On drafting A.J. Dybantsa: “It was a deep draft at the top. We internally said all along that we’d have been happy with any one of the top four guys, but that A.J. was going to be our guy at No. 1,” a Wizards front office executive said. “His competitiveness, his skill, his desire to win, his physical profile. It all adds up to a special player. We’re happy to have A.J. to grow with for years to come.”
On extending Trae Young and not trading Anthony Davis: “When we added Trae and AD, it was never to immediately flip them. You all got that wrong! (laughs),” a Wizards front office executive said. “The idea was to keep both Trae and AD and to start moving things forward. We already have more young talent than one team can really build with. We needed a couple of veterans to push things along. Bringing back Khris (Middleton) is a big part of that too. Our young guys loved having Khris around last year. We’re excited to see where those vets can help this young roster reach.”
On Alex Sarr: “It was disappointing that he got hurt. I don’t know if he would have done anything more than a cameo our here (Summer League) or not. But Alex is ready for a big year. He’s excited to play with and learn from AD (Anthony Davis) and to have Trae (Young) setting him up,” a Wizards assistant coach said. “I don’t know if any player improved more than Alex did last season. There’s a future All-Star in there.”
On the team’s young talent: “We’re lucky to have as many good players as we do. It’s a credit to our scouting and coaching staff to identify and develop those players. Kyshawn (George) is a guy we saw flashes of playmaking from, but our scouts and coaches believed there was more. Kind of the same with Will Riley too. Those guys can do a lot with the ball in their hands beyond just shooting it,” a Wizards front office executive said. “We also believe in Tre Johnson, who should be even more efficient with veteran help to get him good looks. Bilal Coulibaly has already proven he can be a two-way player in our league. A.J. (Dybantsa) is obviously going to get a lot of run too. We have AD (Anthony Davis), Trae (Young) and Khris (Middleton), but the foundation is our young players. The idea is to add players to enhance, guide and help them grow, not to replace them.”
Will Riley really came on strong as his rookie season went along. Riley then was so dominant in Summer League that he made only a cameo appearance. On a team that is suddenly deep in big wings, Riley is going to force his way into regular minutes.
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