Wizards get their man in AJ Dybantsa, hopeful he can lead them out of the dark

WASHINGTON — The Anthem, the local D.C. concert hall that will host Madison Beer on The Locket Tour in a couple of weeks, was all about The Dybantsa Sessions Tuesday.

There have been big nights in the recent history of the Washington Wizards. Not a lot, but a few. Tuesday, though, looked different, felt different, sounded different. The Wizards, who’ve been off key for generations, were finally in sync, harmonious in their intent to take the biggest swing possible with the No. 1 pick in the draft. They thought about it long and hard over the last six weeks, but in the end, they opted for the guy they’ve been eyeing for years: BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa.

And the franchise will be … different now.

The deconstruction phase is over. The construction phase is ongoing. The Wizards have drafted well the last three years, but obviously are still far away from putting a contending team on the court. Tuesday, though, was a big step forward.

Trae Young and Anthony Davis will start next season at point guard and power forward, respectively. But Michael Winger and Will Dawkins now have two, and maybe three, positions nailed down for the foreseeable future by young, promising talents. Dybantsa will play small forward — or, perhaps, be a jumbo two-guard. Alex Sarr will be in the middle. Kyshawn George is too versatile and promising not to get significant minutes somewhere. Tre Johnson will play, but will he start? Too early to tell.

But in Dybantsa, the Wizards’ front office, three-plus years into its tenure here, finally was able to draft a player with true superstar, All-NBA level potential. That would have been the case as well had Washington taken Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson. But the 6-foot-9 Dybantsa was the franchise’s clear choice for its next franchise player.

The crowd at The Anthem, a few thousand strong, approved. Dybantsa was the clear favorite of the fan base. Patterson also got some applause from a few fans when his face was shown on ESPN’s broadcast. but when Adam Silver announced that Anicet Dybantsa, Jr., was Washington’s pick, the building went wild.

So, too, did the Wizards’ war room.

“I think, for us, it was about making sure we picked the right player that would fit with our group and have an opportunity to push us forward. And at the end of the day, it became pretty clear that he was that guy, just because of his versatility,” Dawkins said late Tuesday. “We’re looking for guys who can continue to make decisions, with the ball, without the ball, but also be dual impact players at both ends. He’s a superior athlete. By our measures, he’s the best athlete we’ve tested since Michael and I have been here.”

The Wizards have kept things buttoned up pretty well since winning the lottery. But those of us who’ve, you know, actually been around and covered this team the last few years have repeatedly said Dybantsa was the prospect they talked about, quietly, the guy they believed could become the best of everyone available over the last three years. (Thank God I won’t have to eat any of my hats.)

Would Washington have loved to have Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper? Absolutely. But Dybantsa was the name they came back to, again and again, as he passed every test.

He dominated in high school at Prolific Prep and at Utah Prep. He dominated at BYU last season, leading the nation in scoring as a freshman. And the Wizards believe — and hope — he’ll ultimately dominate up here, too.

When they met with Dybantsa, the Wizards, as is their custom, had cutups ready showing plays he took off defensively last season. (They were followed, Dawkins said, by clips of him doing what he should have been doing defensively, as well.) And they had questions about how he processed and learned, and what he wanted to do better.

He had questions for the Wizards, too.

“I just kind of asked questions: How are they building? What are they doing to build?,” Dybantsa said to local reporters on a conference call Tuesday. “How do they work in the community, ’cause I’m super (into) the community. How would I fit in? How would you use me as a player?”

Dybantsa’s fit is not perfect. News flash: adding talented players causes adjustments for the current rotation. In Washington’s case, that rotation won 17 games last season. So … move over, guys.

He will have to improve his 3-point shooting from the 33 percent he put up at BYU. It doesn’t have to be 40 percent; the high 30s will be fine, because of Dybantsa’s unique ability to bend, absorb contact, and get into the paint and to his midrange game. His footwork gets him to a Eurostep he uses often in the half court. He passed it more than well enough in college to quell any notions of him as a ball stopper.

And, he won’t have to lift Washington’s offense by himself next season. That’s Young’s job. It will be his responsibility to get Dybantsa easy jumpers at the elbows, and throw perfect lobs to Sarr, and find Johnson in the corners, and get the rock to George crosscourt for the second-side actions at which George excels.

Which means it’s time for a word or 200 about Young’s new deal – a four-year contract for $212 million, including a player option for the final season. (At least there isn’t a no-trade clause this time! Take the wins.)

Of course, it’s an overpay. At this point in his career, Young isn’t worth $53 million a year. But, get a grip.

The Wizards have zero big contracts on their books other than Young and Davis, who has a player option for the 2027-28 season at $62 million. It will surprise me if Davis is still in Washington by then to exercise it. Young’s new deal doesn’t get the Wizards anywhere near the first or second apron in its first two years. They won’t have to start paying out big dollars until 2028, when Sarr and George will be eligible for their rookie extensions. Guard Bilal Coulibaly can get a rookie extension this fall, but even if the Wizards give him one, it’s not going to be anything near a max.

You don’t trade for Young, even at the discount price for which Washington got him from Atlanta, without knowing what it will take to keep him. Whether the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat or other potential suitors were waiting to drop max offers on him next month, Washington genuinely believes Young will bounce back here. We’ll see if the Wizards are right. But Young will be 28 on opening night next season, not 35.

The new deal puts him outside the top 10 in the league for next season in terms of highest average annual value. By contrast, when the Wizards gave Bradley Beal a five-year, $251 million supermax deal in 2022, it was the second-highest total value contract in the league, trailing only Denver’s Nikola Jokić. And the Wizards’ roster back then had no one like Dybantsa as a potential co-pilot. A good but hardly great Kristaps Porziņģis didn’t qualify.

If you’re focusing on Young’s paycheck, you’re missing the plot in D.C. Young will be important to this team for the next couple of years, maybe the next three or four. AJ Dybantsa is this franchise’s future, and its hope, and should be its centerpiece for the next decade. How his chapter as a professional turns out will be how we should best judge Winger’s and Dawkins’ and Brian Keefe’s and Ted Leonsis’ stewardship of this franchise. The team and its fanbase are betting that Dybantsa will be asked to come out for curtain calls and encores, again and again.