The Washington Wizards are reportedly not going all-in on AJ Dybantsa just yet.
The Wizards got blessed by the basketball gods on Sunday afternoon as they landed the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft lottery. In a draft loaded with top-end talent, many expect Dybantsa to be the favorite to have his name called first come June.
It’s not a foregone conclusion, however, that the Wizards will be the ones making that selection. According to NBA reporter Jake Fischer, who was present as the lottery combinations were being drawn, Wizards team president Michael Winger plans to “at least consider trading down.”
Per the report, Washington “will not rule out a move downward” depending on GM Will Dawkins’ evaluation of prospects, and the possibility that the team “determines there are two or three players” they could get in exchange.
There’s also the added wrinkle that the No. 2 pick went to the Utah Jazz, who have been linked to Dybantsa for years. Dybantsa played out his freshman season at BYU and also attended a Utah prep school before that.
With the Jazz getting ever so close to landing its most coveted player, Utah could conceivably offer Washington a massive offer to swap top-2 picks. The Wizards would still end up with Darryn Peterson or Cam Boozer, two players with first-overall-caliber talent, in such a scenario.
Of course, Winger may just be feeding reporters some generic corporate speak so as not to stir up any controversy ahead of the Wizards’ big moment in June.
Many see the least controversial move to be selecting Dybantsa, and for a franchise that is starved for franchise-altering talent, it’s hard to imagine Winger passing that up.
