Washington

Wizards

Earlier this summer, there were rumors that Avdija had been dealing with a hip injury. While Unseld neither confirmed nor denied that during his media availability, he did say that the versatile forward is set to be a full participant when training camp opens on Tuesday. And that’s good news for the Wizards and fantasy managers, especially with the franchise set to embark on a rebuild. Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis were both traded during the offseason. And while the focus of many has been on Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole, Avdija has room to be a player of greater fantasy value as well. Barely a top 200 player last season, Avdija is worth using a late-round pick on in standard leagues.

Audige, who wrapped up a solid college career at Northwestern this spring, will join the Wizards for training camp. During his final collegiate season, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.4 steals, and 2.0 3-pointers per game, shooting 36.8% from the field and 83.2% from the foul line. Look for Audige to spend most of this time this season with the Wizards’ G League affiliate.

The 38-year-old will provide depth at the center position for the rebuilding Wizards, but most importantly, he’ll provide veteran leadership. There’s no fantasy value here.

The 42nd overall pick in this summer’s draft, Vukcevic played well for the Wizards’ summer league squad in Las Vegas. While it was reported he could be loaned out to a club in Greece if he didn’t agree to a contract with the Wizards, Partizan has apparently decided to hold onto Vukcevic for the upcoming season. With Washington already having 16 players on guaranteed contracts for next season, the 6-foot-10 rookie would face long odds for earning a roster spot in training camp. Nothing has been made official, but it appears likely that Vukcevic will spend another season in Europe.

The Wizards were very active in the trade market this summer, and their backcourt rotation looks considerably different as a result. The Bradley Beal trade netted the team Landry Shamet, while Jordan Poole was acquired in a separate trade that sent Chris Paul to Golden State. And then there’s Jones, who was acquired in the three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. Having plenty of experience as a starting point guard on nights when Memphis was without Ja Morant, Jones is viewed by Robbins as the frontrunner to be the starting point guard on Opening Night. Given how well he performed as a spot starter, the move to the nation’s capital will boost Jones’ fantasy profile considerably. Expecting a top-100 season out of him would not be unrealistic, even with Poole and Delon Wright set to have their opportunities to initiate the offense as well.

A second-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Butler has appeared in 48 games with the Jazz (2021-22) and Thunder (2022-23) thus far in his NBA career. Unable to make his mark with either team, he’ll look to change that in the nation’s capital. Butler played well for Oklahoma City’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas, averaging 20.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and 3.5 3-pointers in four appearances. He’ll fill Washington’s second two-way contract slot, joining Eugene Omoruyi.

Coulibaly was impactful on both ends of the floor on Friday, scoring at an efficient clip offensively while also swatting four shots. Due to the combination of size, wingspan, and athleticism, Coulibaly has the tools needed to develop into an effective 3-and-D wing. While the Wizards aren’t going with a full rebuild, as they’ll have Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma on the roster, there will be room for Coulibaly to emerge as a trusted option. Patrick Baldwin Jr. added six points, nine rebounds, four assists, one block, and two 3-pointers in 27 minutes.

Davis had his best game of the summer on Friday, leading five Wizards in double figures with 22 points. With Washington trading Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis earlier this summer, there will be room for others to step forward offensively. Davis didn’t offer much as a rookie, but the opportunity to do so next season will be there. He isn’t worth drafting, especially with the addition of Jordan Poole, but Davis appears to be further along than Ryan Rollins (15/3/7/2 with one 3-pointer) in the pecking order, even with Rollins playing well on Friday.

Coulibaly did a bit of everything in this game and showed why he was drafted with the 7th pick in the draft. He certainly has areas to improve, but he should be able to contribute defensively from day one. How good he’ll be as a rookie remains to be seen, but he has the tools to be very good in this league, especially for fantasy managers.

After spending a large portion of his rookie season in the G-League, Davis has gotten the chance to flaunt his scoring ability this summer. Unfortunately, that hasn’t come with very much efficiency. It’s hard to truly write a prospect off this early, but Davis isn’t giving fantasy managers or the Wizards much hope. There is still a few more games for him to improve, but the first few games haven’t been great.