The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We present the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy predictions for all 30 teams. Enjoy!
Wizards of Washington
End of year 2023–24
Off-season moves
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Enrichment: Alexandre Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, Jonas Valančiūnas, Malcolm Brogdon, Saddiq Bey
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Subtraction: Deni Avdija, Tyus Jones, Landry Shamet, Eugene Omoruyi, Jules Bernard, Hamidou Diallo
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Complete squad
The big question: How long will it take to go from “deconstruction” to “reconstruction”?
Any mystery about the Wizards' direction disappeared as new team president Michael Winger and new general manager Will Dawkins spent their first months in office jettisoning Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porziņġis in exchange for veterans on short-term contracts, future draft picks, a 19-year-old French fate for the lottery Bilal Coulibaly and one-time fighter Jordan Poole.
In this direction: down, as cheaply and as quickly as possible.
Poole endured a brutally forgettable and disheartening season, full of distracting lights and attempts that failed. Things went better for Kyle Kuzma, who put up the numbers; Avdija, who played the best all-round ball of his career; and Jones, who has remained every bit the high-flying caretaker as a starter, just as he was as a backup in Memphis.
And none of it mattered. Like, not at all.
Washington sank like a stone, posting its worst net rating in at least two decades and the worst record in franchise history — which, considering the history Ten franchise, that says something. (Amazing stat from NBA.com's John Schuhmann: The Wizards became the first team in 39 seasons to go winless in the second game of a back-to-back, losing all 13 of them.) Coach Wes Unseld Jr. failed, he “moved” into a “front-office role” for several months before assistant-turned-interim head coach Brian Keefe landed the full-time job – and, consequently, a short-term outlook that still looks terribly bleak.
The 2023-24 Wizards' top three players in terms of value per replacement player – Jones, Avdija and Daniel Gafford, who were added mid-season to Dallas – will all focus on their jobs elsewhere. Veteran guard Brogdon, brought in from Portland as part of the Avdija deal, is already injured, having torn a ligament in the thumb of his shooting hand. Wiz signed Bey knowing he would miss most of the season rehabbing a torn ACL — a potential upside play, but not one with much immediate value.
That's the vibe throughout the lineup. Between Coulibaly, Sarr, Carrington and George, the Wizards will likely give a real rotation of minutes to four players aged 20 or under. They all offer some intrigue – Coulibaly as a feisty perimeter defender, Sarr combining pick-and-pop three-point shooting with strong rim shots while blocking shots and defending in space, Carrington as an eye-catching shot creator, etc. – but you I really can't expect nothing more than “intrigue” from such young candidates.
Outside of that quartet, there are only three Wizards owed guaranteed money beyond 2025-26. There's Poole, who, given the situation, should have three years and $95.5 million remaining on his contract. There is Bey, who will earn less than 4% of the salary cap in 26-27. And there's Kuzma, who famously turned down the opportunity to join the Mavericks at the February trade deadline and who – as a 6-foot-8 forward who can shoot and rebound and whose contract is shrinking over time – is fully aware that he will continue to hear your name. (As Kuzma recently put it to The Athletic's Josh Robbins: “I've been in trade rumors for eight years. This is my eighth year in the NBA.”)
The remaining Wizards veterans – Brogdon, Marvin Bagley III, Richaun Holmes (whose two-year, $25.9 million contract has just $250,000 guaranteed next season, effectively turning the center into a $12.6 million trade exception) – are short-termers , he's as likely to be cut for a draft pick that doesn't get nailed as to remain in DC Even Valančiūnas — whose size, rebounding and ability to endure the rigors of Game 5 have real value to a team looking to ease Sarr's acclimation to the NBA — is priced at a below-average contract with a non-guaranteed final season.
Everything seems very threadbare, temporary – the ugly house is almost finished and is being stripped down to the studs before contractors can begin construction to a new design.
“If we're really going to think about this – the phases of reconstruction – it's the phase of deconstruction. The foundation laying phase begins. First is building something back and then strengthening what you build,” Dawkins told reporters on media day. “We continue to focus on deconstruction and laying the foundations.”
Translation: If someone offers us something for any of our non-rookie guys – including sharpshooter Corey Kispert, who will hit restricted free agency after the season – we'll probably take it. Let the collective of those immature to drink clean up their lumps and let the chips – and lottery ping-pong balls – fall where they may.
Everyone knew that Washington had to rebuild and felt great pain while doing so. Knowing something and actually feeling however, these are two very, very different things.
“I think it's important to remind everyone,” Dawkins said at media day, “that we're still in the beginning (in the middle of it).”
Translation: This season is going to hurt too.
Best case scenario
Sarr, Coulibaly, Carrington, and George all show signs of being legitimate NBA rotation players sooner or later… but they don't do it in a dramatic enough way to, you know, win some games. Winger and Dawkins are able to find compensation-rich draftees for several Wizards veterans, re-loading Washington's draft coffers and giving the front office more flexibility to pursue roster-changing trades that can add talent at the same time as its bright youngsters do things . Poole replicates his post-All-Star growth by helping rehabilitate his value both in the District and beyond. The Wizards seem increasingly competent, but they still lose enough to be near the top of the lottery odds, acquire one of the top players and enter the summer feeling like they'll see the light at the end of the tunnel.
If everything falls apart
None of the kids are really pop, they all seem needy plot longer in the proverbial development oven. Poole isn't recovering, it looks like this will be one of the worst contracts in the league, and the best Washington can get for any of its good-but-not-great veterans is a few free second-rounders. The Wizards are losing even more than last season, but the odds of winning the lottery are a surprise to them, and they must watch other teams get the best of the crop while trying to make the most of what they have left. DC fans feel a familiar, growing fear: that the light at the end of the tunnel is actually a train about to run over them.
Spin fantasy
Any Wizard's lineup this season will be bumpy. Poole was terrible for long stretches last season, but he perked up once he took over as quarterback. Brogdon is injured, so Poole starts the season as the main facilitator, which should help his assist numbers. In the preseason, Kuzma is shooting 30% from the floor. He's also been air-punching left and right lately, so I'm going with Kuzma unless you're in a points league.
Sarr is an intriguing candidate, known for his defense. However, his offensive bag isn't ready yet, so Sarr will primarily be a rim protector, rebounder and disruptor. I like Valančiūnas, but I'm worried about his long-term prospects. If he doesn't intend to leave DC via trade, he'll have an easy double-double in the eighth round. — And Tytus
2024–25 schedule
I think this team might be bad enough to lose 62 games without replace any of his veterans and I think he's going to replace those veterans. For me this is a minus. Courage, Washington. Courage.
