The gamble

If your team for the last several years had always been on the outside looking in during the post season, there is that tendency to take risks to have at least a fighting chance when the next season opens.

For the Washington Wizards, this could be their time with the two big names they acquired thru the trade market.  The last time they made it to the playoffs was during the 2020-2021 season as the 8th seed, losing in 5 games to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.

53 seasons in Washington, DC had the Wizards appear in 23 post seasons, winning the NBA championships in 1978.

Dallas last season traded Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers for Anthony Davis for a total of just 29 games.   They realized their mistake and, confirming that that was the worst trade they made in league history, shipped AD to the Wizards.  The move officially makes the Mavericks Cooper Flagg’s team.

Together with Trae Young, they now have two all-NBA talents, but both are nursing different injuries.  Young, out since December 27 with an MCL sprain and a right quad contusion, will have his condition re-evaluated after the All-Star break.   He still has to play his first game as a Wizard.

AD, as always, can’t stay on the court, and his new team has mothballed him for the rest of the season for a combination of hand and groin injury.  The Wizards’ plan for him was to get him “fully healthy for the 2026-2027 season”.  GM Will Dawkins said that AD will go back to Dallas to finish his rehab.

Sitting AD out for the remainder of the season improves Washington’s odds of landing top prospects in the coming draft, which is widely considered to be one of the best group of talents in years.

Looking at the bright side of things, AD, healthy or not, and if he won’t be looking for a new home at the end of the season, will be Alexandre Sarr’s mentor and will help him develop and be at par with the league’s elite bigs.   Young will be making scoring easier for Sarr, Kyshawn Jones, Tre Johnson, Bub Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly.   In theory, this is great for the Wizards.

Washington is betting on the idea of Young actually staying long term with them, with AD in the fold.  Big question is, will these two stars actually be seeing time together on the court?

The Wizards had made a gamble and had staked their future on two legit, albeit injured, all-NBA stars.