The Washington Wizards made their offseason goals crystal clear early into the process when the regular season came to an end last year.
Washington was focused on bringing in as much talent as possible with the hope that the team could potentially find a hidden gem and tap into the high-upside and potential of if not multiple, at least one player as the rebuild in the DMV continued.
Between the additions of former first-round picks Cam Whitmore and Malaki Branham, the signing of Skal Labissiere to a training camp deal and swing to select Tre Johnson and Will Riley as the focal pieces to their 2025 NBA Draft class, the Wizards offseason blueprint seemed obvious.
If you take enough swings, eventually you have to hit a homerun, right? That was the Wizards hopes at least.
Despite those swings, the team may have found their best offseason move come from a player that nobody expected to thrive.
Marvin Bagley III has capitalized in his return to D.C.
Marvin Bagley III has gone through the gauntlet to start his NBA career.
As a former No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Duke product's career was seemingly deraiiled by nagging injuries that simply wouldn't allow him to showcase his potential.
Bouncing around the league, the big man eventually found his way to the Wizards, where he spent two seasons combining for 43 appearances before Washington dcided to cut ties with the forward ahead of last February's NBA trade deadline.
However, a failed stint with the Memphis Grizzlies led Bagley to free agency, where he opted that a return to the DMV could be the best situation for him to prove he could be an impact player and man was he right.
In 20 games to start the season, Bagley has proven to be a valuable asset off the bench for the Wizards, averaging 9.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists, while shooting 60.9% from field goal range and 50% from beyond the arc.
Bagley hasn't only proven to be a solid piece off the bench, but he's thrived in spot starts for the Wizards as Alex Sarr continues to deal with an injury of his own over the last few weeks.
With consective double-doubles, including a 23-point, 14-rebound performance in a win against the Indiana Pacers, it's clear that Bagley could make an impact on nearly every team in the league at this point.
All that to say, if the Wizards don't move on from the 26-year-old, it wouldn't be a shock to see him grow alongside the young core in Washington, especially with his willingness to provide insight as a veteran presence along the way.