Wizards Send AJ Johnson Down to G League

Struggling to Locate Free Minutes

Three wins in 19 tries wouldn't show it, but the players and coaches manning the Washington Wizards are trying to win as badly as any squad in the league.

Even if their front office has their sights set on the future, where they have chances to cash in their poor records for heightened chances at bringing in the next big prospect, the men representing the franchise on the court only have so many years to play their best basketball.

Look no further than their most recent performance for proof of the squad's desperation to steal whatever wins they can; they only played nine players in a 129-126 shootout against the Milwaukee Bucks. Where some fans were likely clamoring for some of the raw prospects lining the bench's end to finally break into the rotation, head coach Brian Keefe was dead-set on taking advantage of the rare opportunity presented to him, which he did in another thrilling win in front of DC's home crowd.

Leaning on reserves like Cam Whitmore, Justin Champagnie and Tristan Vukcevic for near-20 point workloads apiece left numerous Wizards without a minute to their names in the win. Even with noteworthy rotational pieces like Alex Sarr, Corey Kispert and Tre Johnson dealing with their respective injuries, Will Riley couldn't find a way to check into the game following his explosive G-League stint, nor could Johnson on his 21st birthday.

Following in a Teammate's Footsteps

Assigning Johnson to Capital City gives him a clear opportunity at getting his shots up, a better use of his time after a month of warming Washington's bench. He's only seen 43 total minutes this fall across nine games, rarely seeing action outside of garbage time due to his struggles in the half-court and the sheer amount of other prospects ahead of him on the depth chart.

Riley faced the same dilemma, and balled out when he was presented with the green light. Johnson, too, is still young, having also been drafted to the NBA as a first-round pick within the last 18 months, and still has enough to offer to the point that the organization will remain interested to watch how he rises to the challenge.