Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards' Michael Winger- and Will Dawkins-led front office has traded up the board in each of its first two drafts on the job. It would be foolish to rule out another upward climb this year.

Washington has Nos. 6, 18 and 40 at its disposal, as well as the short-term contracts and flexibility beneath the tax to entice teams in the top five that may be looking to clean up their cap sheets or expand the purview of other deals.

Granted, the Wizards may not have the same urgency as others to improve their primary draft position. Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr arm them with two cornerstone possibilities, and whoever they nab at No. 6 could prove to be another option.

At the same time, this Washington regime is nothing if not opportunistic. If the chance to rocket into the top five presents itself, or if the powers that be identify someone who won’t be there at No. 6 as #TheirGuy (non-Cooper Flagg division), the Wizards have the track record that suggests they’ll pounce.

Moving up from No. 18 without involving sixth overall falls into the opportunistic bucket as well. Between No. 40 and a bunch of other inbound future second-round picks, Washington could have the accessory assets to slide into the back end of the lottery.