Projecting Washington Wizards' Ideal 2026-27 Rotation

After an exciting offseason packed with free agent signings, trades, contract extensions and franchise altering draft picks, the Washington Wizards have playoff expectations for the first time in over half a decade. 

With an abundance of young and developing talent, paired with a handful of NBA veterans, Washington has a roster that could take them to the top of the Eastern Conference. 

However, Head Coach Brian Keefe has a bunch of tough decisions to make regarding Washington's starting lineup and bench rotation.

With that being said, I'm going to share what I believe Washington's starting lineup, bench rotation and expected minutes played should be for this upcoming season. 

It's been a long time since Washington has had a legitimate All-Star point guard, but luckily they'll have one for the next four seasons in Trae Young. Washington saw an opportunity to buy low on Young, with strong belief that he'll revert back to his All-Star form. If Young can remain healthy this season, there's no reason as to why he can't play 32-34 minutes a night and be Washington's primary playmaker and ball handler. 

This one may come as a shock to many, but I believe Kyshawn George is the most well rounded player on Washington's roster. Standing at 6 feet 8 inches, George not only possesses elite size, but has the basketball IQ, defensive versatility and guard skills to thrive as Washington's two. While I believe George should start at shooting guard, he will get heavy minutes at forward as Tre Johnson will come off the bench. I believe George should play anywhere from 28-32 minutes a night, and be Washington's Swiss army knife.

Could you imagine the type of outrage this fanbase would have if their number one overall pick came off the bench to start the season? Well, I think there's zero chance AJ Dybantsa isn't in Washington's starting lineup. Dybantsa can do it all, and Washington needs that type of player in their starting lineup. However, I don't expect Dybantsa to have a heavy workload from the jump, which is why I think he'll start the season playing 26-28 minutes a night. Expect that number to ramp up though.

When Washington traded for Anthony Davis, they knew he was going to be their starting power forward. However, the injury concerns are valid and leave a dark cloud looming above Davis' head. I expect Davis to start the season on a minutes restriction, playing anywhere from 24-28 minutes a night until he can prove to Washington that he can indeed remain healthy. 

Washington will now have one of, if not the best defensive front court in the league this upcoming season. However, the biggest beneficiary of adding Davis is Alex Sarr who is expected to have an even bigger leap in his third season. While Sarr will be heavily relied upon this season, I expect him to be on a slight minutes restriction to open up the season as he's working his way back from ankle surgery, so I predict him to play 24-28 minutes a night to start.

Washington could very well elect to have a six, or even seven man bench rotation this season. However, there are some key bench players that I expect to get more minutes than others. 

I believe Tre Johnson should be Washington's 6th man this season, as his elite shooting and ability to create shots for himself can carry the bench unit. While Johnson's rookie year was statistically underwhelming, there's no denying that he could go for 20+ points on any given night. I expect Johnson to play 26-30 minutes a night off the bench. 

This might be my most controversial take yet, but I'd like to see newly acquired big man DeAndre Ayton play a lot of minutes as Washington's backup big man this season. With strong hands, a knack for rebounding and some solid defensive versatility, Ayton can split minutes with Davis and Sarr as they ramp up their workload. I believe Ayton should play 22-24 minutes a night off the bench for Washington. 

Now this is where it gets tricky. Will Riley is coming off a fantastic rookie year, displaying his ability to get open off ball, create shots for himself and get downhill. On the other hand, you have Bilal Coulibaly who is entering a pivotal season for himself, but still remains Washington's best perimeter defender. I believe Riley and Coulibaly should both start the season playing similar minutes, and let them battle it out for who's the first wing that comes off the bench. 

Similar to Riley and Coulibaly, Washington has a backup guard battle on their hands between Bub Carrington and Tre Mann. Both Carrington and Mann have a lot to offer offensively, but one is more ball dominant (Mann) while the other can operate more off ball (Carrington). I expect these two to battle it out during the preseason, and whichever player can provide more to the team is the player I expect to get more minutes off the bench. 

Then to wrap things up, you have guys like Justin Champagnie, Khris Middleton and Tristan Vukcevic who could very well get playing time, but don't offer as much as the guys ahead of them. However, Champagnie has impressed in his three seasons with Washington, and could contribute to winning with his high motor and ability to both rebound and shoot. It remains unknown if Keefe will give this group of guys minutes off the bench.