Inside The Wizards

Rockets Represent Blueprint For Wizards Rebuild

The Washington Wizards should hope that their rebuild is like the Houston Rockets.

Jeremy Brener

Nov 11, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Nov 11, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
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The Washington Wizards face off tonight against the Houston Rockets, a team that has finally escaped the doldrums of the NBA after being one of the worst teams in the league to start the decade.

Now four years removed from trading James Harden, the Rockets are back in the conversation of relevancy in the Western Conference, and the Wizards should take notes.

While the Rockets were painful at the start of their rebuild, they managed to stockpile nine first-round draft picks in a three-year span, six of which have stuck with the team and are all part of the core for Houston.

The Wizards have begun that process this year, taking three players in the first round with Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George. This is a good foundation for what's to come for the Wizards.

In order to get the best possible chance to escape the bottom of the league, the Wizards need to draft multiple first-round prospects again in 2025, and possibly in 2026 as well. First-round draft picks are like lottery tickets, the more you have, the more likely you are to win.

Then, once the draft picks are in place, you flip the switch with cap space and become an aggressive team in free agency. The Rockets changed their tune in 2023 when they signed Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to help inject some experience into their team.

From there, the Rockets went 41-41 last year and now find themselves on pace to improve from that this season.

Of course, the two situations are not entirely the same, but the Wizards should learn from what the Rockets have done and try to apply it given their circumstances.

Tipoff for tonight's game is set for 7 p.m. ET inside Capital One Arena.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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