Am I Finally Allowed to Root for My Home Team?

UPDATE 2026-07-07: Shams reported that D-Lo was traded to Memphis in the middle of my writing this post. So sorry, D’Angelo.

I’m not one to get hopeful when it comes to anything that goes on in the DMV, but I think the last couple weeks are finally making me want to believe in Washington, as far as the game of basketball is concerned. But seeing the moves the Wizards have been making during this offseason has me thinking they might be getting ready to unload the clip.

Not every choice is the one I would have made: DeAndre Ayton did not prove he’s a competent starting center last season in L.A., nor am I super comfortable with just how much money is being paid to two superstars who are notoriously always dressed in anything except their team’s jersey when sitting on the bench. Despite that, the fact that the Wizards are actually signing players with playoff experience, and seemingly keeping them, excites me beyond comparison.

I’ve not been a basketball watcher for a very long time: It was my brother who got me into the game when I watched his middle and high school games when he was younger. He’s still my favorite player of all time, and that likely won’t ever change now that he’s playing on an NCAA D2 team. The exposure to the game, though, led me to root for several NBA teams (and even teams in other countries)…just not for my home team.

I’m from West Virginia, not D.C.. I’ve not even lived in the surrounding areas like Baltimore where the Bullets were originally based, but technically speaking, the Wizards are still my “home team” as they remain the closest NBA team to my physical location. I had to watch the Celtics when I wanted to actually see a team win, but I’ve always wanted to see my team be a winning one.

After the tanking debacle of last season, the changes that were implemented seem to be positively impacting the Wizards, at least from my standpoint. Getting the no.1 pick in the draft, which became AJ Dybantsa, was an amazing swan-song of D.C.’s tanking era that has seemed to last so damn long. But now that it’s not going to be a viable strategy anymore, I’m hoping that now is the time I’ll finally be able to proudly wear a Washington jersey.

When the Wizards acquired Anthony Davis from Dallas before the deadline last season, I think almost everyone (including me!) assumed that he was, like so many other “Wizards,” just here to serve as a trade piece. I still think that about D’Angelo Russell, in all fairness, but it seems that AD is destined to suit up after all. Last season was less of a situation of keeping your marketable goods from getting damaged, like so many genuinely good players to come through have been. The contract is still a holdover from the Lakers, which is likely much higher than he’d command on most teams that don’t have LeBron James on them. But he’s a once-and-a-lifetime player, regardless of his medical history, and Will Dawkins seems serious about playing him.

The Trae Young contract was a little bit iffy to some, with the number he actually got in the signing a little high for some people’s liking. I agreed, initially, but am willing to put up with it if he can prove to be injury-resistant…or as least less injured than AD. But any championship team needs an experienced playmaker like him; if he’s able to gel with the rest of the gang the bottom stretch of the next season, I think he’ll more than prove his $212M worth.

Even as short of a time as I’ve been into basketball, I can recall players I genuinely enjoyed watching play, or that ended up proving themselves on playoff teams later on. Marcus Smart has had a sort of resurgence since his injury and subsequent purgatory in Memphis, and Kristaps Porziņģis ended up winning a chip with Boston in that very same trade. On the same hand, we’ve had some real stinkers in red, white, and blue. The Kuzma era was nearly unwatchable. But like any other high-profile trade target, they were all on their ways soon enough, to new teams and new teammates.

Today, Khris Middleton was signed-and-traded back to the Wizards from the Mavs, where he was originally part of the package for AD last deadline. His games as a Wizard weren’t remarkable, largely because the team itself had absolutely nothing to offer Middleton. He and CJ McCollum (architect of the awful CBA which has ruined so many past championship teams) were stars in their own right on that otherwise pathetic roster. Khris was lower on the scoring totem pole than CJ, and certainly lower than his averages when he was a Buck during their championship run in 2021, but he’s still a real player with the experience to make a difference on this new-look Wizards.

CJ McCollum was an incredible Wizard throughout his short tenure, and someone I wish we had back after his performance with the Hawks.

All of these signings together, combined with getting Dybantsa at no.1, make the Wizards seem like they might be trying to compete for the first time in a while.

To put it into perspective, let me compare what the starting 5 looked like last season opener:

Position	Number	Name
G	7	Bub Carrington
G	3	CJ McCollum
C	20	Alex Sarr
F	18	Kyshawn George
F	22	Khris Middleton

This October, we may well be looking at this lineup:

Position	Number	Name
G	3	Trae Young
G	0	Bilal Coulibaly
C	5	DeAndre Ayton
F	4	AJ Dybantsa
F	23	Anthony Davis

That’s a different team altogether. There’s still some want for depth at the 2, as other than Trae, most of the guards are younger and still inexperienced. Coulibaly has been the one I’ve been wanting to succeed, however. I think he has the chops.

They’ve even added some depth in the coaching position. Pat Ewing just signed on to be an assistant coach, and that kind of input is something you really can’t put a direct number on. I’m incredibly excited for what’s to come with this crew.

All of that said, there’s still three and a half months before any of these current Wizards can trot out onto the court. Any of them could be on their way to a new team by then…but any of them could turn a profit in trade for Washington. Having seen these many moves and the upward-trending direction the Wizards have been headed, I’m going to put some trust in Will Dawkins for the time being. I hope to be sitting in Capital One Arena, come April, May…and maybe even June?

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