The Washington Wizards have quietly positioned themselves as one of the most intriguing rebuilding teams in one offseason alone.
Looking at the young pieces on the roster, headlined by Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly and now Kyshawn George as the top prospects on the roster.
And that's not even mentioning players like Bub Carrington, Tristan Vukcevic, Will Riley and newly acquired Cam Whitmore.
Washington has the talent and coaches in place to finally move forward in their rebuild, especially if any of the young prospects on the roster can emerge as a cornerstone player for the Wizards.
However, while fans want the Wizards to get back in the mix of the Eastern Conference sooner rather than later, they may be forced to wait at least one more season if Washington's front office has their way.
Wizards need to tank for Darryn Peterson
Last season, Washington nearly managed to earn the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery with the chance to select a generational talent in Cooper Flagg.
After ending the season with the second worst record in the league, the Wizards entered the offseason tied for the highest odds to earn the top pick before their worst nightmare proved true landing Washington outside of the top five and set to pick at No. 6 overall.
Obviously, that pick eventually landed them Tre Johnson, who has all the tools to be an immediate building block for the Wizards moving forward.
Nonetheless, the Wizards could largely benefit in drafting a can't-miss prospect like Flagg and after failing to land that player this offseason, they could take one more swing and tanking this coming year, especially looking at the prospects in this upcoming NBA Draft class.
Looking at players like AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Nate Ament, Washington would be in a great situation to earn a top five pick entering next season.
However, one player in specific should make the Wizards do everything in their power to potentially land the No. 1 overall pick.
That player? Darryn Peterson
Darryn Peterson enters his freshman season at Kansas with plenty of hype building around him.
The top ranked guard has everything to be a star player at the next level and early NBA comps suggests he could be a similar playmaker to Donovan Mitchell, but standing at 6-foot-6.
Peterson has the size, explosiveness, and scoring prowess to make him a generational talent in his own right and that's not even considering his underrated playmaking ability.
If Washington can land the top pick, their rebuild could end in perfection with the chance for the Wizards to be one of the best young teams in the league.