The Washington Wizards Rebuild Will be Longer Than Expected

Highlights

• The Washington Wizards are in a lengthy rebuild process after multiple years of struggling.
• The Wizards traded major pieces last offseason to acquire draft picks, but outcomes are currently uncertain.
• Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma are key to the Wizards’ rebuild, but pressure is building as the team struggles.

Rebuilds in the NBA are an arduous and often painful process that has varying degrees of length. In some cases, teams get lucky by acquiring a star talent and choose to build around them, therefore speeding up the rebuilding process. But in most cases, teams have emptied the tank and lack the talent necessary to compete, dragging the rebuild on for multiple seasons.

This is expected to be the case with the Washington Wizards. The first year or two of a rebuild is always a painful process, but the Wizards have not seen any step forward since the season began. They are the second-worst team in the NBA, currently sporting a 9-48 record. They are only one game ahead of the Detroit Pistons (who lost a historic 28 straight games this season) and are only one of two teams to not have ten wins by February 27.

As of that date, the Wizards have lost eleven straight games. Their last win came against the San Antonio Spurs (the worst team in the Western Conference and third-worst in the NBA) on January 29, which was a 118-113 win. If the Wizards lose the next two games, they will have gone winless in February.

It is sufficient to say that this season has not gone the way the Wizards had expected it to. It is only the first year of the rebuild, so it is hard to judge, but many things are pointing in the wrong direction for Washington. Their current rebuild will be longer than expected.

Glimmers of hope vanished

The Wizards had not seen success in multiple years, leading to massive shake-ups.

The Wizards made the playoffs as recently as 2021. In that year, they squeaked in as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference (with a losing record of 34-38) but lost in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers in five games.

Prior to that, the last time the Wizards won a playoff round was in 2017, when they beat the Atlanta Hawks in six games, but subsequently lost in the second round to the Boston Celtics in seven. Washington has not finished over .500 since 2018 when they finished 43-39 but lost in the first round to the Toronto Raptors in six.

It has gone downhill for the Wizards since that point. The past few seasons have been rough, with the team having consecutive seasons of finishing 35-47 and 12th in the Eastern Conference, in both 2022 and 2023. It reached a boiling point after the 2022-23 season, when team owner Ted Leonsis initiated the rebuild, starting with the front office.

In April 2023, Leonsis fired general manager Tommy Sheppard, after he had been with the team since 2003 and general manager since 2019. He was replaced by Will Dawkins and the team hired a new team president, Michael Winger. And the new staff did not waste time redoing the entire team.

Trading it all off

The Wizards entered a rebuild last offseason by trading away massive pieces

Winger and Dawkins wasted no time initiating the rebuild. Shortly after their tenure began, the Wizards traded star Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet, and a boatload of second-round picks and swaps. Paul was then flipped to the Golden State Warriors for Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin Jr., a future first-round pick, and most importantly, Jordan Poole.

For most teams, that would be the blockbuster move of the offseason, but the Wizards were not done. In possession of Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards traded him to the Celtics and received Tyus Jones, Mike Muscala, Danilo Gallinari, and Julian Philips. Philips was then flipped for two second-round picks.

The Wizards traded Monte Morris to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for another second-round pick. The idea the front office had was to offload major pieces to receive a flurry of draft picks, mostly second-rounders. They hope that those picks will eventually blossom, which lies the problem. There is no guarantee those picks will pan out, and they are years away.

Finally, the Wizards were still in possession of Daniel Gafford at the time and decided to flip him at the 2024 Trade Deadline. He was a solid piece of the Wizards’ rotation, averaging 10.9 points this season, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks.

But in the team’s situation, he did not provide much of a use in the current blueprint. With a bit of value attached to his name, Gafford. was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Richaun Holmes and a future pick.

Building around Poole and Kuzma

The Wizards plan to build around Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma

Washington traded for Jordan Poole with the intent of building around him. They viewed him as the first option next to Kyle Kuzma. Since Kuzma was a free agent, they had to re-sign him. He agreed to a four-year deal with $90 million guaranteed and an additional $12 million in potential incentive earnings.

Kuzma has been a bright spot in the Wizards’ rotation this year. He is averaging 22 points per game this season, which is far greater than his career average of 17.1. He is also putting up 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists this season, which are decent numbers. But when a player of that ilk is the team’s top producer, it is less than ideal.

Poole is the centerpiece that Washington hopes to build around. He won the 2022 NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors, so he brings that championship knowledge and pedigree to the table. However, he has not been having as great of a season as expected. Poole averaged over 20 points in that season with the Warriors, but this year, that figure is down significantly to 15.8.

Poole’s defense has also been poor this season, and his game appears to be rushed at times. Perhaps that is a consequence of the Wizards’ losing situation, which is less than ideal. The reality is he is only 24, so there is room to grow, but he has become the face of the current Wizards team, and as a result, there is enormous pressure on him.

Poole and Kuzma are the two primary pieces of the Wizards’ rebuild, as reflected in their contracts. Next season, they will be the highest-paid players on the team by far, with Poole due to earn $29,651,786 and Kuzma due to earn $23,522,727. The next highest-paid player will be Deni Avdija, set to earn $15,625,000. He has put up a good season, averaging 13.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.

But the reality is that the Wizards’ roster is currently lacking significantly. Last season, Porzingis was their best player, and they have failed to replace him with a player of that same caliber. The Wizards are banking on future picks to blossom and lead them to the promised land, but there is no promise in that. The Wizards have a long way to go in their rebuild and it will therefore take longer than initially expected.