The Washington Wizards are firmly in the middle of the team's long awaited rebuilding process after years of medicore play.
Washington's front office has made every decision with the future in mind, which has involved multiple lottery picks in the NBA Draft over the last few years.
With the likes of Deni Avdija, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and now Tre Johnson, there's no doubt that Washington has assembled a surplus of talent over the course of the rebuild.
However, not every pick has panned out up to this point; at least not in Washington.
Avdija has emerged as a legit Most Improved Player of the Year candidate for the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging a career-year across the board with 24.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Meanwhile, Coulibaly, Sarr, Carrington and Johnson are all stoll looking to prove the Wizards made the right decision by selecting them to join the rebuild in the DMV.
Fortunately, Sarr's emergence this season has added confidence to the Wizards front office in terms of their decision to select him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Averaging 19 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists, while shooting 54% from field goal range and 45.5% from beyond the arc, Sarr looks the part.
Not to mention the two-way prospects 2.3 blocks per game serving as a defensive anchor for the Wizards is yet another impressive area of his game.
Despite that, many still believe the Wizards made the wrong decision selected Sarr atop the 2024 NBA Draft class; at least over another emerging star in the Western Conference.
Should the Wizards have taken Stephon Castle?
Stephon Castle was selected two picks after Sarr, falling to the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 4 overall pick.
The UConn product impressed during his rookie season, averaging 14.7 points, 4..1 assists and 3.7 rebounds in a bench role for the Spurs.
Folloiwing year one, the writing was on the wall for Castle to eventually break out and as a full-time starter in San Antonio so far this season, he's done exactly that.
Castle is averaging 19.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists, while shooting 51.8% from field goal range and 32.3% from beyond the arc.
The athletic guard looks like the real deal and a legitimate emerging backcourt star for the Spurs, which continues to pose the question on whether or not the Wizards made the right decision to select Sarr over Castle.
Landing Sarr undoubtedbly impacted the team's decision to select Tre Johnson this offseason with the No. 6 overall pick, which could have been used to select a top big man such as Khaman Maluach or Derik Queen instead.
Nonetheless, where things stand for both teams, it's safe to say each squad may have came out on the winning side, at least from where things stand today.
Though, it could be debated that Castle may have emerged into a bigger star in Washington with a major role for the Wizards as a rookie.