ESPN’s latest season projections have already stirred up debate, and two teams in particular are drawing the loudest pushback: the Jazz and the Wizards.
Brian Windhorst checked in with scouts, executives and coaches after ESPN’s insiders laid out their forecasts for the 2026/27 season, including conference finals and Finals picks, award races, overachievers and underachievers, and possible trade candidates. According to Windhorst, Utah’s outlook has people split on how much of a leap the team can make this season.
Washington, though, may be the bigger point of contention. Several sources told Windhorst that ESPN’s 31-win projection for the Wizards is too low.
“I was prepping for the Mavericks last year just before Christmas and I saw (Anthony Davis) play that game in New Orleans and I saw the two games after that on tape,” a Western Conference advance scout told Windhorst. “Say whatever you want to say about him, but that guy is still in there. And if he shows up for, say, 55-60 games, your Wizards number is low.”
The Wizards also came up in ESPN’s Rookie of the Year discussion, where an Eastern Conference scout took issue with the network’s choice of Grizzlies forward Cameron Boozer as the favorite. That scout backed Wizards forward AJ Dybantsa instead.
“You’re overthinking it if you don’t pick (Wizards forward AJ Dybantsa),” the scout said. “He’s the most equipped to win the award. Last year, Kon (Knueppel) had a great opportunity, and he had a case but, you know, Cooper (Flagg) was best equipped, and he won it in the end.”
Elsewhere around the league, Victor Oladipo is making his case directly to front offices. The two-time All-Star wrote an open letter to NBA general managers for The Players’ Tribune, laying out his recovery from a string of serious injuries, including a torn patellar tendon, and asking a team to give him a shot for the upcoming season.
There’s also a development involving Robbie Avila, the former Saint Louis center who reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers after going undrafted in June. According to Stu Durando of Stu on SLU, Avila is seeking an injunction that would clear the way for a fifth year of NCAA eligibility in 2026/27. His case is set to be heard in Cook County circuit court in Chicago, as the NCAA continues to oppose granting another year to players who used up their fourth year in 2025/26.
And finally, restricted free agency is back under the microscope. After the NBA issued a formal PR statement on the subject last week, Keith Smith of Spotrac examined whether the league’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement has made RFA tougher on players. His look back at the last 10 years of restricted free agency cases is aimed at measuring how the system has affected players finishing their rookie-scale deals.
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Deandre Aytons arrival gives Washington a very different kind of frontcourt option, one built less around expectation and more around fit. The former top draft pick is set to provide rebounding and scoring for a second unit that could use both, and the move gives the Wizards a low-risk chance to deepen the roster without asking him to carry the kind of burden that once followed him as a lottery centerpiece.
What makes this change interesting is the role itself, because it asks Ayton to adjust to life as a reserve and prove he can still influence games in shorter stretches. For Washington, it is a sensible swing at improving the bench, but it also becomes a test of whether Ayton can embrace a different lane well enough to change the conversation around his future there. [Read more 🡒]
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Kyshawn George is one of the names to watch because his progress last season created real momentum, but a deeper roster can quickly change the lane for a young player. AJ Dybantsa also figures into the broader picture as Washington sorts out where the long-term fit is, while Deandre Ayton adds another layer to a frontcourt already crowded with proven talent. For a team trying to balance development with competence, the challenge now is less about finding enough options and more about trimming them down. [Read more 🡒]
Trae Young Could Unlock A Wizards Frontcourt Fans Need To See
Trae Young has long shown he can make life easier for big men, and that makes him an intriguing fit for a Wizards frontcourt trying to find the right shape. Washington has plenty of interior talent to work with, from players who can score near the rim to younger pieces still learning how to stretch the floor, and Youngs playmaking would put that group in far cleaner positions than it has often had on its own.
The appeal is obvious because Young can turn a frontcourt into a constant decision for defenses, especially when a mobile big can step into space and force rotations. Still, the conversation comes with real uncertainty, since the most obvious names in that group have their own questions to answer before any partnership can be fully judged, leaving the Wizards with a promising offensive idea but not yet a finished one. [Read more 🡒]