The Washington Wizards’ yearslong teardown is over. The foundation is in place. Now — for the first time in a decade — the District’s perennially woeful NBA squad opens training camp Tuesday with expectations of on-court success.
The All-Stars they acquired ahead of last season’s trade deadline — forward Anthony Davis and guard Trae Young — are healthy. Veterans Tre Mann and DeAndre Ayton joined the club in free agency.
No. 1 pick A.J. Dybantsa is ready to hit the ground running in his first NBA season. The young core features rising stars such as Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson, who are ready to take the next steps.
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But this isn’t an all-in franchise. Though a play-in berth is considered a viable goal for this year’s Wizards, coach Brian Keefe hesitated to put a clear wins-based goal for the season. He’s not interested in flaming out in the first round of the playoffs if it comes at the cost of future success.
“We want to build something that is sustainable,” Washington’s third-year coach said at Monday’s Media Day. “My responsibility in that is the day-to-day, how we’re going to do that and how we’re going to build that.”
That process to repeatable success began during the offseason. The majority of the roster started flocking to the Wizards’ training facility in the District’s Southeast quadrant in May. The entire roster visited Las Vegas to watch Dybantsa and the rest of the rookies in NBA Summer League. The group — without any absences — reunited in Los Angeles for more unofficial scrimmages in workouts later in the summer.
Around Labor Day, they reported back to Washington earlier than required.
“I’ve loved the commitment our guys showed to that, building those bonds: talking chemistry, talking things on the court,” Keefe said.
It’s all part of building a new standard for the Wizards — expectations centered on winning. That’s easier said than done after eight consecutive losing seasons.
Many of the Wizards’ recent additions, including former No. 1 picks in Davis and Ayton, saw games against Washington as rest days earlier in their careers.
“Saw them as food,” Ayton, who spent the first eight seasons of his career in the Western Conference, said of the Wizards and the rest of the Eastern Conference.
“[The offseason additions] show we’re trying to win,” Davis noted. “Now, changing the dynamic around the Wizards being an off night for people who say — when you go to D.C. or D.C. comes to town — guys stay up a little later or mess around in games. It changed the narrative.”
Or, at least, the hope is that the offseason work and new additions will adjust how the rest of the league views the Wizards in the future.
“It doesn’t happen overnight,” Davis said. “Changes of culture, the mentality that we’ve had to have coming into the season so that it’s not like last season, so guys are coming in looking at the Wizards a different way.”
There will be massive adjustments for the Wizards on both sides of the court. Offensively, Young will likely run an offense that will feature a bevy of rim-wrecking scoring options in Dybantsa, Young and former No. 2 pick Alex Sarr.
“Obviously, AD demands a lot of attention for the defense. Him having the ball in the post is going to create stuff not only for me, but for everyone else,” Sarr said. “The defense is going to have to rotate and we’re going to be in advantageous situations. That’s definitely going to help. … Just having bigs that demand that much attention is going to open up the game for everybody. Having bigs that demand that much attention.”
In the backcourt, Young won’t be stuck as the only ball-handler. Dybantsa worked as a distributor during his short but decorated collegiate career at BYU. Guards Tre Mann and Bub Carrington could also take that responsibility out of Young’s hands.
That trend of shared responsibility extended throughout the roster. Dybantsa lacks the blinding spotlight that typically follows top picks in their first NBA season. Unlike most abysmal squads that luck into the No. 1 selection, the Wizards aren’t asking him to shoulder a heavy load.
How much pressure has he felt so far?
“None,” Dybantsa replied ahead of his first training camp.
The weight is spread amongst teammates, including Ayton and Davis, who understand the pressure that comes with being No. 1.
“A.J. came into the league very lucky and blessed, just to have this type of environment around and superstars to protect him,” Ayton said. “He’s really protected and he gets to be who A.J. is. We’re all going to support and be behind him. It’s going to be hard for him to fail.”
The table is set for Dybantsa and his teammates. They might not be title contenders yet, but multiple players referred to the upcoming campaign as a “season of change.”
That means stacking wins on a nightly basis.
“I think we’re a little slept on. That’s fine,” Davis said Monday. “I’ve always liked the idea of shocking the world, but it starts tomorrow, coming in with ultra-focus coming into camp.”
The Wizards open their preseason slate against the New York Knicks on Oct. 8 before their regular season debut on Oct. 21 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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