How Should Wizards' Coaching Staff Adjust to New Low Point?

The Washington Wizards attract as little media attention as any team in the NBA. They haven't been competitive in years, but they've avoided many of the laughingstock labels they attracted in past years with repeated instances of savvy drafting and accumulation of well-regarded prospects amidst their no-nonsense rebuild.

There has been no shortage of losses, yet that steady lack of regular season success has been consistently attributed to their emphasis on future NBA Drafts.

While they're generally allowed to lose in peace, there comes a point where the eventual win will be expected to make sure that the stink of defeat isn't lost on the developmental pieces. They've had a predictable-tough go of it to start the fall, nearly-instantly accumulating the season's first double-digit losing streak, but they had a chance to finally take one against the Brooklyn Nets to end this past weekend.

What followed was unimpressive, even by the standards that they've consistently rewritten. The Nets, armed with the league's worst defense and as many wins as the Wizards with one, had as little issue taking the team down as anyone else they've stumbled across, winning 129-106. Even the prospects seemed to sense the sort of opportunity they'd missed, calling a players-only meeting shortly after the embarrassing loss.

Washington Wizards Forward Kyshawn George — Nov 10, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) reacts after the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

That's as good a sign as any that the team's set on shaking the formula up from whatever got them to 1-12 in the first place, and much of that is on the coaching. The front office has united a barrage of intriguing players who've each shown flashes, reaching at least 15 wins in the last two seasons with a near-identical formula, and criticisms are starting to arise as to how well everyone's being deployed.

Rebuilding Should Feature Adjustments

While Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr seem to have figured out the next steps for their respective games to take, not every Washington prospect has been quite so successful.

Their guards have notably taken steps back from what was expected of them entering the season, starting with Bub Carrington. He's demonstrated flashes as a secondary playmaker to place alongside George, but his inability to contribute anything close to his productive minutes from last year seems to fall on the coaching staff for continuing to throw him to the wolves. He's prominently featured in nearly every unflattering impact metric, dragging an already-hurting rotation even further.

These are all league worst marks unfortunately https://t.co/2IjpsuONWj pic.twitter.com/y42rYR6JUl
— wizzy (@youngwizzyDFS) November 17, 2025

He's still doing what he's always done in hitting the occasional 3-pointer without any semblance of pressure placed within the arc, relatively uninvolved in an offense that's sufficiently lacking flavor. Outside of his getting yanked from the starting lineup, he's still filling the same nameless role.

The same issue can be said for rookie shooter Tre Johnson, who's been doing much of the same as Carrington upon checking into games. He'll likely reach his peak as an off-ball player, but he was drafted sixth-overall for his potential as a movement sniper, not as the kind of spot-up weapon who's usually available on the waiver wire.

Washington Wizards Guard Tre Johnson — Nov 16, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Tre Johnson (12) dribbles the ball in front of Brooklyn Nets guard Drake Powell (4) during the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Even George and Sarr haven't had the luxury of executing plays that greatly enhance their passing and scoring upside. There's very little movement or deception ever going on around the occasional pick-and-roll they execute with George in as the ball-handler instead of CJ McCollum, and that predictability has held their quietly effective assortment of shooters from actually intimidating defenses.

Assessing the Underutilization of Defensive Weapons

The Washington Wizards' defense lags even further behind their unimaginative offense, and that's even more confusing considering their personnel. A team that's heavily relying upon long, versatile weapons in Sarr and George, who have energy and youth to offer, shouldn't be getting done up by the Michael Porter-led Nets.

Some of that comes down to how the rising stars have answered the call, as they've each been bogged down by relentless fouling tendencies. Bilal Coulibaly's return to the lineup has a chance at sparing George from heavier point-of-attack responsibilities, but he's been too injured to provide his teammates with any real rhythm whenever he stops by.

It's up to head coach Brian Keefe to live up to his and the front office's preseason claims that this season would be about hiking up the competitive levels in-house and ensuring that more would be given than earned than ever before. They can string together impressive defensive sequences when everyone's dialed in, but those moments are few and far between, an especially-damning feature for a team that's gone as long as they have since they last won a game.

Nov 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Washington Wizards Head Coach Brian Keefe watches from the sideline as they take on the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Getting the players, both young and old, to play together on defense aligns with arguably his greatest challenge on offense. McCollum and Khris Middleton are getting their points, but at what cost? No one seems to be playing together, and unless the team figures out how to win the occasional game, their inability to factor winning in the slightest will hold their trade value back.

The Wizards, luckily, aren't burdened with a playoff appearance to clinch or a win quota to meet before season's end, or at least that we know of. And while they've shown occasional peaks at an unsustainably non-competitive level of basketball at points over recent weeks, this Nets loss is where feet need to be put down.

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