With NBA expansion teams on the horizon, who along the Washington Wizards' 2026-27 roster would be protected in an expansion draft?
Change could be coming to the NBA in the seasons ahead.
Reports broke on Tuesday that the NBA is in deeper stages regarding expansion teams with both Las Vegas and Seattle viewed to be the top contenders. It's been a longtime dream for league commissioner Adam Silver with a potential for a team to be in place by the start of the 2028-29 regular season.
While the chance for the league to grow within North America looms large as the league eyes Europe expansion, that also adds a question around the rest of the NBA: who will teams protect?
For the Washington Wizards, it poses a different type of challenge given the veteran talent atop the roster paired with a foundation of young players all eyeing their first NBA contract extensions. Though there is uncertainty surrounding what the rules for the existing 30 teams would when it comes to roster protection ahead of an expansion draft, the 2004 expansion draft for the Charlotte Bobcats, now called Hornets, when eight players were protected on each NBA roster.
If the Wizards are permitted to retain eight players for the second round of expansion, some choices are more obvious than others.
The young impact players like Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, AJ Dybantsa, Tre Johnson and Will Riley have protected spots along the roster. While veteran Anthony Davis serves as a key piece in 2026-27, whether he remains a protected asset as a 33 year old veteran is the question mark, which tips the scale in Trae Young's favor, now months removed from his four year, $212 million contract extension. AJ Dybantsa is another safe pick given the top overall pick immediately transitioned into part of the face of the franchise where he is expected to start at the three to begin his rookie year.
Jamir Watkins could also have an argument to make with similar profiles, but Bilal Coulibaly could get the nod over him given the length and defensive metrics favoring the fourth-year wing whose growth sits on the offensive end of the floor. The protection of Coulibaly could make Watkins expendable in an expansion draft, especially for the second round pick recovering from a torn ACL that will sideline him for a significant portion of the upcoming season.
The last spot could be a battle between Bub Carrington, Deandre Ayton, Justin Champagnie and arguably rookie forward Felix Okpara. With Young on the roster, Bub's role may be redundant, as would Ayton's spot with Sarr on the roster. Okpara's upside draws intrigue, though may face an uphill battle ahead of his rookie season on a two-way contract. That leaves Champagnie, whose 3.1 Win Shares led the team one year ago while averaging at least eight points per game for the second straight season. What his role looks in 2026-27 is one for head coach Brian Keefe to sort out, but the impact he's had both on and off the floor has become increasingly clear through his three seasons and 146 games played with the team.
Do others like Tre Mann, Khris Middleton, Tristan Vukcevic or Anthony Gill, who signed on Tuesday to become the final roster addition, have cases to make? It's possible, but like general manager Will Dawkins said toward the end of the 2025-26 regular season
