Washington Wizards make bold predictions after releasing 2024-25 schedule

The Washington Wizards will once again be one of the worst teams in the 2024-25 NBA season. With that in mind, let's make some predictions for the 2024-25 Wizards.

The team is in safe hands with head coach Brian Keefe. With the Wizards prioritizing player development in their rebuild, the 48-year-old's track record shows that he is the right man to steer the ship in the capital. As an assistant coach for the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, Keefe coached players such as Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Serge Ibaka.

Durant vouched for Keefe back in 2016 through Bijan Todd of the Monumental Sports Network.

“He taught me everything I know about work ethic and being a professional,” Durant said. “He wouldn't take credit for it, but he taught me everything I know about how I approach shootarounds, practices, games, practices, everything. He changed my mindset.”

It's impressive to teach Durant “everything he knows,” considering he's one of the greatest to ever walk the floor. Now the key will be to replicate that success with Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George.

Now let’s get to our predictions for the 2024-25 Wizards as the season approaches.

The Wizards' young core will dominate playing time until the end of the year

This will be Keefe's first full year with the Wizards after taking over as interim coach midseason, but he has already earned the organization's trust as players like Corey Kispert benefit from his development program.

“That was one of our main pillars and central themes this year: the development and improvement of the players, and everyone succeeded in doing that,” said winger Kispert in his final interview in April, reports Todd.

Last year, Keefe implemented a system where each player worked with 10 specialists to improve their fitness and health. Expect this to do wonders for Sarr and the other young players who will most likely dominate the rotation when and if veterans like Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon are traded.

Keefe explained through Monumental's Chase Hughes how he will develop the 2024 draft class.

“Establishing habits is the most important thing,” Keefe said. “I said that with Bilal last year. You teach them professional habits and how to work in this league. You only get better when you have consistent work habits and a consistent approach to everything you do. That's going to be our main focus for these guys.”

Sarr made headlines for shooting 0-of-15 in a Summer League game, so he still has a ways to go offensively. However, the 7-foot-4 player should be able to contribute immediately on defense, as he is known for both his basket defense and positional versatility.

However, Sarr will be at least the third strongest player in the team in terms of minutes played by the end of the season. Carrington and George are also likely to be regulars on the bench by then.

While Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma will lead the Wizards initially, both could be traded to rivals before the February 6 deadline.

Keefe mentioned that during his time as video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs in the late 2000s, he was exposed to a winning culture that shaped his development philosophy.

“How you take care of people, how you treat them, how you support them every day. That environment at the Spurs, seeing how they did their job. 'Pound the rock,' as they called it there. Don't skip a step, work hard every day, treat people well. The professionalism you learn from them and the players there is a huge lesson for a young person in this business,” Keefe said.

If Keefe can accomplish anything close to what Gregg Popovich accomplished in San Antonio, Wizards fans will collectively jump for joy.

The Wizards will lose enough to land another lottery win

Washington needs to stay at the bottom for at least one more season to be successful long-term. Fortunately, the team is still bad enough to do that.

The lack of star talent will make it difficult for the Wizards to win more than 25 games, which will lead to a top-5 pick in the 2025 draft. While it's hard to predict which candidate will land in Washington this early, the team is likely in a position to sign either Duke power forward Cooper Flagg, French point guard Nolan Traore, Rutgers shooting guard Dylan Harper or fellow Scarlet Knight Ace Bailey.

In addition, the team will gain additional 2025 draft picks through trades, as none of its veterans are needed for long-term rebuilding. Building a roster full of young players is a great way to lose in the NBA, as it guarantees losses while giving them experience.