When the author left Washington for college, the Bullets were a successful team that eventually became back-to-back NBA Finals champions. However, upon returning 15 years later, the now-Wizards had become a mediocre team, with only five seasons of winning 40 or more games. Over the past 15 years, only three other franchises have won fewer games than the Wizards. Therefore, the recent trade of Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis is seen as a positive move towards rebuilding the team. The author believes that the Wizards need to acquire young and exciting talent, like De’Aaron Fox and Anthony Edwards, in order to become competitive again. The author also criticizes owner Ted Leonsis for allowing Beal to decline any trade proposal, which made it difficult for the Wizards to negotiate a better deal. Despite these setbacks, the author believes that the Wizards' recent moves are necessary for the team's future success.
The Washington Wizards' new front office, consisting of General Manager Will Dawkins, senior vice president of player personnel Travis Schlenk, and Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger, has implemented a slash-and-burn strategy to rebuild the team's roster. No talent was off-limits in their pursuit of draft picks, which they view as NBA currency that can be used to acquire players before their due date. The team acquired Jordan Poole from Golden State for Chris Paul, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Landry Shamet from Phoenix as part of the Paul deal, and Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala from the Celtics in the Kristaps Porzingis deal. They also acquired Bilal Coulibaly from Indiana in exchange for picks. While the product on the court next season may not be pretty, the new front office is focused on building a playoff-level NBA roster for the future
