The Washington Wizards return to action on Thursday night as they hit the road for a matchup against the Detroit Pistons.
Washington enters this showdown fresh off the news that second-year guard Bilal Coulibaly is set to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a season-ending hamstring injury.
Despite that, the Wizards hold a 4-4 record in their last 8 games, and while that seems impressive for Washington considering their 13-51 record on the season, winning should be the last thing on this teams mind.
Wizards need to lose as much as possible
As of now, the Wizards currently still lead the race for the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but they are starting to cut it close with their recent stretch of wins, which included a win over the Utah Jazz who trails just two games behind them in the race for the top pick.
If Washington truly is serious about their rebuild, they have to prioritize losing over the next couple of weeks as the season continues to unfold. And at the moment, first-year Brian Keefe and his young squad seem to care very little about the future state of the team, and more so about winning.
Obviously, it's hard to sell losing to the players on the team who carry competitive spirit on a nightly basis, but for the players who are expected to be around for the Wizards long-term plans, helping the team earn the top spot in the draft could help them return to their winning ways.
However, the biggest concern heading into the offseason is not will the team have the top pick, it's more so who will be available at the top pick.
Heading into the season, it seemed to be very clear that Duke's Cooper Flagg would be the top ppick in the upcoming draft. And while he very well could be, it seems that the generational talent has no interest in playing for Washington or the Charlotte Hornets. If those reports are indeed true, Flagg could be headed back to college for his sophomore season.
If Flagg does return for another college season, the Wizards could be in the same situation next year, where losing is more important than winning. Then again, if Flagg didn't want to come to D.C. the first time around, why would he next year?
Though we haven't heard anything exactly from Flagg or his camp about his lack of desire to play for the Wizards, the concern still remains heading into the offseason.
Regardless, Washington has to give themselves the best opportunity to earn the top pick with the chance the Duke star does declare, if not, Rutgers star guard Dylan Harper could be the pick for Washington.