In the latest edition of our NBA Power Rankings, the Milwaukee Bucks win the Damian Lillard sweepstakes and training camp begins.
The start of the 2023-24 NBA season is officially here. Training Camp begins this week and the NBA’s pre-season slate will begin shortly after that. After a couple of long months, the season will begin with a bang. Just before the start of training camp, Damian Lillard was traded in a three-team blockbuster deal to the Milwaukee Bucks.
It was a deal that not many saw coming and even if some say they did, they are probably lying. Nevertheless, the new season begins with quite the intrigue. In anticipation of the new campaign, we restart our NBA Power Rankings series with a training camp edition.
30. Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards hit the reset button this offseason by trading Bradley Beal (somewhat forcefully thanks to his no-trade clause) to the Phoenix Suns. The return wasn’t great but as part of another deal (with the Golden State Warriors), the Wizards were able to land Jordan Poole.
If nothing else, Poole gives the Wizards (and their fans) an interesting piece to begin what may end up being a long rebuild. Heading into the season, the Wizards don’t have many expectations. This is a team that is probably going to battle it out for the worst record in the league.
That could end up working out best for the franchise in the long run as they begin their search for the next face of the franchise. And you’d have to imagine that if the Wizards are able to find that, it will likely come via the NBA Draft.