Wizards Win Prediction Isn’t High Enough

Last season, the Wizards won a measly 18 games. The season before, they only won 15. Usually, these kinds of records will show when it comes to the draft, but Washington was not so lucky when it came to the lottery. In the 2024 lottery, they ended up with the second overall pick, taking center Alex Sarr. He has yet to prove much or live up to being the second overall pick, but he has made improvements.

Last season, the Wizards had the best odds at landing the first overall pick and draft Cooper Flagg, however, they slid to the sixth overall pick. It did not turn out to be a complete failure, as Tre Johnson looks like he might end up winning Rookie of the Year. It is unfortunate and unlucky, though, to have the worst record in the league, and then not even get the first overall pick and a generational talent.

The squad also added some other young players during the offseason. They acquired Dillon Jones in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jones was initially drafted by the Wizards, but was traded on draft night. Now he finds himself back in the DMV, this time as an NBA champion. They also added forward Cam Whitmore in a trade with the Houston Rockets. Whitmore was able to carve a rotation role with the Rockets last season and may prove to be a cheap and valuable player for Washington for the next few seasons.

Will Dawkins was also able to move on from Jordan Poole and swapped him with CJ McCollum from the New Orleans Pelicans. McCollum might not be on the team for a long time, as the best thing he can do is increase his trade value. Still, in the first few months he is with the squad, he should help them win some games.

Then there is also the hopeful development of players like Bub Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly, who is playing in EuroBasket with Sarr. AJ Johnson is another name to watch out for in the development space. During Summer League, AJ showed clear improvement. He seems to be a sparkplug off the bench and could serve as a scoring guard for the Wizards in the second unit.

Taking all of this into consideration, along with the Wizards' draft pick being top-8 protected this season, I am still saying you should take the over on wins. This is not to say that Washington is winning 30 or more games, or will be a play-in team. This is saying that they will look like a better team and win around 25 games. Will Dawkins will still try to get their lottery pick back from the New York Knicks. To do this, they need to move on from some players. The eventual trades and overall youth of the team should put them in the lottery, but they should be a much better team than last season.