The Washington Wizards are struggling again, which is no surprise to any basketball fan. Since the 2020-2021 season, they have posted a disappointing 139-279 record, the second-worst in the NBA over that span, behind only the Detroit Pistons. However, the Pistons made the playoffs last season and are currently among the top teams in the league this season. The Pistons have demonstrated what rebuilding can achieve, developing their roster with young talent and key veteran pieces to build a successful team. Meanwhile, the Wizards have remained at the bottom of the standings despite years of high draft picks.

In the 2022 draft, the Wizards selected guard Johnny Davis with the 10th pick in the draft. Davis is no longer on the roster. In parts of three seasons with the Wizards, he averaged just 3.5 points per game and shot under 30 percent from three-point range. 2021 15th overall draft pick Corey Kispert showed promise early in his career but has lacked impactful development and remains a deep bench piece. In the 2020 draft, the Wizards took Deni Avdija with the 9th pick, who the Wizards traded to the Trail Blazers before the 2024-2025 season for Malcom Brogdon and draft capital. Avdija has blossomed into an all-star-level player, averaging 26 points per game this year with Portland.

Washington has added some good young players through the draft, like Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington, who seem likely to be solid rotational pieces. The second-year development of Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George has been significant for the Wizards. Sarr was the 2nd overall pick last year, and after a shaky rookie season, he has become a double-double threat and appears to be the team’s key building block. George, who was also a first-round pick last year, has found his groove as the team’s point forward and a high-level three-point shooter. This season’s sixth overall pick, Tre Johnson, has struggled to find his rhythm early in his career, bouncing between a bench and starting role. Johnson has shown enough flashes of being a solid scorer with the ability to hit tough shots, giving fans hope for his future.

So, with a strong young core that they have been building for years, why can’t the Wizards win more games? The answer is that they have failed to find a go-to veteran. In recent years, it seemed that Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma would be the options, but both are no longer with the Wizards, and at best, they were enigmatic, streaky scorers. Washington’s decision to move on from the pair seemed like a smart move that would open up salary space and give a bigger role to younger players.

This season, they have relied on veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton. McCollum can still provide solid scoring, but his inefficiency, similar to Poole and Kuzma, hampers some of the young core’s development. Middleton is aging and showing clear signs of regression.

The Wizards have a promising young core, but they aren’t winning enough games. To turn the franchise around and create a team capable of competing for an extended period, Washington needs to make a splash. Whether through free agency or trades, the Wizards need a star to take some pressure off the young players and help carry the scoring load. Some names to watch are Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, and Ja Morant. These three talented guards are high-level scorers whose names have been mentioned in trade rumors.

This offseason, the Wizards will have close to $110 million in salary cap space to go after a big-name player. With relatively new GM Will Dawkins, who was hired in 2023 and had been in the Thunder front office since 2008, and President Michael Winger, who is in his first year, also from the Thunder, don’t be shocked to see the Wizards take some of those same strategies that led to all of the Thunder’s success. This may include consolidating some of the young players into a trade package for a star player, or making a big splash in free agency. What’s clear is that the approach of the past five years hasn’t worked; it’s time for the Wizards to go a different route.