Washington

Wizards

The rookie out of Tennessee logged 20 minutes in his first summer league outing. He didn’t contribute much in the box score, but he was effective on the offensive glass. Okpara should continue to get more opportunities as summer league progresses.

The focus of this game may have been on AJ Dybantsa’s debut coming against Darryn Peterson, but Johnson stole the show at times. Utah clearly didn’t have an answer for him as a scorer, and Johnson appears ready to be a dangerous player off the bench for Washington entering his second season. His lack of contributions in other areas limit his fantasy impact, but his scoring ability is special.

The first 38 minutes of this game were relatively quiet for Riley, especially coming off a strong rookie season. However, he came alive late in this game, scoring nine points in the final 2:12 of the fourth quarter, which allowed the Wizards to seal the win. With the Wizards likely competing for a postseason spot this year, Riley will play a smaller role than he did as a rookie, though he’s clearly still progressing as a player.

With how well Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer played in their summer league debuts in Salt Lake City, there was a lot of pressure on Dybantsa to produce at a high level in his first game as a Wizard. If he felt the pressure, it clearly didn’t impact him. Just like when he was at BYU, opposing defenses did not have an answer when Dybantsa was driving to the rim. He didn’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter (0-of-5 on three-pointers), but his body control on drives is rare. Plus, he was able to get to the line at will and contribute a few defensive stats. Summer league doesn’t define a player’s career, but Dybantsa rose to the occasion the first chance he got, just like superstars do.

The details from the reported six-team trade are still unfolding, but what’s already known is that Russell is heading to Memphis. The veteran guard had a tough 2025-26 season, playing just 26 total games with the Mavericks before being traded to the Wizards and never logging a minute for Washington. He’ll likely have a chance to play decent minutes for a Grizzlies team that recently traded away its superstar point guard, Ja Morant. If so, Russell could have some value in fantasy leagues this upcoming season.

The second-round picks are in 2031 and 2032. The Lakers recently acquired Walker Kessler to be the team’s starting center, and they’ll offload Ayton just a few days after he picked up his player option for next season. He’ll now likely be the backup center behind Alex Sarr, which eliminates most of the fantasy value that he had this past season. However, he should be one of the better backup bigs in the league and has streaming upside if the Wizards face an injury in the frontcourt to either Sarr or Anthony Davis.

A second-round pick last year, Watkins appeared in 50 games for the Wizards, averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game. He started with a two-way contract, which was then converted to a standard contract, but the Wizards declined Watkins’ team option before free agency. Now Watkins is back where he started on another two-way contract, so not much has changed with his circumstances heading into next year.

Okpara played two seasons at Tennessee after playing the first two seasons of his college career at Ohio State. As a senior, the 6-foot-10 post player averaged 8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 59.7 percent from the field and 63.5 percent from the foul line. An athletic defender, Okpara is most effective as a rim protector, while the offensive skill set requires some polish. The Wizards traded picks 51 and 60 to add Okpara. With Alex Sarr and Anthony Davis there, Okpara will likely compete with Tristan Vukcevic for backup minutes down low. However, Trae Young is one of the best lob passers in the league, which could work well for Okpara.

Dybantsa entered the 2025-26 season as one of the top prospects in this draft class, and his lone season at BYU did no harm to that status. The 6-foot-9 wing averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 three-pointers last season, earning consensus first-team All-America honors. Dybantsa shot 51.0 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from three and 77.4 percent from the foul line. An excellent athlete who can score on all three levels and provide some playmaking, Dybantsa needs to become a more consistent three-point shooter. That said, he projects to be a franchise cornerstone for years to come. He’ll join a core in Washington that features young studs Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson and Kyshawn George, as well as veteran stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis. Dybantsa should start from day one and be a strong scoring option.

Young opted out of his $49 million player option last week, but he’ll get a bigger payday and long-term stability with Washington. His deal includes a player option in Year 4, but Young will be with the franchise through at least 2029. With so many talented options already around him and the top pick in the draft heading to the nation’s capital, Washington could move out of the cellar in which it’s been dwelling.