The Washington Wizards have been in a full tank mode since they traded Bradley Beal to Phoenix, this trade deadline they went all in and traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis. With all of the moves they made, I believe the Wizards are done tanking and are now all in to compete this coming season. Below, I have six steps I believe they should follow and then I will show you the moves I would make as the GM.
Steps
Draft. Hypothetically, let's say they do land the number 1 pick based off of standings, then they should go after AJ no matter what. Keep the second round picks and obviously use them for two way contracts.
Bilal or George? The Wizards are walking in to the season with three starting caliber wings, and three rotational guys who we all expect to get minutes. The Wizards need to choose between the three starting wings and decided which two stays and which one goes. I think Tre Johnson is a lock and can be a great sixth man to start the season with potential to move to the starting SG position half way through the season. Should the Wizards go with Bilal who is on an expiring deal or Kyshawn George who they can sell high? I personally would trade Kyshawn for draft picks. If you can draft well, which Will Dawkins has shown time and time again, you should be able to find missing pieces to the team in the late first round picks in the future to replace some of these expiring contracts currently on the team and coming in. A first is still a first. I would keep Coulibaly cause he has been a defensive cornerstone at wing and will be hard to replace right away.
Move on from Hardy and Whitmore. Jaden Hardy will likely be phased out of the lineup this season with everyone expected to be healthy and Cam Whitmore's draft slide is making more and more sense as he has now earned that bust title, I think Washington should move on from both right away. I don't see Whitmore being traded unless he was an add on for a bigger contract guy, which also means trading away a draft pick or multiple which I would not do so, so I recommend just cutting him and letting him go elsewhere and find his next landing spot. Hardy can probably be traded in a one for one swap as he has shown he is useful in the right system.
Sign a backup Center. The Wizards desperately needs height. If AD is out, Sarr needs help and if Sarr is out, AD needs help, if both are out then lord help us all. They have plenty of cap space to go after any of the top FA C's available.
Sign a vet guard. Yes they have Trae, but this is one if not the youngest team in the NBA. If you want to make a deep run, add a veteran for mentor purposes.
Extend Trae Young and Bilal Coulibaly. Technically, Trae can be a FA, but prevent that right away and offer him an extension. I am imagining a team friendly deal that is still works perfectly for Trae even though it is less then his last contract. If they do keep Bilal, get him a contract right now before you go on a back and forth in the summer of 2027 if he ends up having a breakout year. He is still a top defensive player and deserves to be paid such.
My Plans
I have hinted in what I would do, here is the full list of my transactions and the depth chart at the end.
Re-Sign
Trae Young - 5 years, $165 million (5th year PO)
Bilal Coulibaly - 4 years, $72 million (extension; contract does not go into effect until 2027-28 season)
Julian Reese - Two way contract
Additions
Mitchell Robinson - 3 years, $45 million (3rd year PO)
Jevon Carter - 1 year, $3 million
Paul Reed - trade with the Detroit Pistons
Zeke Nnaji - trade with the Denver Nuggets
2027 first round pick - trade with the Detroit Pistons
2030 first round pick - trade with the Detroit Pistons
Draft
R1P1 - AJ Dybantsa - SF/PF - BYU
R2P51 - Bruce Thornton - PG - Ohio State
R2P60 - Rafael Castro - PF/C - George Washington
Subtractions
Kyshawn George - trade with the Detroit Pistons
Jaden Hardy - trade with the Denver Nuggets
Cam Whitmore - waived
D'Angelo Russell - not re-signed
Anthony Gill - not re-signed
Sharife Cooper - not re-signed
Leaky Black - not re-signed
Depth
PG - Trae Young - Bub Carrington - Jevon Carter - Bruce Thornton (TW)
SG - Bilal Coulibaly - Tre Johnson - Jamir Watkins
SF - AJ Dybantsa - Will Riley - Justin Champaigne
PF - Anthony Davis - Paul Reed - Zeke Nnaji - Julian Reese (TW)
C - Alex Sarr - Mitchell Robinson - Tristan Vukcevic - Rafael Castro (TW)
Let me know your thoughts down below! Also, let me know how many games you expect this team to win next season?