Do the Wizards have a future in the NBA? That is one of the biggest questions this NBA season. Some people make jokes that they should go to the G – League or move overseas. But what they fail to realize is that they have one of the brightest futures in the league. Allow me to explain.
This season, our hometown team has been awful. Quite literally awful. At this point, we have lost the most games in the entire league. But now, we are doing something about it. First, we traded for Trae Young AND Anthony Davis. While many people think they are foolish for both of these trades, they make sense when you look at them.
Trae Young is a 27-year-old point guard. He isn’t too young, but he isn’t old. If we look at who he is and what he can do, he isn’t only a great mentor, he is still a good backup. If we are being honest, he doesn’t really have a future as a main option. He gets hurt almost once a month, and he doesn’t play defense. But he is a great passer, ball handler, and scorer. Once he settles in, he can be a good second or third option and mentor to our rookie, Tre Johnson. All we need from him is a simple 15 points per game, about 7 assists, and his basketball IQ to help the Wizards be supreme from the guard position.
Next up, Anthony Davis. People said this trade was horrible because it was said that we “gave up our future for an old man”. And from a technical standpoint, THAT IS FALSE. In the trade, we gave up 4 players and about 5 picks for about 4 players in return, and no picks. And while it may seem bad from that view, if you look at it from a numbers standpoint, it makes sense. All of the picks we gave away weren’t ours. We had a lot of acquired picks from other teams through trades, but they weren’t what the league gave us. We still have our 2 picks per draft AND a guaranteed top 8 pick this year (and it’s assumed that we would have a top three).
The players we gave up were either old or not worth keeping due to the money we were paying them. And the players we got back have some potential. But my favorite part of the trade is the frontcourt for the 2026-2027 season. Because, to be honest, it won’t last too long. Alex Sarr, Julian Reese, and Anthony Davis would be a terrifying trio for about one season. With a combined average of 29.8 rebounds a game and almost 4 blocks a game, nobody would dare step up to the plate and attempt a poster. But since Anthony is 33 years old, he won’t last too much longer in the league, but what he does have is a high IQ to pass on to the literal French version of him, Alex Sarr. So I can expect future All-Star performances from Alex Sarr in the next 2-3 years.
But my favorite reason why the Wizards have a bright future is because of the fact that this year’s Draft Class is one of the strongest in years. This year, the Freshman class of D1 Basketball has so much talent, and the Wizards want a piece of that. And with a top 3 pick, it will be easily obtainable to grab some new talent. We need some big forwards to help the frontcourt once Anthony Davis leaves. So our best options are A.J Dyabantsa, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson.
And if I had to pick, I would honestly pick AJ Dyabantsa because of his basketball IQ, his versatility on the court, and his offensive abilities. I would be happy with any of the picks, but personally, I think we have enough defensive assets right now, and we need scorers. I would love to get Cam, but we aren’t a team that deserves or needs him at this time. We need someone who can score buckets like there ain’t no tomorrow. But with either of these picks, we would be in good hands offensively and defensively.
The Wizards seem like the kind of team to win a championship in 2-5 years. We just need to play it safe in the regular season, but take risks in the offseason.
Through time and development, we can be a monster in the league and a force to be reckoned with.
