Baffling and grotesque as this stinkathon has gotten for the Wizards, their fans have to be looking ahead, down this dark tunnel of misery, and seeing flickering rays of hope for the first time in years. [Someone whispers in my ear that they were in this situation a year ago and lost in the lottery.] FRIENDS! Let’s be positive! Even if Washington falls in the lottery again, it still has a great chance of landing a useful player, and all the suffering this season still gives it a 14 percent chance at no. 1, in what could be the last draft before even that small advantage gets flattened out. If the Wiz do luck into the top pick, they’ll likely be choosing between Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer, as either player should help unlock their current roster, and questions surrounding Darryn Peterson’s dependability still loom. My guess is they’d lean AJ, because he’s the type of charged competitor who could impose his personality onto this franchise while also bringing some physicality and defensive toughness to a roster laden with skinny guards, wings, bigs … more or less everyone. Pairing Dybantsa with the recently surging Will Riley and Bilal Coulibaly would also give them a lot of intriguing options on the wings.
(Also, I know D.C. is building for the future and Trae Young and Anthony Davis are probably just passing through town, but I really want to see them roll out a lineup of Trae, Kyshawn George, Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, and Davis. That would give Young a bunch of lanky, bouncy basketball players to protect against his weakness and highlight his offensive gifts. Come and get 84 on this group, Bam!)