Looking ahead, the Washington Wizards have done a great job assembling an exciting young core for the team to build around moving forward.
In back-to-back seasons, general manager Will Dawkins managed to land two high-upside players in Alex Sarr and Tre Johnson. Two players who's development alone could be the difference between a long-term rebuild or a short turnaround to get back in the mix of the Eastern Conference.
In addition to Sarr and Johnson, the Wiz have bolstered the young roster with many other first-round talents such as Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, AJ Johnson, Will Riley and even Cam Whitmore who the squad shocklingly landed at an insanely good price earlier this offseason in a deal with the Houston Rockets.
Through an abundance of moves, Washington has turned their future around and the light at the end of the tunnel is inching closer by the day.
However, just because the Wizards talent level has increased from where they were at this point two offseasons ago, that doesn't mean that the front office has any expectations to compete in the East right away.
At least not Dawkins, who seems focused on landing at least one more premiere pick in the NBA Draft to add as much talent as possible.
Nonetheless, those aspirations may not align with the team's owner Ted Leonsis, who made it clear in years past that the Wizards would "never ever tank" as long as he's involved.
That brings up the question if all parties involved in the Wizards rebuild are focused on the same timeline of the rebuild, or will the squad change directions moving forward if one of the young players on the roster manages to make a leap and showcase that he could be the building block the Wizards have desperately been searching for.
There's certainly players on the roster with the potential to take that next step, especially incoming rookie Tre Johnson who many viewed as the most explosive all-around scorers in this entire NBA Draft class.
Despite that, it feels like based off the landscape of other rebuilds in the league that the Wizards could benefit from stacking as much young talent on the roster while they can.
Could Dawkins do his part to change the opinion of Leonsis? Or will the Wizards front office be forced to become aggressive to build a competitive roster as soon as the owner sees a player show the potential of a breakout? Only time will tell.