Tre Johnson entered the league with high expectations stemmed from how explosive of a scorer he proved to be during his lone season of college play at Texas.
The dynamic guard proved to be arguably the most complete scorer in the entire 2025 NBA Draft class, which alone made the Wizards fanbase believe that he could turn things around for the struggling franchise as a rookie.
There's no denying that Johnson's scoring ability should excite fans, and he's already shown flashes throughout the first month of the regular season that should encourage both the fanbase and the front office about his potential moving forward.
However, when given the starting nod over the Wizards recent stretch of games, instead of proving he's ready to take the keys to the Wizards offense, he proved more that he's not ready to be the guy just yet.
Throughout the early course of the season, head coach Brian Keefe has tried out a handful of different starting lineups looking for the spark that could lead to a winning change for the Wizards.
The head coach has shifted the backcourt rotations with the likes of Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly and now Tre Johnson in the starting lineup alongside veteran guard CJ McCollum.
Over the last three games, Johnson has been given the nod with the opportunity to not only prove he belongs in the starting lineup, but to prove that he's ready to be the guy for the Wizards now.
For a player who always seems up for the challenge, many expected Johnson to take the promotion head on and prove that he's not fit to come off the bench.
In his first career start against the Cleveland Cavaliers, his 19-point outing was taken with a grain of salt considering the Wizards fell to the Eastern Conference contenders 148-115.
To follow, Johnson's next two starts ended in lackluster performances totaling 19 total points over the the two game stretch.
In his three games as a starter, Johnson is averaging 12,6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists, which alone is a bid underwhelming considering many believed he could prove to be the Rookie of the Year right out the gate.
It'll be interesting to see if Keefe decides to roll with Johnson in the starting lineup when Coulibaly returns to play or if he'll pivot to sending the reigning No. 6 overall pick back to the bench.
Regardless, his early string of starts have proven that although there's plenty of potential there, he's not ready to be the guy just yet.