Nov 3, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Washington forward Cam Whitmore (1) looks on during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

Wizards Should Keep Protected Pick After Latest Loss

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Nov 5, 2025 5:00 PM ET

Losing may hurt, and rooting against winning games may go against the spirit of sports, but it's in the Wizards' best interest to continue playing this season exactly like how they've come out so far.

Of course, the rotations and execution hasn't been perfect, with esteemed veterans and fringe-rotational pieces alike each coming up short in flexing their value to the squad, but they've repeatedly trooped into second halves with leads before blowing the game in the final two quarters. The Wizards have repeatedly demonstrated that they have the pieces to play competitive basketball at times, even though they're not far enough along in their developments to routinely carry the squad.

Their most recent dropped game, a 119-102 loss to the New York Knicks, offered more of the same. They hung with the Knicks through the first 24 minutes, trailing by just three points after a rally to enter the half, but yet another third quarter got away from them. Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George continued showing their typical flashes of excellence, though, so it wasn't a total loss.

Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

This growingly-consistent formula has resulted in the team taking home just one victory in seven games, just what Washington's management drew up in scheming its laborious rebuild. Prioritizing the young core won't result in much winning, but that will boost the Wizards' odds at landing a top draft pick, which will only bolster the ever-growing assortment of talent dotting the roster.

How Do the Knicks, Specifically, Factor In?

It's also important to note who that loss arrived against. The New York Knicks entered as the easy favorite, a contender out east with all of the experienced talent that the Wizards hope to one day replicate, but they hold one important asset over the underdog's head.

They own the rights to the Wizards' upcoming first-round pick, a piece that's protected within the top-eight of the order that could turn into one of the most desirable trade chips in the league should disaster once again strike Washington. As if the team wasn't incentivized enough to continue bottoming out, the threat of losing their odds at finally securing the #1 spot, the whole reason for rebuilding, hangs in the balance.

Any fans who were pushing for the Wizards to try and crash the Play-In party had to have forgotten about that little detail, and the Knicks' recent throttling acted as a reminder that the pick will most likely convey for Washington. A year after getting spurned by the lottery gods in dropping all the way down to No. 6, it's not worth threatening to stray any further from the NBA's bottom three.

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

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