Deni Avdija is developing into a foundational piece for the Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards may have identified a foundational piece in Deni Avdija.

It has been a very long time since the Washington Wizards have had a winning season. Having already lost half of their games, this will be the 6th consecutive losing season for a franchise looking for a turnaround. We have watched the Wizards' front office try to get it right over the years but bad fortunes such as injuries and a lack of culture and chemistry have robbed this franchise of success.

The John Wall era failed to live up to its potential as he has been plagued with injuries throughout his career. Former franchise player Bradley Beal tried to stick around for the rebuilding phase but it just made sense to trade him. He was the best player on the team and the Wizards knew they had to get something in return for him. It was only fair to allow Beal's agent to facilitate a trade due to his loyalty and the fact that he is in his prime and deserves to play for a contender.

Now the Wizards appear towards leaning building around Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. But there is one other player who has only established himself as a rotational player but has recently shown he is capable of much more. That player is Deni Avdija and it seems that he will finally get the chance to develop into the player the Wizards envisioned when they spent a lottery pick on him in the 2020 NBA Draft.

After trading away Daniel Gafford, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala, it provided the availability of minutes to other players. Avdija didn't waste any time to show and prove what he could do if given those minutes as he dropped a career-high 43 points a few days before the NBA All-Star break. He is currently averaging career highs all across the board in points, rebounds, assists, and minutes.

Now that he has shown that he can be a volume scorer, the key for Avdija is to develop the consistency to become a scoring threat every game. It will be up to the Wizards coaching staff to decide how to utilize him going forward as his shot attempts should continue to increase. It could be beneficial if Avdija had the ball in his possession more on the offensive end. He is a natural forward who can operate as a secondary point guard if needed but if he assumes that role he must be willing to attack and shoot more while taking advantage of possible mismatches.

Avdija is a 41 percent shooter from behind the arc but he is taking fewer attempts than he did during his previous three seasons.

Can Deni Avdija emerge as a focal point of the offense?

The Wizards should strongly consider making a push to run their offense through Avdija in certain situations. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. has to show him that he trusts him and it will also give him the confidence he needs as a key piece for this team. Over the past couple of seasons, the Wizards' biggest offensive threats were Beal and Kristaps Porzingis.

With those players taking the majority of the shots and with other veteran players on the roster, it became difficult to give the young guys the minutes they needed. What it did do was give the Wizards the luxury of bringing Avdija along slowly and allowing him to watch and observe those veteran players. Now it appears that patience has paid off as the Wizards could possibly have another piece to consider as a core player to build around.

The Wizards front office could build around the core of Kuzma, Avdija, Poole, and rookie Bilal Coulibaly once and if he begins to show signs that he is that type of player. One thing that Avdija rarely gets credit for is being an underrated defender. He is disciplined and rarely commits careless fouls. He almost always gets a solid contest on shots and his size makes it difficult for opposing players to finish at the rim. Avdija may not be a household name but he is the type of player the Wizards fan base could grow to appreciate in due time.