Jan 19, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Washington Wizards head coach Brian Keefe calls out to his team during the second quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Wizards HC Raising Stakes Entering Another Rebuild Season

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Washington Wizards general manager Will Dawkins has no intention of ending the team's lengthy rebuild anytime soon, but that doesn't mean he's not looking to enforce growth within his ranks.

He was purposeful in emphasizing the need to take a step forward as an organization, with the Wizards' growing assortment of hand-drafted talent necessitating the executive's enhanced focus. The team may not be locked into winning as many regular season games as humanly possible this upcoming season, but that's not to say that they have any intention on being a losing organization, or letting entitlement grow within players who have to constantly re-prove themselves.

"A lot of stuff was given more than earned," he told media last week. "This year that can't be the case, and everybody in here has to feel that."

Head coach Brian Keefe co-signed that testament on Media Day, where he gave reporters an idea of how he plans on enforcing Dawkins' principles and upping the stakes entering his second full season at the bench's head.

"This starts in camp," he said in clarifying the shift in focus. "We have a pretty deep roster in a lot of ways, some guys who are capable of playing and getting experience. A lot will have to be determined in training camp, but I think it will be a very competitive training camp, and I think that's always a good thing.

"Competition breeds improvement. We gotta be challenged, we're gonna challenge each other, I'm gonna challenge them, they're gonna challenge me."

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

That's just what the fans want to hear about the upcoming season's live-ball orchestrator, with Keefe controlling which of the dozen or so prospects will get the opportunity to flourish and mesh with their teammates this upcoming season.

A fresh class of draft prospects looks to join his roster after the team's third season of focusing squarely on the future, as Keefe's now asked to sort out even more logjams at the wing. Tre Johnson, Will Riley and Jamir Watkins each have strong chances to make a young core look even stronger and deeper than it already has, and they're looking forward to being tested just as much as their coach is.

The team's prioritization of adding raw talent through the draft gives the fans almost too any options to sift through when judging how the opening night rotation will shake out, but that's exactly the sort of problem that most teams in dead-end situations dream of.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: