- 1 week ago
Could the Washington Wizards actually make the playoffs in 2026? Josh Robbins believes the young and talented core has a chance to surprise some people.
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00:00A lot of talk in Wizard circles. We're a week out from the season opener.
00:04Cannot wait to be down at Cap 1 in a week to watch this Wiz team.
00:09More excitement for this Wiz team than I can remember.
00:12I think it should be, though.
00:14I mean, when was the last time? Let's ask Josh Robbins from The Athletic.
00:17Covers the Wizards for The Athletic. Does a great job.
00:19You can give Josh a follow at Joshua B. Robbins. Two B's in Robbins.
00:24Josh, what's up, man? How are you?
00:26I'm doing well.
00:28Josh?
00:28Good to speak with you guys.
00:29When was the last time you heard this much excitement with the Wiz?
00:34Maybe since Michael Jordan returned.
00:36Wow.
00:38I didn't know you were going to go that far back.
00:40Well, I don't recall anything quite like this.
00:47With Gilbert, during his time, people, especially once he started to play, people knew how good he was.
00:56Same with Wall and Beal.
00:58Once they got rolling.
01:00In this case, there's just so much intrigue in terms of no one really knows how well they'll play when
01:07the games actually matter.
01:09Yeah.
01:09Yeah.
01:10It is intriguing.
01:12And I remember...
01:14Josh, maybe you could tell me if I'm right on this.
01:16The way I remember it, when MJ came back, so he came back as part of the front office, then
01:20the next year he comes back to play.
01:22Did they open against Yao Ming and the Rockets?
01:25I believe I was at that game.
01:28How the heck would I know?
01:29I don't know.
01:35Certainly, I am in front of my computer.
01:37I'm pulling it right now.
01:38Don't worry.
01:39I'll just tell you, that's a little bit before my work time.
01:43That's before I started to cover the league.
01:45So, I'm ignorant on this.
01:48I'm embarrassed to say.
01:49I'm embarrassed to tell you.
01:51But then, like, you look at what MJ had done in Chicago, and then you say he's coming to the
01:55Wizards.
01:55No matter if he was front office or not, that was going to get a certain buzz.
01:59Right now, it's Trey and Anthony Davis.
02:02And then you look at, I mean, what's it called?
02:06The Bonson.
02:07You know, those three guys.
02:08And then you look at the guys that were here last year when they were trying to lose that showed
02:13a lot of promise.
02:14All that comes together.
02:15It has to be a level of excitement that makes people think this could be a special little team.
02:20That's my point.
02:21And you said it a lot better than I did, Brian.
02:25You know, just even if we are to exclude Trey Young, AD, AJ DeBansa from what we are talking about,
02:33we really don't know what the rest of the young core really can do when they're not being held back.
02:40Yeah.
02:41When they are trying to go, all systems go to try to win every game.
02:46And that alone would make them an intriguing team.
02:49And then you add AJ, AD, and Trey Young to the mix.
02:55And it gets really fascinating.
02:57You know, I was not goofing off or trying to be provocative when I wrote that this is one of
03:03the most interesting teams in the league.
03:05I mean, I really mean that.
03:07And, you know, I've covered the league for, I don't know how many years, 16 years maybe.
03:14And this is the most excited I've ever been going into the season.
03:17And I'm the reporter.
03:19You know, I'm supposed to be like a Supreme Court justice here and be totally impartial.
03:25And yet I'm excited.
03:27So I can't wait to see what happens.
03:30So I'm looking at Vegas here, Josh.
03:33And they have the regular season wins over-under set around 35, right?
03:39I think the last few years that over-under has been at like 19 or 20.
03:43So they're expecting a significant bump in the level of play.
03:48If they get to 35, 36 wins, is that play-in territory?
03:55Like, what are the chances?
03:56And I'm asking you to forecast way out.
03:58And I recognize that's difficult.
03:59But, like, I want competitive basketball in the spring.
04:04I want to be, in my ideal world, it's the sixth seed and you don't have to deal with the
04:08play-in.
04:09But, like, I want playoff basketball.
04:11How realistic do you think that is?
04:14I think it's eminently realistic that they're going to be at least in the play-in mix around April 1st.
04:23That's my minimum expectation.
04:26I've got a big piece coming up early next week about what NBA scouts think this team's potential is.
04:34And I think, judging from what they're saying, anything from 6th to 11th is reasonable.
04:45It's within the realm of possibility.
04:46So I think that's the expectation within the league, that they at least, at the bare minimum,
04:53that they are competing for a play-in spot around the turn of April,
04:58which would mesh with what you're looking for, JP.
05:02Hell yeah.
05:03Yeah.
05:04Some of that, and I think, look, Vegas is unbelievable with these numbers.
05:09Can some of that be a part of looking at AD's history?
05:13But what if he were to give you a full season?
05:16Then I think that could jump drastically, right?
05:19100%.
05:20100%.
05:20I think he enters the year as their best player.
05:24You know, AJ, he's 19.
05:26He's not, he's real good now, but he'll be even better six years from now.
05:33Trey Young is, well, we'll see how good he is.
05:35Maybe he is an all-star level point guard.
05:38But even having said that, I think AD entering the season is their very best two-way player.
05:45And if he's at his best, and if he's healthy, and if he's bought in, he remains a force.
05:55And if he is going great, then the team has the potential to be quite good.
06:03If they're going to be their best, he's got to be at his best.
06:06Let me ask you this, Josh, and this is a tricky question.
06:08We're talking with our friend Josh Robbins, covers the Wizards for the Athletic.
06:12You can give him a follow at Joshua B. Robbins.
06:15Better chance Wiz are in the playoffs, or Anthony Davis is on a different team after the trade deadline?
06:25A tough question.
06:26You weren't joking around when you said that.
06:30Sorry, man.
06:31No, no, that's all right.
06:33Heck, I've got to be willing to answer these basic questions.
06:36I think it's probably more likely that he's traded by the deadline.
06:42I say that because there's going to be – there's no question he would like something close to the max
06:53in terms of an extension or on a new contract.
06:55That's what he should want, okay?
06:58And if the Wizards are having questions about whether he might become an unrestricted free agent this upcoming spring, then
07:08they would have to trade him because you can't lose him for no draft picks or no players in return.
07:16That would become eminently important for them.
07:19And I do think that Rich Paul will be sounding out 29 other teams to see whether they would have
07:26any interest in giving AD a big payday, as Rich Paul should be doing.
07:33Goodness knows I wish he was representing me.
07:35We all wish.
07:37Right.
07:39So I think it's more likely that AD gets traded by the deadline.
07:44However, the fact that I'm pausing and hemming and hawing and stuttering and all that stuff shows that there is
07:52a real chance that they make the playoffs.
07:55And that – yeah, that would be – well, it's all going to be interesting.
08:00All right, Josh.
08:01I've seen playoff basketball over there.
08:03It's fun.
08:04It's fun, bro.
08:04That arena rocks, dude.
08:06DC 3.
08:07That's right.
08:08Josh, you had an article – I saw it yesterday.
08:11I assume it came out yesterday.
08:12Maybe it was earlier in the week – about a possible Wizards rebrand.
08:15And I think you did a hell of a job with the piece because you got monumental executives on the
08:22record.
08:22Jim Van Stone, Hunter Lockman, these guys talking about what seems like a very real possibility for a rebrand for
08:29the Wizards.
08:30They also made clear they're not changing the name.
08:32We're going to talk to Zach Leontis in about a half hour here.
08:35But what does a Wizards –
08:37Oh, wow.
08:38Interesting.
08:38Yeah, you feel free to listen.
08:41Will do.
08:42I'm driving over.
08:43I'll be tuned in.
08:44All right, perfect.
08:45Tuned in.
08:45What do you think a Wizards rebrand looks like?
08:49I think starting with next season, they have some new primary uniforms.
08:57Jim Van Stone and Hunter Lockman said that without explicitly saying that.
09:06That that's really going to be one of the first steps in the rebrand.
09:10And now they've also been trotting out certain little things around the fringes where they – which they are considering
09:16part of this rebrand.
09:18And like the PR team and the team employees have been putting together this so-called all-access docuseries in
09:29which they give some behind-the-scenes looks.
09:33They call that the Wizards way.
09:35That's on YouTube and sometimes it's on –
09:37I was on one of those around the draft.
09:39They interviewed me.
09:40It was cool.
09:41Well, see, they try to get the big names for these shows to boost the ratings.
09:47And so – but I think it's fair to say those episodes, which are approved and reviewed by the front
09:53office, put the franchise in a positive light.
09:56And that's part of rebranding from their perspective.
10:03So that's something that's going on now.
10:06And then I think in the year ahead, maybe as soon as the end of the preseason, they are going
10:12to be referring to some great plays on the court as some form of wizardry.
10:17Yeah, they're trying to redefine what wizards means.
10:21You know, that magic small-m stuff, that has not really resonated with fans, I think.
10:29And if they can try to reframe and redefine what being a wizard means, particularly as this team starts to
10:36get good, I think that could be a big benefit.
10:39And then maybe a few years down the road, they trot out a new primary logo, although Jim and Hunter
10:47stopped short of saying that.
10:50It's possible.
10:51So, dude, they may have to call Walt to find out how to use the wizard thing, man.
10:55Walt might have, you know, copyright on that.
10:58I mean –
10:59You mean Walt Williams?
11:00Yeah.
11:01The Wiz.
11:03Then they should also wear their socks up.
11:05That was such a good look, dude.
11:07What a badass.
11:08Yeah, anybody that Gary Williams says saves the program is always going to be aces in my book, man.
11:13Shout out to Walt Williams, the wizard.
11:16One of my faves.
11:17Dude.
11:17One of my faves.
11:18I don't mean this flippantly, and I'm a Wizards fan, and I watch the games.
11:25I'm not sure I can tell you what their home uni is.
11:29Like, it's just there's so many uniforms.
11:31There's so much, like the red and the blue and the stripes, and then they're wearing cherry blossoms,
11:36and then it's NBA League Cup, and you can't even recognize the court.
11:39Like, when you think about the Bulls or the Rockets, I'm not even talking Lakers-Celtics,
11:44like the true pillars of the league.
11:46Even the damn Thunder, the Knicks.
11:48Like, you know what their uni is.
11:50I feel like that's a problem for the Wiz.
11:53Do you agree with me there?
11:54That it's hard to even know?
11:56Like, do you know what they're wearing next Wednesday?
11:58Because I'm not sure I do.
12:00No, I have no clue.
12:02But I agree with you 75% of the way.
12:06Yes, I don't – going into any game, unless I looked it up, I don't know what they're wearing.
12:12But that's not a Wizards-only thing.
12:15That's the whole league.
12:16That's a whole doggone league.
12:18And they have a primary home jersey, and they have a primary road jersey.
12:24But who knows what it technically is called.
12:27I think they might call it – Nike might call it the association jersey.
12:30I can't keep it all straight.
12:32And I'm – this is my livelihood.
12:34I need to know this stuff.
12:35I can't figure it out.
12:36Right.
12:37And all these teams have at least two alternate uniforms,
12:41which they might wear at home or they might not,
12:43or they might wear on the road or whatever.
12:44It's – I'm not complaining, but it is confusing.
12:48So I'm on their website right now, and this is the official shop Monumental Sports Network.
12:54I guess, like, the first one they point to is the DeBotsa.
12:59It's mostly red with blue shoulders and a white stripe across the middle.
13:03I know they're not going back to Bullets.
13:05I recognize that.
13:06Go back to those unis where it's all red with blue lettering,
13:10and then you wear white with blue or red, whatever.
13:13I know you're going to have 100 jerseys.
13:15Like, you're not putting that toothpaste back in the tube.
13:18But, like, let's simplify this stuff.
13:20Have one that you know when you have it on.
13:22Just like – like, he asked me yesterday, Josh, about what the Celtics were in.
13:27Lakers.
13:28I'm like, when you are a winner, you don't have to worry about uniforms.
13:30That's right.
13:31People know you are.
13:31So, that's what I – a lot of times we get into these uniform discussions,
13:36and it throws me so much.
13:37My whole thing is win the damn game, and guess what?
13:41Whatever you put out there, people will wear and be happy about.
13:44Josh, we appreciate – we got a boogie here.
13:47I didn't realize what time it was.
13:48Good stuff.
13:49Appreciate your time, dude.
13:50I'll see you next Wednesday.
13:51I'm really looking forward to it.
13:53Same here, guys.
13:54Thanks for the time.
13:54Thank you, brother.
13:55Bye.
13:55Bye.