- 6 weeks ago
Joe House couldn’t be more fired up for the Washington Wizards after seeing AJ Dybantsa’s impressive start to NBA Summer League! What’s the Wizards ceiling next year with Dybantsa and company?
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00:00We welcome in House from D.C., podcaster for The Ringer.
00:04We know, of course, he's a Wizards superfan.
00:07There aren't many of those out there, House.
00:08How are you, man?
00:09There are going to be a lot more, boys.
00:11I'm doing great on this fine July morning, Summer League time, World Cup, the Nationals.
00:19A lot going on.
00:20Yeah.
00:21Dude.
00:22Well, the Nationals' bullpen's not so good, but the Nationals, you know, if they played
00:26seven inning games, it'd be a playoff team.
00:28I turn it off after seven.
00:30That's enough.
00:31Yeah.
00:31But let's just stick with the Wizards here for a moment.
00:34And, you know, there was some debate going in.
00:36JP and I, we were kind of making the case for Darren Peterson, acknowledging that we think
00:41all these guys at the top of the draft are going to be great.
00:43I think they made the right choice, though.
00:44I think Peterson's going to be a star.
00:46But there's just something special, the charisma and everything.
00:49The length this guy has, the athletic ability, really, you kind of got to see it to believe it.
00:55And we got one here, House.
00:58We really got one.
00:59EB, I'm so happy to hear you come around.
01:02Came around.
01:03Listen, I was never anti.
01:04He was a Darren Peterson guy.
01:06I know, I heard.
01:07I know.
01:07I was never anti-AJ.
01:09I had nothing negative to say about him.
01:10I just felt like Peterson's a bucket, and he's just going to be that way, and just like
01:15an assassin.
01:16I just could see him.
01:17And the way playoffs are so led by guards.
01:19I don't know.
01:21Put it this way.
01:21I wouldn't have wanted to make that choice, but I acknowledged that I think they made
01:26the right choice.
01:27And it really jumped out at me when you just saw his sheer size.
01:30Sometimes you get lost because you see him amongst all these other bigs.
01:33You don't realize how really big he is.
01:35He came off that plane, and he stood next to Will and Winger and Zach and all these.
01:41And I'm like, oh my God, this guy's a monster.
01:43Reminds me of Lenny Bias.
01:45This is the thing, and EB, you're not wrong.
01:48Darren Peterson is going to be a bucket.
01:51Yeah, 100%.
01:51He looks spectacular, and the single biggest victory of that matchup between Washington
01:58and Utah is that people could stop sending me clips of Darren Peterson because the first
02:04two games he played in Utah, I got so many incoming techs.
02:09I'm sure.
02:09Look, you made a mistake.
02:11Look at what the Wiz did.
02:12Look at this Peterson kid.
02:13And everybody is right.
02:15These top four picks have been awesome.
02:18It's been great to see.
02:19But, EB, you're so on the money with the size observation.
02:25And, you know, I wanted to hold my breath a little bit before talking about DeBonta in
02:31the same sentence as Lenny Bias.
02:33I mean, that's an all-timer right there.
02:36And Lenny Bias was older as a college player.
02:39He was more physically mature.
02:41I mean, he was a beast.
02:42But what we've seen out of Peterson, I mean, out of our guy, AJ, so far, has been so validating,
02:52like so rewarding.
02:53Proof right in front of your eyes that the Washington Wizards selected the correct guy.
02:59Does he look like the best player on the floor?
03:01Yes, he does.
03:02Do he look like the best player on the floor even with Darren Peterson on the floor?
03:06Yes, he did.
03:07He's checking every box in terms of, you know, as an on-the-ball creator.
03:13The defense, especially with Sacramento, capturing him outside the three-point line and daring
03:19him to go ahead and generate some offense in ISO.
03:23He's up to it.
03:25He'll take that initial contact.
03:26He finds angles where it seems like angles aren't available.
03:30He gets to the rim.
03:31He's finishing at the rim.
03:33He's getting the other team to commit fouls.
03:35The Utah, he initiated 13 fouls out of that Utah defense.
03:42Defense, and his individual creation in the half court, like, he's a math problem for the defense
03:50because they're bringing, you know, a second defender from somewhere.
03:55So all of these things are so positive, and it puts pressure immediately on his teammates.
04:01Like, it's a wonderful problem to have here in Washington, a guy of that size who can create
04:07as far out as he can create, and all of a sudden you're going to have open looks all across
04:12the basketball court.
04:14So, House, how surprised were you to see basically the entire team out in Vegas supporting DeBonta
04:20and watching the Wizards Summer League team play in these first two games?
04:25It was cool to see Trey Young and Anthony Davis and, you know, those guys sitting in the front row
04:30supporting the young players.
04:31What did you think of that?
04:33Yeah, A.J. said it himself.
04:34It's a culture shift, and it's deliberate, it's intentional, it reflects the idea that they're all on the same page,
04:44that the front office and the vets on this team and the young guys, that there is a common, same
04:54-page kind of approach here.
04:56And, you know, they made a point, the young guys were talking about, okay, you know, we're talking about the
05:05non-rookies.
05:06What have you been doing?
05:07They asked Trey Johnson, what have you been doing since, you know, the regular season ended?
05:12He said, all of us have been in the gym.
05:14We're watching the playoffs and practicing every day, all of the second- and third-year guys.
05:19And then you take these vets, they brought back Chris Middleton, and you see that whole slew of guys sitting
05:24there on the same page supporting each other.
05:27It's a new chapter here in Washington, fellas.
05:31So, House, I'm going to make you the GM of the Washington Wizards.
05:35Nice.
05:35You get a call from Rich Paul, Clutch Sports.
05:37He wants an extension, a max extension for Anthony Davis.
05:40What do you do?
05:42I'm fine with it.
05:43I have no problem with it.
05:44Look at this.
05:45He's on my side.
05:47You're on my side, House.
05:48Well, good.
05:49It's a lonely spot.
05:50I think they're going to extend him, too.
05:52I don't know if they're going to give him the full max, but I think they are going to extend
05:55him.
05:56So, it was shocking when they did that with Trey, right?
05:58And for 24 hours, especially here in Washington, everybody lost their mind.
06:04And there are, you know, sort of two things going on here, right?
06:07On the one hand, yes, what they paid Trey exceeds the value of what Trey represents at this point, you
06:15know,
06:15in terms of what his performance was with the Atlanta Hawks.
06:19But, on the other hand, the situation for Washington, in terms of meeting its salary cap obligations,
06:26they have to spend their money somehow.
06:29So, yes, it was an overpay for Trey Young.
06:32It would be an overpay for Anthony Davis as well to give him the max extension.
06:38In view of how much basketball he's played over the last 18 to 24 months, the right way to say
06:44it is how little basketball that man has played in the last 24 months.
06:48But that's not the point.
06:49The point is, in the first place, you know, maintaining the relationships with the agents, doing, you know, having this
06:57moment where you have all this flexibility under the salary cap.
07:00And then, you know, it creates cost certainty.
07:03So, if you are in a trade kind of situation with somebody, they know exactly what they're paying for, for
07:09whatever the duration is going to be.
07:11I have no issue with an extension for Davis.
07:13So, let's get back to AJ for a second.
07:15So, they're back-to-back games today and tomorrow in the Vegas Summer League.
07:19Today, the Wizards take on the Bulls at 8 o'clock.
07:22Tomorrow, they take on the Clippers.
07:24How much does AJ play, if at all, in those two games, if you're running the show?
07:30I would – me, personally, I would – I'm done.
07:33He's done.
07:34He can come home.
07:36I've seen enough.
07:37I'm with you, man.
07:38You know what?
07:38We're in lockstep.
07:39We should have drinks together, House.
07:41Well, hold on.
07:41Say when.
07:43Hold on, House.
07:44Listen, I agree.
07:45I've seen enough.
07:46He's a superstar.
07:47But let's just keep getting better.
07:49More reps.
07:50Let's go.
07:50What are we scared of?
07:53Injury.
07:54The only thing that matters is October.
07:57It doesn't matter now.
07:58I mean, he came out of the first game with a sore leg.
08:00We don't need any more sore legs.
08:02There's – at this point now, we have every box checked.
08:09We know exactly – the important thing is for those guys to all get into the lab
08:13for the rest of the summer and really start working on these rotations
08:18and working on – I mean, AJ's got to go find his three-point stroke.
08:23We only have one find the bucket out in Vegas.
08:29Get him out of Vegas, by all means.
08:31That's the most important thing.
08:32You need 17 guys there to protect each other from what Vegas still represents.
08:36So, I say bring him on home.
08:39Let's get into the gym.
08:41Let's keep up the good work.
08:43And let's start looking towards October.
08:45All right.
08:46How good can this team actually be?
08:48It's a huge leap.
08:50But I've been making the argument, though, everyone's just –
08:52like the Stephen A. Smiths and all of these guys just making fun of Washington
08:56for only winning 17 games, being terrible.
08:59These guys were – are they not paying attention?
09:01They were trying to lose.
09:02Like, that was the goal, lose.
09:03And they needed to lose to keep it protected, et cetera.
09:07So, they're not a real 17-win team last year despite their youth and everything.
09:12And if those guys were all healthy, I don't know what they would have won.
09:1525, 27 – I don't know.
09:17But they're not a 17-win team as a baseline.
09:20How good can they be this year?
09:22Are they playoff good?
09:24It's going to be close.
09:26I mean, the problem is I was in the company – I'm not going to name names.
09:30I'm not going to be a name-drop kind of guy.
09:31But I was in the company of a very, very high-ranking Washington official last week,
09:37maybe at a local golf course, possible.
09:40And we were sitting having a little cerveza, speaking of having drinks.
09:44And I said, I just want to get this out in front of you so you hear me say it
09:48looking eye to eye.
09:49I think the Wizards are going to be the worst team in the Southeast Division.
09:53And I'm hopeful that we get to 35 or 36 wins.
09:57And the reason for that, it's not a knock on Washington.
10:00It's because the East has gotten better.
10:03I think the Southeast Division in particular has gotten better.
10:06I think Miami with Giannis is better.
10:10I think the Hawks are better in terms of what they were last year.
10:15The Orlando Magic had a coaching problem.
10:17Well, they've solved that coaching problem because the kid they got from San Antonio,
10:21the defensive guru who's going to be the coach of that team, really can coach them up.
10:26Charlotte, I think, is better addition by subtraction, getting rid of LaMelo,
10:31because he's the loser as far as I'm concerned, that guy being gone.
10:37But it's right to be optimistic about this Washington team.
10:41It's great that they're going to be competitive.
10:43I just don't know if they're ready to step up and jump right in.
10:48The league is now incented because of the way these lottery rules are going to work.
10:54It's going to be really interesting.
10:55You're not going to have 10 teams tanking next year.
10:58So I think the whole Eastern Conference is better.
11:00And the wins are going to be harder to come by.
11:03But the Wizards should at least double how many wins they had last season.
11:07Yeah, for sure.
11:08But that's the thing.
11:09Maybe some of these teams aren't as good as we think because they got 10, 15 wins based on other
11:14teams tanking.
11:15Could be.
11:16Yeah.
11:16Could be.
11:17You're right.
11:18Yeah.
11:19Hey, House, are you concerned with Alex Sarr's foot injury that he's going to be ready for the start of
11:24the regular season?
11:24I know the team has been basically saying he's going to be good to start the regular season.
11:30Not a big deal.
11:31Are you concerned about it?
11:33I'm not concerned because they're telling us not to be concerned.
11:36Okay.
11:37But I'm concerned.
11:38I mean, of course, anytime a seven-footer has a foot problem, it's concerning just in general.
11:44But they have been treating it as like we're being super cautious.
11:50It's not an issue.
11:52And really, it's fine with me if he doesn't come out roaring right at the very beginning.
11:59It would be best for the team.
12:00It would be best for the fans.
12:03It would be best for the team establishing itself early in the season to have Sarr firing on all cylinders.
12:10But I would much prefer him be healthy in January and February when winning those games, you know, matters.
12:17Like, you know, the thing to me is let's be patient with all of these young guys.
12:22If there's any kind of injury concern, take the time necessary to get him 100%.
12:26And then let's, you know, get into it when he's good and ready.
12:30You know, we previously in one of the previous segments, we were going through the ESPN article that ranked quarterbacks.
12:35They had Jaden outside the top 10.
12:37I don't think you could really argue it.
12:39Last year was just a dud, injury, inconsistent play, barely played, etc.
12:45How good, though, do you think Jaden can be, you know, in his third season?
12:50He can be as good as he was in his first season.
12:53We just have to complete this picture in terms of what's around him, right?
12:58I mean, we still don't have a second wide receiver.
13:00It's definitely not going to be that insane person, Brandon Ayuk.
13:04That man's good.
13:05You know, we share a brain on that, too.
13:07You know what?
13:07Maybe we're separated at birth, you and me, house.
13:11That dude ain't playing any NFL football.
13:13I don't understand what he's doing, but I waste time talking about him.
13:17I don't know.
13:18Is Stephon Diggs coming here?
13:20Like, we have to complete the picture on the offensive side of the ball.
13:25I'm cautiously optimistic that the offensive line, which you look at how it performed last year, it was a pretty
13:33good, in terms of establishing the run, pretty good.
13:37They fared well in the metrics of all of that.
13:41But we just couldn't get any consistency because it was a rotating cast of characters at the receiver position, at
13:49the running back position.
13:50You guys got hurt so early on.
13:52Austin Eckler was basically out at the very beginning of the season.
13:55So, if we get any kind of continuity offensively, then he'll flourish.
14:01There's no reason Jaden can't reestablish what he showed in terms of he's got the arm talent and he's got
14:09the instinct for when to run.
14:11And he's a high-quality escape artist.
14:15He's got the work ethic.
14:16He puts in the work.
14:17He puts in the work.
14:18Yeah, that's right.
14:18For sure.
14:19So, we need to complete the picture with what that receiving core is going to be.
14:23The only thing I'll say is that the schedule still just keeps, in the back of my mind, it just
14:28keeps beating me up in my brain.
14:30I just don't know how we get out of the gate strong.
14:32If we do, we're off and running.
14:34You know, imagine if we get off to like a 3-1 start or something.
14:37It's going to be on.
14:38I just don't know if we can.
14:39I mean, the first eight games are brutal.
14:41Brutal.
14:41Yeah, that's exactly – I mean, if we get through 4-4, then I really feel like we got something,
14:46honestly.
14:48All right.
14:48Always good hearing from you, man.
14:51We'll have to have you on again soon.
14:52Thank you, buddy.
14:53You call, I answer.
14:54Appreciate you, junkies.
14:55Thank you, buddy.
14:56Appreciate you, too.
14:57By us, House from D.C., podcaster for The Ringer.
15:00He does great work there.
15:01And, of course, he is a Wiz super fan.
15:03We will get back into the NFL on the 8 o'clock hour at 840.
15:07Jeremy Fowler, ESPN's national NFL reporter,
15:10who came up with the 2026 quarterback rankings list,
15:13where Jaden fell just outside the top 10.
15:16He'll join us coming up at 840 here on The Fan.
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