ Dybantsa, Anthony Davis, and Alex Sarr are likely to be the starting five when the Wizards open the season against the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, head coach Brian Keefe being non-committal about the starting lineup this late into the offseason leaves some room that it's not necessarily a guarantee that the five above will be the five starters. Now, four of them are as good as guaranteed. Young, Dybantsa, Davis, and Sarr will all be starters, but the shooting guard could still be up for grabs despite how well George has played.
If Keefe is truly assessing all options to start alongside Young, then Tre Johnson should be heavily considered, because his spacing would be vital to making the rest of the starters lives on the court much easier.
Tre Johnsons shooting could be extremely valuable to the starting lineup
It's not to say that George isn't a capable shooter; he absolutely is. He shot 38.1% from distance last season. But when it comes to Johnson's ability to space the floor, it's unlike anyone else on the roster aside from Young.
Johnson is one of the few players in the league with limitless range, and it's not uncommon to see him shoot it from multiple steps behind the three-point line. He makes those shots fairly effortlessly, too. When it comes to catch-and-shoot spacers on the team, nobody will be more respected by defenses than Johnson, and that matters.
The starting lineup already has a lot of hit-or-miss spacers, and having someone willing to let it fly on high volume is extremely important. Dybantsa has some work to do on his outside shot before becoming a reliable perimeter threat, and both Davis and Sarr are historically low-percentage three-point shooters, although Davis' preseason showing from deep has been rather promising.
Starting Johnson can also allow George to fully assume the sixth-man role on the team. Last year he showed incredible on-ball flashes as a playmaker, averaging 4.5 assists per game. In the second unit, he'll be able to have the ball a lot more. Whereas if he's in the starting lineup, a lot of that on-ball usage is going to Young, Dybantsa, and Davis.
There's no right answer, and it's a good thing that the Wizards have options on who to start; it's a testament to the depth and team that the new front office has built.
Add us as a preferred source on Google