The Washington Wizards continue to turn heads this offseason with multiple moves to revamp their roster ahead of next season.
Washington began the offseason with a bang landing CJ McCollum in a blockbuster trade centered around the swap of Jordan Poole for the veteran guard.
Shortly after, the Wizards drafted a standout guard in Tre Johnson to headline their rather impressive draft class making the move to bring in one of the best veteran backcourt presences look like a no-brainer.
Then, the team made the move to acquire a high-upside forward in Cam Whitmore in a deal with the Houston Rockets.
Now, with their recent move to offload newly acquired Kelly Olynyk in exchange for two young guards in Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley, it seems that the Wizards are positioning themselves to approach next offseason with a future plan similar to what helped Houston dig themselves out of the bottom of the Western Conference.
So what's that plan you may ask? Well, it seems like the Wizards are positioning themselves to have plenty of cap space heading into the 2026 offseason, which all signs point to them willing to be aggressive on the open market to lure free agents to Washington.
Obviously, it's a bit of a head scratcher to understand why the Wizards would want to go all out in free agency while they're in the midst of a rebuild, but considering the success of the Rockets, it's easy to understand why Washington may consider going that route.
The Rockets seemed stuck in medicority following the James Harden era coming to a close. That was until Ime Udoka came into the picture and Houston managed to land a coach with plenty of pull and on a team that was willing to spend money in free agency to get them out of the mud.
Houston's first order of business seemingly when the Udoka tenure began was signing Fred VanVleet to a long-term deal. Later, the star guard (at the time) was joined by a defensive pest and one of the top free agents at the time Dillon Brooks.
The culture was seemingly changed and the Rockets eventually managed to scrap their way into the conversation atop the west with a mixture of young talent and veterans.
Now, they find themselves looking like a true contender after their rebuild caught the eyes of Kevin Durant, who listed the team as one of his preferred landing spots before being dealt to H-Town earlier this offseason.
If the Wizards choose to go this route, they'll have the ability to pay premium prices to top free agents and potentially get themselves back to competing sooner rather than later.