- 2 days ago
Chase Hughes from Monumental Sports joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to to preview the Washington Wizards' 2026–27 season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, breaking down what a playoff-caliber season looks like, Anthony Davis' health and trade-deadline outlook, Trae Young's usage rate, AJ Dybantsa's rookie ceiling, and how new NBA lottery odds will impact win totals across the league.
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00:00All right, Chase Hughes is with us. The NBA starts tonight. I am as fired up for a wizard season
00:07as I've been since maybe 2018 after the seventh and deciding game loss in Boston the year before in the
00:14conference semifinals.
00:16I don't think I got very excited about the Beal Westbrook teams, to be honest with you. I just didn't.
00:22I'm fired up. Can't wait to see what it looks like. And I know Chase Hughes is as well.
00:26Chase covers the Wizards for Monumental Sportsnet. You can follow Chase on X at ChaseDCSports.
00:35So if I said to you right now, the Wizards won, let's just call it 45 games and qualified for
00:44the playoffs as the sixth seed in the East or the five seed in the East.
00:48They avoided the play in round. What went right? How did they do it?
00:55Well, I think that would require, first and foremost, some collection of their young players taking big steps forward.
01:03Like they've got Trey Young and Anthony Davis and a lot of people, I think, have tied their ceiling to
01:09those players.
01:10But really, you know, their success, not only this year, but especially in the years to come, is going to
01:15be determined by all the first-round picks that they've collected.
01:18Guys like Keyshawn George, Alex Saar, and Bilal Kulibaly. You know, there's a long list of them.
01:24Trey Johnson, I could keep going. We saw last year Keyshawn George and Alex Saar take steps forward.
01:30If they had another two to four guys do that, I think that would really lift them.
01:35And I think it's possible. You know, they have a lot of these guys with high ceilings.
01:39They're all making progress. All you need is, you know, half of them or a third of them to take
01:44steps forward.
01:45And the whole outlook could change.
01:48See, I was not expecting that answer.
01:50And I'm not being critical of the answer because I think that is very important.
01:54But for me, there's only one way that it happens because we've seen great young players on 35-win teams.
02:06You know, Cooper Flagg last year in Dallas is an example.
02:09And I'm not suggesting that Saar and Keyshawn George and some of the young, they're not rookies anymore.
02:13And they've been in the league for a few years.
02:14And they are now at that point where they should be ascending into being legitimate NBA-contributing players on a
02:22playoff team.
02:22But the answer for me, Chase, is they don't have a chance to win 45 games and be a 6
02:29-seed or a 5-seed without Anthony Davis playing in 60 to 65-plus games.
02:35That's the key to this year specifically.
02:38Beyond this year, that's a different conversation.
02:40This year, they're not going to be in the postseason without Anthony Davis being Anthony Davis for 65 games.
02:48I think he can be a separator for sure.
02:51I still think the young guys are the most important part of this operation.
02:54And I think their floor is probably more so tied to Trey Young than it is Anthony Davis.
03:00I see what you're getting at.
03:02But I'd like to kind of focus on Trey Young in this conversation because I feel like he gives them
03:07a pretty high floor.
03:09What's the floor?
03:10What's the floor if Anthony Davis doesn't play but Trey Young does and plays a lot and plays well?
03:17Well, I'll first say that the floor was pretty high in Atlanta with Trey Young.
03:21It became about their ceiling and turning things over to Jalen Johnson.
03:24But even toward the end, they were winning around 40 to 43 games pretty much every year.
03:30Now, the second part of my answer is this.
03:33I think this season is really hard to predict, not only for the Wizards because you have all these key
03:38components being inserted into the rotation,
03:40but also the lottery odds are going to have a profound effect on the league.
03:45And I think a lot of things have been skewed in recent years.
03:48So whatever you might think that this team would have won last year or the year before,
03:53you might want to take into account that there's not going to be five to seven just free wins every
03:58year
03:58because you're playing these teams that are bottoming out and not playing their best players or going for the lottery
04:03odds.
04:03So I think maybe while the floor in Atlanta was 40 to 43, maybe it's a little bit lower than
04:10that.
04:11But Trey Young, I think, ties a lot of things together, especially in the offensive end.
04:15And then, you know, maybe someday, you know, they'll be able to turn things over to somebody just like Atlanta
04:20did.
04:21But I think he really determines their floor more than any other player on the roster.
04:26I would just say this about the Atlanta floor.
04:28It was a much weaker East.
04:30You would agree with that, right?
04:33Yes.
04:34Yes, I would agree with that.
04:36But I think what you said is really, really important.
04:39Because the lottery rules have changed and the, you know, you're not going to see teams,
04:45you're actually going to see teams at the bottom more incented to win more games and avoid that super bottom.
04:53The Wizards were a gimme for anybody, pretty much.
04:58You know, teams like the Wizards and, you know, Utah and, you know, the year before that.
05:05Who else was terrible in the West?
05:07I'm forgetting somebody that actually rose up.
05:09But that's a really interesting point.
05:12I had not actually considered what the rules and how they would impact win totals
05:17because you're not going to have a couple of, you know, five to six games on your schedule
05:22where you're playing a team that's not interested.
05:24Yeah, let me jump in there.
05:25Let me jump in there real quick.
05:27So, you know, when the lottery odds first came out, it's like, okay, all of our, I think,
05:32our first instincts were like, this is going to affect the bottom of the league.
05:35But the more people I talk to, the more I realize that coaches, executives, people in the league office,
05:40they think it's going to change everything.
05:42They think that a lot of things over the last few years were skewed.
05:45You know, last year to get to the plane in the Eastern Conference,
05:48it took 41 wins to get the 10 seed and 43 to get the 9 seed.
05:52That was unusual.
05:53I think those teams were probably benefiting from some of these gimme wins.
05:57And then here's one that I hadn't thought of until I saw somebody make this point.
06:01As good as the Thunder have looked at recent years and as good as they looked last year,
06:06these point differentials at the top have been huge, too.
06:09Like, have the Thunder, I think the Thunder are great.
06:12But are they actually better than the Bulls in the 90s and the Lakers in the early 2000s
06:17and the Warriors of yesteryear?
06:18I think we're going to find out a lot more about all these teams
06:21because it's just not going to be as easy as it was some nights.
06:25Really good point.
06:27Because what you're essentially saying is,
06:30we have seen in recent years with these several teams tanking,
06:34we have seen so many nights where games were just non-competitive,
06:39like massive blowouts.
06:41And this may lead to fewer, more competitive games,
06:46which, by the way, is better than the league.
06:47And point differential will end up being different.
06:51And so using point differential from the last few years
06:55as a historical comparison is probably not fair.
07:01Yeah.
07:02Love that.
07:03Love that.
07:04By the way, with that said, I do think Oklahoma City is a great team
07:08and the best team.
07:10And if they had been healthy last year,
07:12would be the reigning two-time NBA champions.
07:15Do you agree or disagree with that?
07:16And look at Ade Mara, the guy they just added that he did against Wemby last night.
07:19It's unreal.
07:21But do you agree with me?
07:22If they had Jalen Williams that they would have beaten San Antonio,
07:25they would have beaten the Knicks?
07:27Yes, I do.
07:28I mean, the year before when they set the point differential record,
07:31Chet Holmgren missed 50 games.
07:33That's how good they are.
07:34And then last year, you know, they pushed the Spurs to a seventh game
07:38and they just couldn't score.
07:39Well, they were missing Jalen Williams, their second-best player.
07:42I think that's definitive now.
07:44And A.J. Mitchell, who was their best scorer off the bench.
07:47So if you're looking for some offense, they've got some offense.
07:50The guys just weren't healthy.
07:52Can I ask you a quick question?
07:54It has nothing to do with anything.
07:55We're going to get to the Wizards.
07:56Where did Aaron Wiggins end up?
07:59Atlanta.
08:00Atlanta.
08:00So they already have Nikhil Walker-Alexander and Dyson Daniels.
08:06They have one of the best groups of ball stoppers on the perimeter.
08:09And then they added Aaron Wiggins,
08:11and they only had to give up like two second-round picks.
08:13I've loved that guy forever.
08:14I know you have, too.
08:15I've loved him since against Purdue at Maryland.
08:18He followed up his own three miss and had a put-back slam.
08:21I've only seen like two players do that in all my time watching basketball.
08:25I love Aaron Wiggins.
08:26I don't know how they got him for two second-round picks, but yeah, good luck driving to the rim
08:30against the Atlanta Hawks this year.
08:31He had a phenomenal game one night at Illinois in that 2020 season, which was such a big game that
08:38year.
08:38All right, let's get back to the Wizards.
08:41So I mentioned Anthony Davis.
08:43You're not as built in to Anthony Davis being the key to a big season, but more so what you
08:51said is Trey Young's more tied to a higher floor.
08:55What do you think we're going to get from Anthony Davis?
08:58And is he healthy, a player that's here the entire season?
09:03Well, first, I should also note that they have a lot of depth at his position.
09:06I think conversely to Trey Young's spot, you know, with DeAndre Ayton, like if Anthony Davis wasn't healthy, and obviously
09:13you have to acknowledge that possibility, they've got a starter-level big man who can just step in his place,
09:19plus Alex Sarr.
09:20So they have a lot of depth at that position.
09:22I think they built in some insurance policies in a very smart way.
09:26I think he's going to – I mean, you can't predict his health, obviously, but he played in three of
09:32the four preseason games.
09:33The only one that he missed was just due to rest.
09:36I think they're going to try to do things with that depth that they have to keep him healthy, maybe
09:42give him some nights off here and there.
09:45But, you know, it's obviously a big year for him.
09:47He's got a lot to prove.
09:49He's 33 years old.
09:50You know, he's coming over from the Mavericks where, you know, there was a whole, you know, situation that he
09:56was trying to prove himself there, and then he got traded again.
10:00And it's a contract year.
10:01So I think you're going to see a very motivated Anthony Davis.
10:06And, you know, barring health, I think he's going to make a big impact.
10:10You know, seeing him up close in the preseason, I've watched plenty of Anthony Davis over the years, but usually
10:15only once a season because I wasn't traveling with the team at the time.
10:18And he's always been in the Western Conference.
10:20Now seeing him up close, what he can do when he has to guard a smaller player on the perimeter,
10:25you know, the shot clock violation he forced in New Orleans.
10:28Like, he can move – he's enormous, first of all, and he can move really well for his size still
10:34at this age.
10:35So I think you're seeing a great impact from him.
10:37And I'll just give you one stat.
10:38So the Wizards gave up far more shots at the rim than they would have liked in the preseason.
10:43But the percentage that team shot within five feet went down close to four points when he was on the
10:49court.
10:50So the impact was there.
10:52And I think especially with Alex Thar next to him, teams are going to think twice before they go to
10:56the rim.
10:56I think it's an absolute good point, and I've made it before as well, which is this isn't a year
11:02where he can't perform.
11:04Because the interest level, and we saw it when the Wizards traded for him, isn't what it used to be.
11:09And it's because of his lack of availability.
11:12He has to make himself available.
11:14He's got to play like Anthony Davis has played in the past if he wants to get that next massive,
11:20massive deal.
11:21But my question was, if he is playing at a high level, if he is healthy, do you think he
11:28plays in Washington for the entire season?
11:31Because he will be a big conversation as the trade deadline approaches if he's played well and played healthy.
11:41Yeah, I think so.
11:42I mean, I think, you know.
11:44You think so?
11:44What?
11:45You think he'll be here the entire season?
11:47Yeah.
11:47I think the time to watch is about 20, 25 games into the year.
11:52You know, there was a lot of reporting.
11:54I believe the Wizards kind of acknowledged this, that, you know, they're going to take it sort of quarter of
11:58the season by quarter of the season.
12:00It's not, you know, completely ruled out that they won't discuss, you know, something in the middle of the season.
12:06But, you know, he's an important part of what they want to do.
12:08I don't think they're ready to sort of turn things over to Alex Saar to play that role.
12:12I think they want to see what they have in both of those guys.
12:15You know, Saar is coming off the foot injury.
12:17I think at some point, you know, he's going to be ready to be the primary big man.
12:21And, you know, we saw him take a big step forward last year.
12:23But right now, I think they're going to take this probably 10 to 20 games at a time and see
12:27where they go.
12:28So the trade deadline is quite a ways away.
12:31You know, obviously, it's difficult to predict that.
12:34But right now, you know, they made it through the summer.
12:36He's still here.
12:37And it looks like he's going to play an important role.
12:40Let's talk about Trey Young for a minute.
12:41We're talking to Chase Hughes.
12:43High usage rates, obviously, throughout his career.
12:46He's a guy that's had to have the ball in his hands.
12:50Do you expect that with this group?
12:54Will he have control of the ball?
12:57Will he be dribbling the life out of the ball on many possessions on many nights?
13:02Or do you see a usage rate for him potentially going down?
13:07I think it'll go down.
13:09I'm sure he'll still lead the team in usage.
13:11But, you know, we saw it go down in the preseason.
13:14We saw him play a little bit off the ball.
13:16They've been experimenting with that.
13:18I think the earlier returns have been pretty good.
13:21But, you know, they need what he does with the ball in his hands.
13:24And that specifically is getting into the paint off the dribble.
13:27They don't have anyone on the roster who can do it at the level he can because he's one of
13:31the best players in the league at doing that.
13:34I think the question for me is, you know, who kind of recreates that when he's off the court?
13:39Based on the preseason, it looks like they're going to try to stagger Keyshawn George a little bit, have him
13:45run the offense.
13:45I think that's, you know, obviously a pretty smart move.
13:49He looked unbelievable in the preseason.
13:51I mean, if you haven't seen his numbers, he averaged 15 points a game on seven shots, led the team
13:56in scoring, and shot over 60% from the field.
14:00You and I both loved him going back two years ago and thought that he might be the guy out
14:05of the group of all of the young players that would emerge into a potential all-star, right?
14:10Yeah, right, exactly.
14:12And I think exactly.
14:13And, you know, it goes back to I remember right before he even played a preseason game, I sat down
14:18with Kyle Kuzma, who, you know, of course was here, and he's going to play the Wizards tonight.
14:22And he was like, this guy could step on a playoff roster right now and earn rotation minutes.
14:27And this was like a late first-round pick and a supposedly bad draft, hadn't even played a preseason game.
14:32And I was like, whoa.
14:33And look at him now, right?
14:35He's the most seasoned young player they have and a guy who I think is sort of graduating beyond being
14:40a young prospect and someone who's going to be in this league a really long time.
14:44I think he's starter caliber already, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has another breakout season like we saw
14:50last year.
14:51But Trey Young, yeah, I think he has said all the right things.
14:55I think he proved it in the preseason that he's willing to get off the ball, play off the ball
14:59a little bit.
15:00So I don't see any reason why that won't continue.
15:03I'll tell you what, Chase, from the moment they acquired Anthony Davis after Trey Young, I thought that the combination
15:08of the two of them, just thinking about, you know, what it would look like in the pick and roll
15:13in the two-man game, I think it's a natural fit with the two of them.
15:18We'll see how it plays out.
15:19They both have to be healthy.
15:20But let me just get to, because for those of you who don't know, the Wizards open up their 26
15:25-27 season tonight at home against the Bucs.
15:28They're four-and-a-half-point favorites.
15:30A.J. DeBonsa is out with an ankle injury.
15:32I'll ask Chase about him in a moment.
15:35But tell me right now what you anticipate.
15:38Let's just assume that A.J. DeBonsa is back short, you know, quickly.
15:42Give me the starting five and then the next three or four major contributors.
15:48Well, I think the starting five is Trey Young, Keyshawn George.
15:53He earned that in training camp and then just lit it up in the preseason.
15:58A.J. DeBonsa, Alex Saar, and Anthony Davis.
16:01And then you said three more.
16:04Three or four more.
16:05Definitely DeAndre Ayton.
16:08Definitely Trey Johnson.
16:11I think Bilal Kulibaly's role is pretty secure at this point.
16:16They need his defense.
16:18And then Bub Carrington, I think we'll see plenty of him.
16:22You know, he has really developed his outside shot.
16:25And, you know, he's got to cut down on the turnovers.
16:28But I think they like what he can do as a shooter.
16:32And he's really good at pushing the pace.
16:34And I think there's some potential there with his defense.
16:36I was really impressed down the stretch of last year.
16:40You know, he's played all 82 each of his last two seasons.
16:43And he's still giving max effort on defense in, like, the 82nd game.
16:47And I don't think there's many guys who are built like that.
16:50And Chris Middleton, I should mention him.
16:52Chris Middleton, especially with DeBonsa down.
16:55You know, Brian Keefe said it on Media Day that, like,
16:57expect Chris Middleton to play an important role.
17:00And, you know, he might be up there in age.
17:02But when he gets to his spots, it's all muscle memory for him in his 15th year.
17:06He's tough to stop.
17:08You didn't mention Will Riley.
17:10Why not?
17:12Yeah, I mean, they can't play everybody.
17:14I think Will Riley's probably right on the fringe.
17:17Same thing with Justin Champagny.
17:19They'll get their turn, but they might have to wait their turn.
17:22It's just a deep position.
17:24I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some Will Riley tonight.
17:26But, you know, in the preseason, they kind of went to him after they went to some other guys.
17:30And, you know, he's young.
17:32He has shown a lot offensively.
17:34I think what they want to see from him is improvement on the defensive end.
17:38And I think they're going to hold these guys to a bit of a different standard than they did the
17:41last few years,
17:42where it's not just about playing the right way.
17:45You've got to play the right way, but you also have to perform.
17:47And defense is going to be a big part of that.
17:50Do you see this team being, they were, you know, they played at a pretty significant high pace last year.
17:58With the players, with Young now playing in every game, fingers crossed.
18:02Is this going to be a team that plays at a super high pace relative to the rest of the
18:07league?
18:07Do you see that?
18:09I think they want to play with a lot of pace in the half court.
18:12But I could see those numbers coming down because they want to lock down on defense.
18:16And usually the best defensive teams don't rank all that high in pace.
18:21So I think that number might come down because if they play better defense and if they can rebound the
18:27ball better,
18:28then that will be adjusted a little bit.
18:31But certainly they like to play fast.
18:33They have said that before.
18:35GM Will Dawkins has said that before.
18:36And they've drafted a lot of guys who are conducive to playing fast.
18:40And A.J. DeBonsa can be included among them.
18:42And so, you know, Trae Young bringing him in with what he could do, kicking the ball at the court.
18:47They know that they can be extremely dangerous in transition, especially with it starting with Trae Young or their big
18:54men who can handle the ball.
18:55A.J. DeBonsa, his athleticism.
18:57And then some shooters like Trae Johnson, like it's going to be, I think, advantageous for them to get out
19:02and run.
19:03All right.
19:04A.J. DeBonsa, what kind of rookie year do you see him having?
19:09I think he's going to have a really impressive rookie year.
19:11I mean, I think this guy is going to be at a minimum an all-star and perhaps one of
19:17the best players in the league.
19:18His size, athleticism, length, we're already seeing it on defense.
19:24I think he's going to be a much better defender than people expected coming into the draft.
19:29I think we could see a similar effect to what we saw with Dylan Harper last year with the Spurs,
19:34which is like, OK, no one was talking about his defense.
19:37But all it took was a little bit of commitment on that end and his natural trait sort of took
19:42over.
19:42And he became one of the better wing defenders, I would say, in the league.
19:45I think A.J. DeBonsa can be one of the best defensive players on this team this season, as early
19:50as this season.
19:51And then offensively, what he can do off the dribble with his agility and his skill and his ability to
19:57get up in the air and score around the rim and get to the free throw line.
20:01I don't know if he'll win rookie of the year based on his role, but he's clearly going to be
20:05an all-rookie guy in my mind and someone who I think by the end of the season,
20:08just like we saw with John Wall and Bradley Beal, it's like, OK, that guy is a future superstar.
20:13Give me a player that has surprised them and will surprise fans in terms of his ability to contribute on
20:22this team this year.
20:24I'm going to go with Trey Johnson.
20:26Another guy who you talk about his offense coming into the draft, and I think that's going to be great.
20:31I think it's going to be unlocked by playing with Trey Young.
20:34We saw that in one of the preseason games.
20:36He made four threes in the first quarter, and it was incredible.
20:40But his defense has gotten a lot better.
20:42I think he's benefited from having more defensive pieces around him.
20:46He's had to guard a smaller surface area of the court.
20:49And he's a big, strong guy who maybe if you leave him on an island, he's not going to stop
20:55someone like Bilal Koulibaly.
20:56But he's proven that he can be, I think, at least a league average defender within the system.
21:01And they're raving about his defense so far.
21:04Brian Keefe has said it publicly, and you hear that behind the scenes.
21:06And so, you know, the way he said it himself, Trey Johnson, was like, they've got a lot of offensive
21:11depth on this team.
21:12The only way you're going to play is if you play defense.
21:14And I think he's really taken that to heart.
21:15I had Will Riley on the show, I don't know, two weeks ago, something like that.
21:19And I asked him the same question, and he immediately said Felix Akpara.
21:24He said the guy is so impressive, and, you know, not many people really knew what to expect.
21:31I like Akpara.
21:33Yeah, the Vets have been really impressed with him.
21:35He's really, really big.
21:38Like, he's huge.
21:40I mean, he's one of these guys who could reach up, and he's like five inches from the rim.
21:44And he's a great communicator on defense, very strong, has good hands.
21:48Just a lot of depth at his position, so he might have to wait his turn.
21:52Two quick ones to end.
21:53Are you confident that Brian Keefe's up to this new challenge, which is coaching a team
21:59where they're actually trying to win as many games as possible?
22:03I am.
22:04I mean, it's been difficult to obviously get a read on Brian Keefe's coaching ability the last few years.
22:09But, you know, there's certain markers, like how they do with ATOs and certain things like that
22:16that reflect well on him.
22:17And, you know, he sort of passed the first test they gave him, which was player development.
22:22And that's still going to be something that he'll be evaluated on.
22:24But, you know, when you look at the steps forward that guys took last year,
22:28particularly Keyshawn George and Alex Sarr, as I mentioned, like that was great.
22:32And now he's got a really impressive coaching staff with, you know,
22:36Steve Clifford is the advisor and Patrick Ewing and Cody Toppert moving up from the go-go.
22:42I think he's going to be able to prove what he's capable of, and I think he'll do it.
22:47But over-under is 34-and-a-half on win total this year.
22:52Are you going over or under?
22:56Man, that is so tough.
22:57Just give me the number.
22:58I don't even care.
22:58Just give me the number.
22:59How many do they win?
23:01I think, again, it's just such a tough season to predict, a tough team to predict.
23:07I'll say between 33 and 38, something like that.
23:11And I think if they get in that range, they can make the play-in tournament.
23:15But, like I said, everything's going to be sort of course-corrected after the last few years.
23:20Whatever you think the win total would have been the last few years, probably bring it down a little bit.
23:23Well, it was 43 last year to qualify for the play-in.
23:26The Heat were at 43 as the 10 seed.
23:29Yeah, yeah, I see.
23:30I think that was skewed.
23:32Okay, fair enough.
23:33Thank you for doing this.
23:34I'm looking forward to it.
23:36We'll reconvene at some point here early in the season.
23:39Thanks, as always.
23:40Enjoy it.
23:41Absolutely.
23:41Thanks for having me.
23:42Chase Hughes, everybody.