Wizards Lineup Named Biggest Controversy

The Washington Wizards are facing a major controversy entering the 2024-25 NBA season.

Oct 9, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Washington Wizards head coach Brian Keefe looks on during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Brian Keefe and the Washington Wizards are truly hoping to be a much better team this season than they were last year. They have added a lot of talent to their roster, but there are major concerns about whether or not they've improved enough from last year to take a leap forward.

Entering the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season, there is also a major controversy that Keefe is going to have to handle.

Bleacher Report recently named the biggest controversy for every team in the league. When it came to the Wizards, the combination of veteran players and young talent could be tough to navigate.

"Head coach Brian Keefe has experimented with a bunch of different lineups in the preseason. Chances are much of the minutes controversy will clear itself up by the deadline. But if guys like Kuzma and Valančiūnas remain on the roster all year, it paves the way for a logistical tug-of-war."

Just like they stated, the easiest way to fix the controversy is to trade pieces ahead of the deadline. That is what is widely expected.

Names like Malcolm Brogdon, Kyle Kuzma, and Jonas Valanciunas seem almost certainly to be available for the right price. Washington can't afford to sit their young players on the bench for long if they want to turn back into a contender at some point in the near future.

Looking at the depth chart, there are some clear potential issues when it comes to young players being blocked.

Malcolm Brogdon is ahead of Bub Carrington and Kuzma is ahead of Bilal Coulibaly. Those two are the biggest noticeable issues that could block young talent from getting more playing time.

Thankfully, there are not enough blocks to make this issue extremely bad. There will still be minutes to go around for young players. Keefe will simply have to manage the minutes well.

While the controversy can be a concern at times for player development, it's a good issue to have. Having a good mixture of veteran talent and young talent is very important.

Hopefully, Keefe will be able to manage minutes the right way and get players the minutes they need.

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