The Washington Wizards have several players on the roster the team is banking on during this developmental season.
Alex Sarr is proving that he very well can be a building block for the Wizards to move forward building around with his sophomore leap to start the season.
Kyshawn George has emerged as a rising star that can be another supporting piece for the Wizards rebuild.
Tre Johnson has shown flashes of why Washington selected him with the No. 6 overall pick this offseason, especially in regards to his scoring upside,
Bilal Coulibaly has impressed since returning from injury immediately making an impact in his role as a starter.
However, the two players that have yet to validate the preseason hype since the regular season began his Cam Whitmore and Bub Carrington.
Carrington's sophomore slump comes down to a less concerning but more confusing change to his game.
Meanwhile, Whitmore's early season struggles have come down to mostly the bizarre fact that the same issue that haunted him in Houston have remained to plague him in Washington.
That issue? Himself
.Whitmore has struggled to begin the season becausse of his inability to adapt and focus on the team's success rather than his own.
The Villanova product's tunnel vision often got in his way to start the season, which led to minimized minutes from head coach Brian Keefe amid inconsistent play and a growing lack of patience from fans.
Nonetheless, Whitmore finally put it all together in the team's recent loss against the Dallas Mavericks, finishing the matchup with 19 points, and three rebounds, while shooting 53.8% from field goal range and 50% from beyond the arc.
In 29 minutes of play, the versatile forward showed flashes of exactly why the team's front office was determined to swing a trade for him this offseason.
Bringing the Maryland native to Washington seemed like the perfect chance for Whitmore to seize the opportunity of a fresh start and prove why many had him projected as a lottery pick when he entered the league,
Although the start of his career, including his run with the Wizards has been a bit underwhelming, it's clear that the potential for Whitmore to be an elite-level scorer is still on the table.
Beyond that, if he's able to put it all together he could be an elite player for Washington.
To do that though, the wing will need to get out of his own way and on Saturday, it was a sign of things moving in the right direction.