Ceiling, floor for the Washington Wizards: The rebuild begins

The Washington Wizards hit the reset button earlier this summer, trading away stars Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis to embark on a youth movement.

Ceiling: 39-43 and a first-round exit

Even though the Wizards lost their two star players, they could still make some noise this season. Jordan Poole will likely be among the league leaders in points per game. Kyle Kuzma is a highly effective forward who continues to improve. Deni Avdija continues to improve, and Bilal Coulibaly is a blue-chip rookie prospect who could have an amazing debut season. 

The Wizards have a fun young core that is teeming with offensive potential. Taj Gibson, Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari will provide the required veteran leadership to help steer the ship. Washington will also be playing free of expectations, allowing the Wizards to find their identity as a unit. Still, it's the potential guard tandem of Poole and Coulibaly that is most exciting. 

If Washington allows its younger stars to play through their mistakes, we will see some rapid developments throughout the season. Other teams will likely view Washington as a potential easy win. The Wizards can cause some upsets by playing hard and committing to working as a team. It's highly unlikely, but Washington's ceiling will be postseason qualification followed by a first-round exit. 

Floor: 20-62 and a high draft pick

The Wizards would likely prefer this outcome. While getting your young talent some postseason experience is important, Washington shouldn't be in any rush. Poole is already an NBA champion. Coulibaly is a rookie and needs time to acclimate to the NBA, and Kuzma has postseason experience from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Instead, the Wizards should be focused on improving their young talent. That means accepting a significant amount of losing in the upcoming season. Fortunately, with losing comes higher draft lottery odds. After trading away its star duo, Washington will be keen to acquire blue-chip prospects in the coming years. Coulibaly shouldn't be the only lottery pick the front office makes before 2025. 

Washington's floor is finishing bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Wizards may not admit it, but that would likely be one of their best-case scenarios. However, with Poole, Kuzma, Coulibaly and some strong veterans, the Wizards may be too talented to tank, which could be a slight problem. Nevertheless, the Wizards are right where they're supposed to be: figuring out how to get the best out of the young talent at their disposal and dreaming of a bright future.