As the dog days of the NBA offseason come to a close, training camps are about to begin.
While the Wizards have struggled through a half-decade of mediocrity, the clouds are finally clearing in DC. They may not win a lot of games this season, but Will Dawkins has provided clarity for what the next phase of the rebuild looks like.
The 4 phases of the rebuild
Washington Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins did a few interviews to discuss the offseason. He sat down with 7News Sports Director Scott Abraham and talked about the rebuilding process. Dawkins said that his team is still in the deconstruction phase of the rebuild, breaking it down into four phases.
He broke these steps down to “1) assess/deconstruct, 2) laying the foundation, 3) building it back up, and then 4) fortifying what they are building”. He discussed this in the media availability conference as well.
Abraham also asked how Dawkins deals with the immediate expectations of fans wanting to win right now. Dawkins explained that he believes the Wizards fan base understands the plan that he has laid out. He talked about building sustained success and that starts by finding the right staff and players for the Wizards.
Building the right way
Dawkins is working on this rebuild by getting young talents through the draft. Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, and Alex Sarr are the picks. Coulibaly, Carrington, and Sarr all have two-way potential with their length. Dawkins looks at George as a big playmaker on the wing. The hope is that they will all peak at the same time.
Dawkins says he brought in Jonas Valančiūnas to help develop the team’s international players. Valančiūnas can also help with rebounding, as the Wizards were 29th in the league in rebounding during the 2023-24 season. Malcolm Brogdon was brought in for his size as a backcourt player. But most importantly, they are there because they are winning players. They can help to teach a winning culture to their young players.
The Keefe System
Dawkins thinks that Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole will be comfortable with Brian Keefe’s new system. Keefe is building a system that has an emphasis on player and ball movement. The Wizards did a good job sharing the ball last season, as they were ninth in the league in assists. Keefe took the head coaching job during the second half of the season and didn’t fully get a chance to implement his system— but with a full offseason —look for many changes to happen. Poole benefitted from Keefe taking over, as Keefe decided to move Poole to a Sixth Man role. As a spark plug off the bench, Poole averaged 20.5 points and 4.3 assists in the final 12 games of the season.
Dawkins’ plan seems to be building a team around defense and ball movement. As he discussed in his previous interviews, Dawkins believes this is the way to go about this reconstruction. The Wizards finished last season near the bottom of the league in various defensive ratings. Adding defense will help with his plans on a sustained run.
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