Wizards Make Good on Promise to Utilize G League

The Washington Wizards lack most of the core tenets that most winning situations already have established, with their shortage of ready-made NBA contributors shining as the most obvious cause for their early 1-11 record.

Few of their pieces are capable of positively producing with any consistency, but they have faith in the players that they themselves drafted to lay the groundwork for the next, more profitable generation of Wizards basketball. Seasoned veterans and unproven prospects alike make up the majority of the squad's rotations, and given that both sides are producing at comparable levels, the coaching staff has a lot of players to fit into their nightly rotations.

This means that some intriguing players are likely to fall through the cracks, but upper management prepared for this near-guaranteed possibility. Wizards general manager Will Dawkins stressed the importance of the team's utilization of the G League in providing players with an avenue to direct development, a much more worthwhile endeavor than letting them rot on the bench.

Locating the Odd Men Out

The franchise spent a few weeks observing head coach Brian Keefe's rotations in examining which players could benefit from extended opportunities outside of NBA action, and finally acted this week in sending former first-round pick Will Riley down to the Capital City Go-Go.

Washington Wizards Forward Will Riley — Oct 12, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Will Riley (27) celebrates with teammates during a timeout after making a go-ahead free throw against the Toronto Raptors in the final second of the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The 19-year-old forward has had to watch his fringe-rotational minutes slip even further, totaling just three minutes across the team's last three games.

He's been a victim of Washington's crowded wing room, an issue that wasn't even close to solved after starting forward Bilal Coulibaly briefly returned from his finger surgery before departing once more with calf troubles. Kyshawn George has locked up the other starting spot as the most dependable source of perimeter offense, and he's backed up by a flurry of veterans in Khris Middleton and Corey Kispert, as well as a few young contributors in Cam Whitmore and Justin Champagnie.

Learning How to Impact Games

The rookie Riley's still far from carving out a niche like the majority of his positional peers. While Kispert enters with a spot-up shooting mentality, Champagnie is looking to hustle for every loose ball and board he can get his hands on. Whitmore is always looking to impact games with his scoring and athleticism, while the more-measured Middleton is prone to weaponizing his pace and IQ in leveraging his jump shot over defenses.

Washington Wizards forwards Kyshawn George and Cam Whitmore — Oct 24, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) celebrates with Washington Wizards forward Cam Whitmore (1) during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Riley has upside as a high-feel scorer himself, offering an effective jump shot and advanced feel for the game at his age. He's shown occasional indicators that he can be someone capable of making plays as an off-ball player, attacking closeouts and mismatches to find the rim and draw free throws.

His ability to get his game off is an asset on a squad with this many ball-handlers, but Riley was too low in the pecking order to see any meaningful minutes, even in a situation as disinterested in winning games as any in the league.

In all likelihood, he'll be soon joined by other recent draftees in AJ Johnson, Tristan Vukcevic and Jamir Watkins, each having been generally closed off from the nightly rotation, and extended Go-Go run should keep their legs fresh as they work to crack Keefe's list of trusted players.

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