Separating Signal From Noise: Wizards Summer League Takeaways

Take 0: Don't tell people you know that you watched all five Summer League games.

Author’s Note: Media rights, blah blah blah, apologies for less embedded videos.

Summer League is officially over for the Washington Wizards.

As someone who was fortunate enough to see two games in-person¹, the question becomes what is the difference between watching games live versus at home. And then you have the additional reality of shutdowns, mixed agendas compounded with the reality that decisions are often final even before the final game tips off.

In some sense, it is the tragedy of Summer League. The highs of young talent appearing in your beloved team’s jersey are immediately accompanied by the knowledge that the sample size is microscopic, the circumstances are artificial, and the players you are most excited to see may not even be available by the time you arrive at the arena.

Summer League is basketball stripped of context.

There is no real continuity. There are no established roles. There is rarely enough shooting to create the spacing that these players will eventually operate within. The players who handle the ball the most may never be asked to do so at the NBA level, while players who barely touch the ball could eventually become important pieces of a team’s offense.

Yet, we watch. We watch because there is something uniquely satisfying about seeing a player take the court for the first time in a Washington uniform. We watch because the uncertainty is part of the appeal. We watch because every possession feels like a tiny piece of evidence in a much larger argument about who these players might become.

And, we have takes.

These aren’t going to be hot takes and if we’re being honest, they’re probably not even lukewarm takes. But, they’re still key things to think about.

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Take #1: Tre Johnson Has To Be A Key Part Of The Young Core

A big problem with Washington last season was the overall utilization of Tre Johnson. It is not lost that he was not the first choice and arguably wasn’t even the team’s third choice² as a draft selection. In a rookie season hampered by injury misfortune, the real kick to the groin was the truth that Will Dawkins’ infatuation with Ace Bailey and the real campaign for Bailey to fall to the Wizards overshadowed any semblance of good performance Johnson could offer.

In some ways, he felt like the dread-headed step-child³ of the team, resorting to mixed utilization without clear instructions. Despite being an incredibly gifted scorer, he also wasn’t being allowed to find comfort and build on his scoring capabilities. And it particularly became even more noticeable upon the departure of CJ McCollum that Washington was struggling to get him involved or very much reducing the quality of opportunities.

So, upon returning to an environment that offered him the greenest of lights, it isn’t a surprise some excellent individual basketball was on display.

In his lone Summer League appearance, it was 28 minutes of just pure scoring — 11 for 20 from the field, 1 assist (4 turnovers). The man was on that floor to try and find a bucket and that he did. The problem, of course, is that Summer League is not a referendum on whether Tre Johnson can score 25 points against a collection of players who may or may not be in the NBA next season.

We already know he can score. That was never really the question.

The question is whether Washington can build an environment where his scoring becomes something more than an individual talent. Can the Wizards create enough structure around him that his ability to put pressure on the defense actually translates into winning basketball?

That is the part that matters.

Because Johnson is going to have to become more than a player who can get 20 points. He needs to become a player who can consistently create advantages. There is a difference between getting a bucket and creating a possession that produces a good shot. There is a difference between being able to score and being able to manipulate a defense.

That is where the next step of his development lies.

And perhaps that is why his Summer League appearance was so encouraging. Not because he scored 25 points, but because he looked comfortable doing it. There was a confidence in his movements that felt different from some of the uncertainty we saw throughout his rookie season. He was decisive. He was aggressive. He was not constantly searching for permission to shoot.

That should be the expectation moving forward.

Take #2: Will Riley Is Going To Need Time

Let’s be honest for a second, the majority of the public at large is not attentively watching a full game of Washington Wizards basketball. If you want a quick tell if someone is, ask the very simple question:

What are your thoughts on Will Riley?

Riley has become one of the more fascinating prospects in the Washington Wizards pipeline, simply because with every new appearance, he gains an inch of height. The man is nearing 6-foot-11⁴ territory while still displaying a game more aligned with a shoot guard.

That’s both incredibly lucrative but also a champagne problem.

Washington fans want to think they’ve stumbled into something magical. But the problem is that it isn’t materializing into a balanced performance on the floor despite box-score watchers salivating at the mouth with every appearance.

It is maybe best captured in the second game of Summer League against the Sacramento Kings — where 13 of his 35 points game in the fourth quarter. Because yes, Riley historically is taking advantage of the looseness of the final quarters.

Many will argue it is an outcome of the majority of his minutes being in the fourth quarter. And, honestly, that is probably true. But that does not make the production meaningless. It just means we have to be careful about what we are actually evaluating.

Riley’s ability to score against tired defenders, capitalize on defensive mistakes and take advantage of a game that has already started to unravel is a real skill. The problem is that it is not necessarily the same skill that will determine whether he becomes a good NBA player. The NBA is not going to ask Will Riley to play against Summer League defenses for 35 minutes while waiting for the fourth quarter to arrive.

Eventually, the game will slow down. The closeouts will be faster, the defenders will be stronger, the scouting reports will be more detailed. We still don’t know if he can be a reliable rebounder.

And the novelty of being a 6-foot-10 or 6-foot-11 wing who can handle the ball will eventually wear off.

That is when we will really learn what Riley is.

Entering the regular season, Riley is more than likely going to be deeper on the depth chart than Wizards’ fans want to admit. It isn’t a reflection on his potential nor is it a reflection of his skill. It is a reality that Washington has to find their balance with their opening rotations and Riley’s disruptor status is maybe a little too volatile for the team in their current form.

There is a difference between being a player who can eventually earn a rotation spot and being a player who can immediately be trusted with a rotation spot.

Riley, right now, is probably closer to the former. And that is okay.

The Wizards are going to have to figure out what their best combinations look like. They are going to have to determine which players can coexist, which players need the ball, which players can space the floor and which players can defend well enough to keep the entire operation from collapsing.

Riley complicates that equation.

In a good way.

Take #3: Washington Knows They Have A Question With Their Center Depth

Just over a week after making the selection of Felix Okpara, the Washington Wizards made the trade for Deandre Ayton, a decision that has already felt like it is aging incredibly well and the man has not played a minute of basketball.

Washington knew entering this off-season, additional security would be required at the center spot. And while Tristan Vukčević begins to process the influence of all these decisions impacting his position of the depth chart, the selection of Okpara felt like a test of another center archetype.

His overall athleticism earned him light comparisons to Daniel Gafford but it would be critical to see if he could showcase enough offensive potential early to avoid becoming a situational player. And, well, Summer League did not exactly answer that question.

But it did give us enough to understand why Washington was interested.

Okpara is going to make his living on the defensive end. That much is clear. There is a certain violence to the way he approaches the game. He runs the floor hard, he plays above the rim and he has the physical tools to make life difficult for opposing bigs. There is value in having a player who can simply erase mistakes at the rim.

But the NBA has changed. Being an elite athlete at center is no longer enough. Which probably brings us to this point:

Take #3.5: A Two-Way Spot Is Vulnerable

Capital City Go-Go came out swinging, wanting to start a conversation that Washington’s front office may have been a little too quick on filling up their two-way contracts. As a reminder, Julian Reese was placed on a two-year two-way deal last season while Jamir Watkins returns to a two-way along side Okpara.

That’s three forwards.

Reece Beekman⁵ did feel like the standout performer from Washington’s guard group — averaging 7.8 points and 6.0 assists in five games while Seth Trimble and Kadary Richmond had glimpses of competitive action but ultimately left the question a little more complicated.

Because this is where two-way contracts become particularly interesting.

The purpose of a two-way contract is not necessarily to reward the player who had the best Summer League. It is to identify the player who you believe has the best chance of becoming something more.

Summer League is the audition. The two-way contract is the investment. And, in that regard, Beekman presents a pretty compelling case.

There is something inherently valuable about a guard who can enter a game and immediately make the players around him better. Beekman’s six assists per game were not necessarily the result of overwhelming individual dominance. If anything, they felt like the byproduct of a player who understood how to organize the chaos.

And that is a skill.

The Wizards have plenty of players who can create a shot, they don’t have nearly as many who can create a possession. He doesn’t need to become a star to provide value. He needs to become a player who can stabilize an offense, defend his position and make the right decision often enough that a coaching staff trusts him.

That is a very achievable path. But the question becomes whether Washington values that path more than the upside of the alternatives. Because Trimble and Richmond represent different bets. There is more athleticism. More physicality. More potential defensive versatility. Perhaps more upside in specific areas.

Beekman also wasn’t the best overall performer from the projected Capital City Go-Go group, that distinction may belong to Chris Livingston, finishing Summer League with 14.4 points, 4.6 rebounds while shooting an impressive 52.9% from the field and 41.7% on 2.4 three point attempts a game while Jamir Watkins rested.

Just putting that out there.

Take #4: You Have To Build Around AJ Dybantsa

And finally, the most obvious take of it all is just how special AJ Dybantsa was in his limited performances, a player that just has “it.” As Washington’s players sat in the front row of the opening game to support their teammates, multiple gasps and audible reactions could be heard as Dybantsa went to work.

You understood that you were witnessing something different.

There are players who have a good Summer League, there are players who put up impressive numbers. And then there are players who make you stop talking. Dybantsa did the latter.

There is a physicality to his game that is difficult to ignore. The combination of size, strength and ball-handling ability creates a problem that Summer League defenders simply aren't equipped to solve. Once he gets downhill, there is a level of force behind the attack that feels different from most players his age.

You then add the advanced level of processing he brings: the ability to recognize when the defense was giving him something, the willingness to attack it and the confidence to keep attacking after a mistake.

The first thing you notice with Dybantsa is the size. Then you notice the athleticism. Then the handle. Then the scoring. But eventually, you start noticing the way the game seems to slow down for him.

That is the “it.” It is the thing that makes you start imagining possibilities.

And, unfortunately for the rest of the NBA, Washington has a lot of possibilities to imagine.

Because if the Wizards are fortunate enough to develop Dybantsa into the player he has the potential to become, the entire construction of this roster begins to look different. You don’t build around Dybantsa the way you build around a traditional wing, you build around his ability to be the advantage.

That means surrounding him with players who can punish the defense when it collapses. It means finding shooters who don’t need the ball to be effective. It means finding bigs who can screen, roll, pop and make quick decisions. It means finding players who can defend well enough to allow Dybantsa to conserve energy for the offensive end — even though he was more than willing to be a two-way player and shining as one.

And, perhaps most importantly, it means finding players who understand how to play when Dybantsa has the ball.

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The team did not get groundbreaking new information, they did not get life-altering revelations. They got their expected outcome.

Tre Johnson looked like someone who should have a much larger offensive role than he experienced as a rookie. Will Riley reminded everyone that upside and readiness are two very different conversations. Felix Okpara reinforced both the appeal and the limitations of his archetype. And AJ Dybantsa looked every bit like the kind of talent franchises spend years trying to find.

That is enough. Because Summer League is not about confirming stars. It is about narrowing possibilities.

Every front office arrives in Las Vegas carrying dozens of unanswered questions. They leave with maybe a handful of answers, a few more educated guesses and another six months of development plans. The Wizards are no different. The encouraging part is that, for perhaps the first time in several years, Washington’s questions feel like the right ones.

They are no longer asking whether they have enough young talent. They are asking how the pieces fit together.

How does Tre Johnson coexist with Dybantsa? How quickly can Riley become a rotational wing? Which center archetype best complements the roster? Which secondary playmakers elevate everyone else? Those are significantly healthier problems than wondering where the next cornerstone might come from.

Summer League can’t answer those questions. Training camp won’t answer all of them either. Neither will this season.

Player development isn’t linear, rebuilding isn’t glamorous, and timelines rarely unfold the way fans imagine them. There will be stretches where Johnson can’t buy a jumper, nights where Riley looks completely overwhelmed, games where Okpara picks up four fouls in twelve minutes and possessions where Dybantsa reminds everyone that even future stars are still teenagers learning the NBA.

That’s the process.

The important thing is that Washington finally appears to have a process worth believing in. The rebuild isn’t finished. In many ways, it has barely begun.

But for a week in Las Vegas, the Wizards didn’t need certainty. They just needed enough evidence to believe they’re walking in the right direction.

And they got it.

Thank god.

1. Not a flex. Maybe a bit of a flex.

2. It is somewhat lost that the Wizards very much attempted to trade-up for the second overall pick to secure Dylan Harper.

3. I’m really proud of this. Please clap.

4. Do people appreciate this format for height more? I don’t know but I saw a scout write it that way on his notepad so now I’m doing it.

5. Yes, I’m aware that he was previously apart of Orlando’s G-League team