The Wizards’ Will Dawkins is the NBA’s Most Valuable GM

It was the shot heard around the DMV — an immediate memory for every fan watching. The best team in the East was on the verge of being eliminated by Washington.

Despite the moment of infamy, the story doesn’t have a happy ending. The moment every fan thought would be a turning point ended up being the finale. A temptation by the basketball gods of what could be would never come to fruition. Game 6 was the end of the Wizards’ rise. Game 7 was the beginning of their fall.

The Wizards’ 2017 postseason ended in an unforgettable seven-game series. Wall’s injury troubles would kick in the following season; Russell Westbrook arrived as the D.C. legend departed. Beal stepped up as the lead star and was one of the league’s premier scorers. Familiar faces of the Tommy Sheppard era would bring hope, but not fulfillment. Players like Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie were brought in as linchpin solutions.

Washington was a city stuck in limbo. They’d gone through two general managers in five years. The fans knew a self-inflicted blow-up was a few years late, but the only way out.

Third GMs the Charm

Wizards ownership brought in Michael Winger and Will Dawkins in the summer of 2023 with one goal in mind: Tank. In order to tank, Washington had some serious hurdles to get over.

The Beal contract was already looking to be one of the worst in the NBA, especially for a team that had given him chances to prove his worth. Porzingis was due for an extension, and it didn’t look like it was happening in D.C. Dawkins made it a league-wide notice that he was holding a fire sale to start his tenure.

If Dawkins wasn’t getting young talent, he wanted picks. If he got neither, the vets he received wouldn’t last long. The Wizards’ roster changed drastically over the next two years. Beal was off to Phoenix, and Porzingis became the Celtics’ final piece for title contention. Chris Paul was a Wizard for about as long as he was a Laker. The Jordan Poole experiment started rough, but was fun to watch. Kuzma flashed serious potential, enough for Milwaukee to take a chance on him amidst a championship-hopeful campaign.

The Wizards didn’t care about these shortcomings, though; they knew the mission. Lose games, draft your future, obtain draft picks and repeat. In 2024, the Wizards earned their highest draft selection since 2010. Most NBA executives called the 2024 class one of the weakest they’d ever seen. Dawkins begged to differ. Washington had some serious capital in the 2024 draft class. Dawkins made it his mission to be as flawless as possible while drafting.

A Future Brighter than Ever

Let’s take a second to look back on the Bradley Beal trade.

Many thought trading for Beal would push the Suns closer than ever to a title (Who would run the point? Who cares when you have three 30-point-per-game players!). The trade notoriously didn’t work out for Matt Ishbia. Now that every player acquired as a result of that trade is out of Washington, this is the full compensation.

The Suns acquired:

• Bradley Beal (bought out in the 2025 offseason, now with the Clippers)
• Isaiah Todd (last played in the NBA in 2023)
• Jordan Goodwin (now with the Lakers)

The Wizards acquired:

• Jordan Poole (traded to the Pelicans for C.J. McCollum in 2025)
• Ryan Rollins (now with the Bucks
• Patrick Baldwin Jr. (now with the Clippers)
• Landry Shamet (now with the Knicks)
• Four first-round pick swaps with the Suns
• 2030 Warriors’ first-round pick (protected)
• Six Suns’ second-round picks
• 2027 Warriors’ second-round pick

The Suns sold their future for snake oil. The Wizards, on the other hand, solidified it. Their 2024 draft class ended up being the strongest of the year. Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George all look like key pieces. Executives across the association are taking even more notice of the Wizards’ future core after their 2025 draft class of Tre Johnson, Will Riley and Jamir Watkins.

Taking D.C. to the Moon

Most may see an abundance of second-round picks as change rather than actual assets. Cam Whitmore was acquired by Washington for only two second-rounders. Time and time again these picks are used to acquire championship-caliber pieces. With the Wizards having over $100 million freed up for the 2026 offseason, all of a sudden, they’re in striking distance of big-name players.

Adding in a wealth of veterans to teach their young stars has D.C. excited for what’s to come. It’s fitting that Dawkins is from the Sam Presti tree, because he’s been the most impactful GM in the NBA since he left Oklahoma City. No man has been able to make a franchise understand what they are in order to go where they want to like Dawkins has.

He has birthed a vibrant culture for the Wizards. He’s revitalized a franchise in despair. He’s casting over the shortcomings of the last 10 years. Will Dawkins is the NBA’s most valuable GM, and he’s just getting started.