Why the Wizards tank is a symptom of a bad NBA system

Washington The Wizards are one of several NBA teams who are primed to lose right now. They have the third-worst record in the league at 14-38 entering Wednesday’s road trip with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and need to finish in the bottom four to guarantee they keep their top eight protected draft picks.

This season has always been about holding on to that pick while developing their young core, but now more eyes are on them because of Trade Young and Anthony Davis. That extra attention has caused more people than usual to take to social media to express their displeasure with Washington constantly sitting key players.

The Wizards sat second-year forward Keyshaun George (knee), second-year center Alex Sarr (ankle), third-year guard Bilal Coulibaly (guard) and rookie guard Treo Johnson (ankle) in Saturday’s 127-113 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. This came after an upset 126-117 road win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, who are in first place in the Eastern Conference. George, Sarr and Coulibaly played in that competition.

George, Sarr and Coulibaly also played in Sunday’s 132-101 loss to the Miami Heat, while George, Coulibaly and Johnson are available for Wednesday’s game, according to the team’s social media. Sarr (hamstring) is out.

In addition, Young (knee, quad) and Davis (arm, groin) they have yet to fit into the team. Young will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break, and Davis is unlikely to play for the rest of the season, according to NBA On Prime’s Chris Haynes. However, Washington general manager Will Dawkins said before Sunday’s game that it was “highly likely.” both stars will play this season, according to Ben Strober of Locked On Wizards.

Wizards part of NBA “race to the bottom”

Regardless of whether Dawkins’ statement comes true, voices in the NBA community don’t appreciate the Wizards sitting so many players. KnicksFanTv’s CPTheFanchise called to action on Friday, via “The Putback” podcast.

“I think the league needs to look into this.”@CPTheFanchise sounds like “deliberate talk” by the Wizards considering how their first round pick would go to the Knicks if they don’t make the top eight pic.twitter.com/VZCgCM0i0m

— Knicks Videos (@sni_knicks) February 6, 2026

“The idea that the Wizards are going to have Trae Young in there now, you can already imagine they’re going to sit Anthony Davis for a while,” he said. “With the idea that the Wizards owe the (New York) Knicks that conditional pick and they’re basically going to continue to struggle with these two guys on their roster, I think the league has to look at this.”

“This deliberate floundering when you mix in these negotiations with choices and substitutions that are basically meaningless,” he continued. “This is the second time this has happened to the Knicks, the first time was when the Dallas Mavericks took Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the last game of their season to clear the pick they owed the Knicks. They ended up getting the 10th pick and drafted Derek Lively. I think the league has to and will eventually have to look at this situation because it will eventually be looked at again. Intentionally sabotaging their season.”

Due to a series of previous trades including the John Wall-Russell Westbrook deal in 2020, Washington’s 2026 first-round pick will go to New York if it falls outside the top eight. If not, the Knicks will get two second-rounders.

But the reality is that the Wizards never gave up that pick. Protecting the top eight is irrelevant, because they needed a selection whether it was protected or not. This draft class features superstars like Kansas’ Darrin Peterson, BIU’s AJ Dibantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer, all players who could become cornerstones of their franchise. Washington has built a deep young core, but none of those players have the ceiling of that collegiate trio.

Getting Young and Davis this season was the start of next year, when he plans to be competitive. Other tanking teams used the same strategy at the NBA trade deadline, like The Utah Jazz acquire star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies and the Indiana Pacers acquire veteran Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers. The difference is Jackson is healthy, so the Jazz have kept both him and Lauri Markkanen in the fourth quarter in each of the last two games, a 120-117 loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday and a 115-11 win over the Miami Heat on Monday. They entered the fourth quarter with a 94-87 lead on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Zubac will miss extended time with an ankle problem, according to The Indianapolis Star. The 28-year-old last played on Feb. 2 and has made 43 appearances this year, while Jackson has played in 47 games. On the other hand, Young has not played since December 27th and has 10 games played, while Davis has not played since January 8th and has 20 appearances.

The extended absences of Young and Davis give the Wizards plausible deniability, as they can point to the player’s health as a reason for their approach. By contrast, Utah sitting Jackson and Markkanen in the fourth quarter is more obvious.

While the NBA has reduced lottery odds, the worst team can still guarantee a top-five pick, the second-worst top-six pick, etc. The Pacers have even more incentive to tank, as they gave the Clippers the first protected top-four pick in the Zubac trade.

Removing pick protections and completely randomizing the lottery for non-playoff teams are reasonable ways to address the problem moving forward. But until the league changes the rules, it’s hard to blame organizations for scrambling to secure the best lottery picks they can, especially for a class like 2026.