Wizards owner Ted Leonsis makes ‘difficult’ admission on rebuild

Small market teams usually have to rebuild through the draft, as it’s harder to attract free-agent stars. While focusing on young talent is the cheapest way to develop a program, it’s not a guarantee that it’ll lead to success. The struggle is the only certainty.

That’s the situation that Washington currently finds itself in, but Leonsis thinks that the 2025 draft class will help.

“[Cooper Flagg] is a really good prospect, and what’s exciting is there are four or five players who could be difference makers, but they’re prospects, right?” he continued. “[Team president] Michael [Winger] and [general manager] Will [Dawkins] have built an unbelievable staff, and we see Detroit’s doing really well with a lot of kids they brought in, so they’re really excited about the depth here, with quite a few players that can be in the rotation. The days of having one unicorn leading a team deep into the playoffs, those aren’t happening, so the philosophy Michael and the staff have is that you gotta get depth. You can manage to the cap by bringing in one free agent, but in the new NBA, you need depth.”

Luckily, the Wizards are building a deep young rotation with Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George. The next step is to land a star, which will largely depend on which lottery pick they receive on May 12. If Washington ends the season with the NBA’s worst record, it’ll have a 14 percent chance to land the No. 1 selection and a 52.1 percent chance to go top four, via Tankathon. It also would be guaranteed a top-five pick.

Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Ace Bailey are all considered potential stars by scouts, so the Wizards have the best chance to get that caliber of player they’ve had since the Wall/Beal days. If they land at No. 4 or 5, though, they’ll have to wait until 2026.

Luck plays an unfortunately large factor in the rebuilding process, but Washington has no other choice. Other small-market teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Orlando Magic have left the cellar by doing what it’s currently doing. The only difference is that those teams each have drafted franchise cornerstones with lottery picks: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder, Cade Cunningham for the Pistons, Anthony Edwards for the Wolves, and Paolo Banchero for the Magic.

What Washington has now are potential supporting pieces that could help a star, with ceilings similar to the Thunder’s Jalen Williams, the Pistons’ Jalen Duren, the Wolves’ Jaden McDaniels, and the Magic’s Jalen Suggs. If its current young core develops similarly to those players, it’ll be capable of prosperity with the right leader in town.

Wizards fans have criticized Leonsis for not starting the rebuild sooner, but the bottom line is that he’s finally given the franchise a chance to elevate after stagnating for years. Instead of settling for the average core of Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma with no promising future, he recognized that the franchise must take the difficult road in hopes of achieving success.

Now, Washington at least has a chance of building a long-term contender, which is all fans can ask for.