Why The Wizards Should Keep The Top Pick

We react to the Washington Wizards winning the number one pick and the early rumors that they might trade it away. We make the case that AJ Dybantsa is the best choice in the NBA Draft 2026 and that chasing a quick contender move could cost Washington its next true franchise star. 
• Wizards finally landing the top pick after years near the bottom 
• Trade down talk and why we think it is a mistake 
• AJ Dybantsa as the best player in the class 
• Why availability questions change the Trae Young and Anthony Davis calculus 
• Wizards young core and how AJ fits with wings and Alex Sarr 
• Other lottery names we still like such as Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Darius Acuff Jr
• Realistic expectations for year one scoring and long-term upside 
Let me know your comments below. What do you think the Wizards should do and what sort of draft trade should we get? 

Transcript

Welcome To Get A Bucket

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show, get a bucket. I'm your host, Train as usual. I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Listen, we're gonna get right into it. It's called Get a Bucket. So we're gonna talk about one of the best bucket getters in this NBA draft, along with one of the teams that Alright, that probably might be where I stopped with the get a bucket references, because the Wizards don't be getting too, too much buckets. Matter of fact, their teams, the opponents be getting a few buckets against them, right? Listen, the Washington Wizards just got the number one draft pick. And yeah. Welcome back, the Wizards. Like you've been here before, right? You had Kwame Brown, what was that, 2000 and whatever it was. Then you had John Wall in like 2010, or was that 11? I want to say 10, maybe 11. Draft for 2010. Season debut was 2011. That's what it was. So now here we are. 2026. And the Washington Wizards should, emphasis on the word should. Draft. AJ DeBonsa. Now hear me out, right? They do have a couple of wings on the team. Keyshawn George, Trey Johnson, Bilal Kuobali, hell, Cam Whitmore, who I personally like. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's 10 points in about 10 minutes. Like, buddy is really spectacular on 45% shooting. Might even be nine points, but we're gonna round up to 10 just for just for shits and giggles, right? I've been hearing rumors that the Wizards are going to potentially trade this pick away. And I get it. The word choice I like, I can appreciate. Potentially trade this team, this pick away. And they may look to make themselves more of a contender, right? I'm not a fan of that. I'm genuinely not a fan of that. I get it. They got Trey Young, they got Anthony Davis. Hear me out. Anthony Davis, has he really been available? Because the best ability is availability. And mind you, I'm gonna talk more about the other teams at another time. This was this was breaking news. I felt like I had to cover it. It's not the same, it's not more impactful than playoffs, but I still got a little bit of time for all the other teams lose. So I figured I could sneak into Washington Wizards right here. But you'll hear the other teams talked about, you'll hear playoffs talked about, because I am talking on a weekly, on a daily basis, Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. So brief, so bear with me. But to hear that the Washington Wizards, they're potentially looking or they're considering trading down from the number one pick. I don't want to say it's stupid, but it's stupid. Because again, when I look at this star-studdy class, yes, it's a star-studded class, got a quality top five picks. You can't, it's almost like you can't go wrong, right? But I think trading away this pick would be wrong unless you're getting a whole bunch of good. You gotta get some talent. You gotta get some talent. Y'all know Cooper Flag, right? I'm a Coop Flag fan, you know what I'm saying? I'm I'm I'm I'm a Duke fan, but also I like Coop coming out of high school too. Even if he chose somewhere else, I still would have thought Coop was him. He the next great, you know what I'm saying? So losing out on a player like AJ, especially when, even if Anthony Davis gets injured, you still have Trey Young, granted. I think he still got to re-sign with them after a season, but we'll see what happens. Because maybe you don't need Trey Young. Maybe he don't fit in with y'all timeline. You still got Keyshawn George, Bill Al Kubali, Alex Saarr, Trey Johnson, Bob, Bob Carrington. Like you got a couple of decent picks. Cam Whitmore, Hell Sharif Cooper, and Jaden Hard have been playing some good basketball as of late, towards the end of the season. Granted, end of the season, maybe people not caring as much. But the point is, they got some young talent to work with. And it's a bunch of wings. And they got a 7-2 center who is up there in terms of blocks. I think he led the league in blocks at one point in time, right? Trading away this pick, I think, loses a star. Anthony Davis has literally been called Mr. Glass. Trey Young, he could leave after a season. We got to wait and see. You got to think about the future. And yes, you could get a Darren Peterson. And we've been hearing a little bit more about Darren Peterson and what the creatine situation happened to him. You could get Cam Boozer. And I like Cam, you know, Duke fan, right? I'm not gonna be too, too biased, but Cam was Cam played a hell of a season this year in college, right? Caleb Wilson. This is this this will show you I'm not biased. Because again, he went to UNC. Pretty spectacular. Like there's a world where maybe the Wizards could draft Caleb Wilson, and I'd understand that actually. I genuinely would. Or what if you get someone like Darius A. Cup? Buddy was snapping, and you got a bunch of wings to play defense. It's not like he's a defensive slouch. You know, he is not the defender that maybe John Wall was, right? But still, Buddy could hoop, though. He can get a bucket for sure. I think losing out on AJ DeBonsa is grave. What are you about? 6'8, 6'9, athletic, creative, got a MIDI already. That's that's that's that's gonna be stellar in the NBA. And we're talking about a 19-year-old kid, ladies and gentlemen. Talking about a kid who chose BYU. A place where, and let's be clear now, right? Because we know athletes, especially in college, that get special privileges, we know the girls sit up there and go Google Google Gaga over them. And that BYU, yeah, you can't really be doing no, you know what I'm saying? So, like that shows to me at least that the brother was focused. I think losing someone with that sort of mind with that sort of mindset, that sort of skill set, is gonna hurt the Washington Wizards. And I, if they, if they trade away this number one pick without getting someone top quality to the point that that person could be a future building block around, I'm going to wish that the Wizards are a poverty team for years to come. Because I genuinely believe, and I hope I'm right. I genuinely do, because it looks like it. Like if it walks like a duck, quack like a duck athlete. And I'm telling you this right now, ladies and gentlemen, A.J. DeBonsa looks like he can be one of the best players in the NBA. I don't know how long that's gonna take, but I think him and Cooper Flag are gonna be looked at as rivals in the near future. And again, ladies and gentlemen, the Wizards could draft him. Now, the only thing, the only thing from a potential standpoint that I like more, not more, but almost the same, is a Caleb Wilson. But again, they already got Alex Saarr. You already got Anthony Davis. Now, unless you're thinking that AD is going to be out, so maybe Caleb can learn from A.D., I hear that part too. But AJ, for me, hell, he could play power forward. And now you got Trey Young, Keyshawn George, Bilal Kouobali, AJ DeBonsa and Alex Saarr, that's a lot of space. And now AJ can attack the mid-range. Because you got shooters around, maybe not Bilal as much. But Bilal could also defend, too. So now AJ don't have to worry about defending the premier wings, but he still can defend. He wants to take on that challenge. And maybe if you have Anthony Davis and Trey Young, you can actually get him to defend those premier wings just to sharpen up his defensive tool set. But physically, he's very capable of actually defending elite wings, to be clear. I think he has that ability. So, ladies and gentlemen, if I'm looking at these Washington Wizards, one, congratulations for winning the lottery, right? Kudos, about time, because remember, over the last couple seasons, they have been getting hoed. Okay, they have been one of the worst teams, them and the Jazz, to be clear. Like they should have gotten the number one or number two draft pick last year, and potentially the season before that. And I may have to look back because it might have even been the season before that, too. Like they had been at the bottom for quite some time, but they finally got their pick. And I would just be heartbroken as a as someone who actually does reside in the DMV, right? Like, like I would I actually want to see A.J. DeBonson play in a jersey on a consistent basis, whenever I want to. Like, bro, that would be so stellar. Don't get me wrong. I'd like to see Cam Boozer too. I'd like to see Darren Peterson. I'd like to see Caleb Wilson. I'd like to see Darius Acup. But not one of those players. I would rather see more than AJ DeBonsa. Now, as time goes on, does it pan out that, you know, AJ will be the best player? Will he have the best career? We got to wait and see. But right now, and I've been saying this ever since he since I saw him in high school, he's going to be the best player in this draft. And remember, too, ladies and gentlemen, he's, I think he's around the same age as Cooper Flag. So we got to wait to see how those two are going to pan out. But I cannot stress and emphasize enough, AJ DeBonsa needs to go number one. He needs to. I get Darren Peterson with Stelling. And we, again, we're going to talk more in depth later on, ladies and gentlemen. But the Washington Wizards need to draft AJ DeBonsa. They do not need to trade this pick away at all whatsoever. We're talking about draft capital. We're talking about future status. We're talking about the Washington Wizards making some headway into the playoffs. And they are projected to go to the playoffs. You mean tell me you can't have a stellar rookie like this? He's going to at least give you 12 to 15. At least. At least. So again, ladies and gentlemen, and keep in mind, too, this can also be redemption for Anthony Davis. Last year, he was paired with the number one pick. Things didn't go too well. AD ended up getting injured. Kind of fell off the map, right? Well, what happens if you do it now with the number one pick, Anthony Davis? And you're talking about you want to get into the playoff rankings. You want to get to be able to be a contender. Well, I think having someone like AJ on your squad could keep in mind the Wizards are not winning the championship next season. Let's stop the cap. Let's put a challenge on the flag, a challenge on the field, everything, right? I hear you on the thought process, on the theory. Oh, we got Trey Young, we got Anthony Davis. That's not gonna do it, though. That's not gonna do it. I don't even know if y'all beat the Knicks. I don't know if y'all beat the Celtics. I don't know. 76ers could be a little tough for y'all. Like, I think they could beat the Cavs, actually. How about the Pistons? Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm mm. You know what I'm saying? Like, there's a bunch of teams that you gotta usurp. But adding someone like AJ DeBonsa now, who's gonna guard him? Because I think Asar Thompson, let's say if you use the Pistons, for example, Asar Thompson would have to guard AJ DeBonsa. But then who's gonna guard Anthony Davis? And then who's gonna guard Alex Sarr? And then who's gonna guard Trey Young? Like, because you have AJ on the team, either Asar or Cade or somebody's gonna have to try and stop AJ. And I'm not saying AJ is gonna snap the very first season, but he could. There's a world where he averages 20 plus points. There's a world now, let's be clear about that. I think he's more so gonna be like 15-16 because of the team dynamic that they have. Trey Young, unless he's past heavy, which he has been, but he likes to score two. AD, they're gonna try to make him the focal point on the offense. Alex Sarr, he's been there before, number two draft pick. Bilal and Keyshawn, they've been playing some good basketball. You still got Trey Johnson on the field on the court. I hear all of this. Again, AJ has the most potential on this team. And yes, I'm talking about that even with Anthony Davis on the squad. So again, ladies and gentlemen, if the Washington Wizards do not draft AJ DeBonsa, I'm going to personally hope that they become a poverty team for I don't know how many years, because that would be one of the dumbest things that I have seen them do. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'm gonna stop ranting and I'm gonna ask you all. What do you all think? Should the Washington Wizards look to trade this pick or should they look to draft AJ DeBonsa? I'm curious your thoughts. Also, if they trade the pick, what would be a comfortable trade for you? Because personally, I still got to think about what a comfortable trade would be like for me. Again, I like Darren Peterson, I like Cameron Boozer, I like Caleb Wilson. I actually really like Caleb Wilson. Especially putting a little weight on, and he's still able to keep that athleticism.

unknown 11:42

Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

How about Darius Acuff? I like there's some players in this draft I really truly do like, and I wouldn't be mad if my Lakers could get some of them. I ain't gonna lie to you. But the Wizards. I need y'all to draft AJ. Slightly personal, because again, I'd like to see AJ play. There's also a world where I wouldn't mind him being on the Utah Jazz. Him with Ace Bailey for the future projections, that does sound kind of interesting. But I mean, hey, I prefer him being on the Wizards from a proximity standpoint. But like I said, ladies and gentlemen, let me know your comments below. What do you think the Wizards should do and what sort of draft trade should we get? The Wizards meeting for AJ DeBonza. Let me know your thoughts. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, hope you all had a good one. Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day too yesterday. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.