The Washington Wizards' rise has been nothing short of amazing, and this is based on the early projection of the team's revamped depth chart.
Washington's roster has come such a far way in terms of talent from the time franchise icon Bradley Beal opted to seek out a fresh start, to where things stand now, with reigning No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa headlining one of the best young cores in the league.
And that's not even considering the superstar duo of Anthony Davis and Trae Young set to lead the new-look Wizards out of the hole they've dug themselves into at the bottom of the NBA standings.
For head coach Brian Keefe, the surplus of talent on the roster would ideally make his job much easier entering next season.
However, the retooled roster makes Keefe's job harder than anyone realizes.
Brian Keefe is entering a can't-win situation
As long as the Wizards are winning, frustrations from within and the fanbase won't be as obvious, but if any rough patches occur, Keefe will be the first person hearing his name thrown around.
From where things stand today, the expected starting lineup for the Wizards on opening night is Trae Young, Kyshawn George, AJ Dybantsa, Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr.
The starters feel nearly solidified based on the current look at the roster, but after the first five minutes become scarce extremely quickly.
Obviously, names like Bub Carrington, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, and Deandre Ayton feel like a lock to be at least a key piece of the rotation, but the problem with that is that it alone gets the rotation up to nine players, with plenty of talent being left out.
The veteran addition of Khris Middleton makes it clear that Washington values what the former star brings to the table, which alone suggests he'll have a prime opportunity to carve out a sizable role.
If that is the case, that already pans out to be a 10-man rotation, with names like Will Riley, Cam Whitmore and Tristan Vukcevic being left off.
Riley's breakout Summer League and strong close to his rookie season make it hard to see any world in which he's left out of the team's rotation, and Whitmore has a case of his own given his upside.
Vukcevic has a viable stetch big and in today's NBA, that skillset is extremely valued.
However, if you slot any of those names ahead of the original 10 players mentioned ahead of them, a talented player gets left out of the rotation.
It's extremely rare that teams roll out a 12-13 man lineup, even in the regular season, which suggests Washington has tough decisions to make when the season rolls around.
The headache is a good sign for Keefe, but at the end of the day, the abundance of talent on the roster is going to eventually lead to rotation decisions that rub some the wrong way, especially if they don't lead to wins.
On top of it all, if Keefe proves he can't manage the talent on the roster, it feels safe to say that the Wizards will find someone who can.
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