Wizards offseason recap and early-season preview: What to expect from Dybantsa, others
A three-year tank, featuring a combined 50 wins, finally yielded the result long-suffering Wizards fans were hoping for: a No. 1 pick to kick-start a rebuild that has for years been stuck on neutral.
With a core now centered around 2026 No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, newly signed Trae Young, Anthony Davis, and 2024 No. 2 pick Alex Sarr, the Wizards look like a team destined to make a significant jump in 2026-2027. (Some league insiders believe our Summer Forecast prediction for Washington is still too low!)
Still, questions remain: Will the team re-sign Davis to the max extension he desires or will he request a trade? Did they overpay Young? With an increasingly competitive East, what is the ceiling for this squad?
ESPN's staff of experts is looking back at the offseason and taking an early look at the 2026-27 season for all 30 teams, with 30 pieces -- one for every team -- rolling out each weekday through Sept. 18. We're answering the biggest looming questions, evaluating X factors and much more for all 30 teams.
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Offseason at a glance
Key additions: AJ Dybantsa, Khris Middleton, Deandre Ayton, Tre Mann
Key subtractions: Cam Whitmore, D'Angelo Russell, Jaden Hardy
Key retentions: Trae Young
The Wizards got their jump on this pivotal offseason by acquiring Trae Young and Anthony Davis last season in trades.
Those were their two big moves and then came the big prize for losing 65 games last season - winning the lottery and drafting AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick.
Ready to start winning games this season after losing 60 or more games in each of the past three years, Washington gave Young a four-year, $212 million contract. The Wizards added veterans like Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton to bolster the depth behind their young core featuring the likes of Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Will Riley. -- Ohm Youngmisuk
Zach Kram's offseason grade: D
The Wizards' best move of the offseason -- drafting AJ Dybantsa No. 1 -- doesn't count for this grade, so the focus shifts to their other two notable moves of the summer: re-signing Trae Young to a four-year, $212 million deal and trading for Deandre Ayton.
I gave the Young contract a "D" grade because it seemed like such an overpay given Young's defensive issues and offensive decline, and I gave the Ayton trade a "C" grade because of his odd fit on a team with Anthony Davis, Alex Sarr and Tristan Vukcevic. -- Kram
What we learned over the past few months
From Ben Golliver's offseason lessons piece: The Wizards are all-in on Trae Young.
When the Wizards acquired Young from the Hawks for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert back in January, some observers wondered whether the move was made with an eye toward improving their draft positioning. After all, McCollum was enjoying an unexpectedly strong season in Washington, and Young wound up playing a total of 15 games last season due to injury.
In the end, both things proved to be true: Washington wanted a top draft pick, and it wanted Young to take the reins as point guard for the foreseeable future. Before the Wizards even selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick in last month's draft, they had already agreed to sign Young to a four-year, $212 million extension.
The terms of Young's gigantic new deal raised eyebrows around the league, but Washington's belief in the 27-year-old guard appears deep and genuine. The Wizards held a catered news conference at a luxury hotel in Las Vegas to announce Young's signing, and the room was elegantly decorated with pictures of his family. What's more, most of the team, including Dybantsa and All-Star big man Anthony Davis, attended the event in person.
The Wizards envision Young transitioning into more of a distributor after spending most of his Hawks tenure as the clear-cut No. 1 scorer. There will be a lot of mouths to feed, especially if Davis isn't traded this season. Dybantsa's involvement in the offense should be a top organizational priority, and recent first-round picks Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr and Tre Johnson can't get lost in the shuffle. -- Golliver
The big question: Will Anthony Davis be healthy -- and happy?
Davis has played a total of 71 combined in the last two seasons. He has been traded twice in the last two seasons and has not been able to stay healthy.
But this summer, Davis looked to be in shape and happy working out with the Wizards in Las Vegas, but how long either lasts remains to be seen.
The Wizards and Davis mutually decided to wait on talks on a potential extension until after the season starts, but depending how the season begins for Washington, the big man might seek a trade.
But if he is healthy and comes back looking like the dominant player he's shown he can be, Washington could make noise in the Eastern Conference this season.-- Youngmisuk
Basketball Power Index rank: No. 22
Here are the predicted Net Points per 100 possessions for the Wizards' top seven players for the 2026-27 season.
The Wizards are one of three teams with a home court disadvantage the last three years, in part because the DC area is a melting pot, where fans from all over the country live and go to games to root for their prior home team.
Having a normal home court advantage is worth about five wins. But note that, as an individual, Trae Young's home court disadvantage is one of the biggest in the league. -- Dean Oliver
Read about how Net Points works here.
Biggest X factor
G Kyshawn George
The Wizards are adding All-Stars at the point guard and power forward positions, and they have a No. 1 pick at small forward and a No. 2 pick at center, as well as multiple other lottery picks on their bench. That's a star-studded group.
But it's George, merely a former No. 24 pick, who might be the best all-around wing on this team at the moment.
George averaged 14.8 points and 4.5 assists per game and made 38% of his 3s last season, and his all-around play should make him a vital contributor next to all of his more famous teammates. -- Kram
Betting insight from our expert
Bet to make ahead of the season: Trae Young, assists per game leader; Trae Young 10-plus assists per game
Young increased his assists per game output in each of the first eight seasons of his career, peaking at a league-leading 11.6 APG in 2024-25.
That all changed last season, when Young battled injuries before being traded from the Hawks to the Wizards and had his worst assists season as a pro.
He enters 2026-27 with a young but talented Wizards roster with finishers at every position, including three frontcourt scorers in Anthony Davis, A.J. Dybantsa and Alex Sarr who are all potential pick-and-roll/pop partners.
Young has been a high-volume, strong utilizer of on-ball picks as a way to generate both individual and team offense in his career. -- André Snellings
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