Five takeaways from Wizards GM Will Dawkins’ presser

WASHINGTON — Washington Wizards general manager Will Dawkins called the 2026-27 campaign a “season of growth” when he met with the media on Thursday.

Dawkins said that while the Wizards want to increase moments of competitive basketball, player development remains the No. 1 goal.

Advertisement

“We want to take meaningful strides as an organization towards building towards sustained success,” Dawkins said. “It definitely won’t be linear … But we’ll chip away as we’ve done in previous seasons … We just want our team to have expectations of being more competitive.”

Alex Sarr expected back by opener

Alex Sarr, who in June underwent surgery to repair a fractured left foot, is expected to return for Washington’s season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 21.

“We expect [Alex] to be a partial participant at the start of camp. He’s progressing really, really well. And I anticipate that he’ll be able to play opening night.

Advertisement

Dawkins lauded Sarr’s maturity and discipline during his recovery process, which continues to progress as training camp nears.

Sarr blossomed in his second NBA season, averaging 16.3 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 48.2% from the field — an 8.8% improvement from the season before. He defended the most rim attempts per game (9.7) while blocking two shots per contest.

“The paint is going to be a tough place for people to score on us,” Dawkins said. “Alex was second in the blocks last year, and that’s without having Anthony Davis and DeAndre Ayton.”

Dawkins said Jamir Watkins, who in July underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL, is out “a good amount of time.”

Advertisement

Anthony Davis ‘motivated’ to start season

On August 6 — the same day Davis became eligible to sign a four-year, $285 million max extension with the Wizards — The Athletic’s Joshua Robbins reported the sides had agreed to wait until the season to have extension talks.

Dawkins, as he does with all players, declined Thursday to discuss the team’s ongoing negotiations with Davis. But he said Davis is ready to start the season when Washington opens against Milwaukee.

“AD is in a great frame of mind,” Dawkins said….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/five-takeaways-wizards-gm-dawkins-171728853.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-09-24 17:17:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.