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Wizards Youth Movement Takes Unprecedented Expansion
Oct 26, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Malaki Branham (22) shoots over Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards have become known for their desire to stockpile young assets, particularly young players who couldn't last on their own teams to round out one of the deepest young rosters in the league.

They're draft-first at their core, having hand-picked six first-round pieces since going all-in on the rebuild, but they now have 11 such prospects from the last four drafts after several recent trades.

After adding a rookie in AJ Johnson midway through last season, they traded for another rising sophomore in Dillon Jones before taking on upside swing on Cam Whitmore, who showed flashes of scoring stardom before struggling to break into the Houston Rockets rotation.

Right as they were starting to gain popularity as a quiet offseason winner, they added a few more youth pieces in another trade. Kelly Olynyk went out the door, and two 2022 first-rounders in Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley joined Washington's ranks.

Neither were statistical darlings in San Antonio, each seeing their minutes decrease as the Spurs loaded up on more qualified guard prospects to surround Victor Wembanyama with in Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.

Branham is a score-first guard, and will be as unafraid to shoot from the midrange as any Wizard. He's capable from 3-point land, shooting over 40% in a low-leverage role last season, but lost out on minutes due to his inconsistencies as a defender and ball-mover.

Wesley isn't the pure scorer that Branham is, but he fills the gaps everywhere else. He's the kind of hustle player that the Wizards have shown an affinity for in padding their bench, having already rewarded Justin Champagnie with a bigger role due to his attention to detail and picking up another defensive dog in Jamir Watkins in the second round of last month's draft.

While both Branham and Wesley are still in their early-20s, right in line with most of Washington's players, they're both on expiring deals. They can prove themselves as role players in D.C., see themselves traded for more assets or go unsigned after potentially un-impactful one-and-done seasons with the Wizards.

Bench spots on this team are generally up-for-grabs considering all of the prospects vying for opportunity, so they may get to join Johnson, Jones, Whitmore and all of the other fringe Wizards in determining their fate.

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

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