Reset and refresh: Wizards avoiding using ‘rebuild’ to describe their rebuild

For slightly more than an hour Tuesday, Michael Winger and Will Dawkins danced around saying the word that’s now become a taboo for NBA executives. The two men used terms like “reset” and “refresh” as synonyms to discuss their vision for the Washington Wizards. “Whatever re-word we want to use,” Winger quipped.

Just don’t call it a rebuild.

Yes, the Wizards are rebuilding this season. That was obvious from the moment Winger and Dawkins — Washington’s new top two executives — came to town and proceeded to ship off Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and a handful of others. But as Washington’s training camp is set to begin next week, Winger and Dawkins have been purposefully avoiding saying that the Wizards are in an outright rebuild. 

Winger sees an important distinction between “rebuild” and “reset,” no matter how subtle.

“I avoided saying (rebuild) because it sort of does have this noncompetitive ring to it,” Winger, the president of Monumental Basketball, said. “It’s become that way over the course of time. … At the risk of people drawing the conclusion that they are synonymous, I avoided using it. I’m not averse to using it. 

“When you have the types of competitors we have on our team, it doesn’t feel like your traditional tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild.”

In other words, the Wizards wouldn’t be surprised if the team is bad this season — but don’t expect a downright horrible team. Winger said he doesn’t believe the Wizards can build strong habits through intentional losing.  That’s why, for instance, Washington’s new regime was more than willing to bring back Kyle Kuzma on a four-year $90 million contract. 

If the Wizards’ goal was to lose as many games as possible, then letting the scoring forward walk in free agency would have been wise. Instead, Washington’s brass saw Kuzma as someone who could help lead and push teammates as a new era is ushered in. (Left unsaid: Kuzma’s contract is affordable enough to where he could still be an attractive trade chip down the line for rival teams if the Wizards want to rebuild further.)

Make no mistake, though, Winger decided early on his tenure that a reset was required. He hired Dawkins as Washington’s general manager, and the 37-year-old came to the Wizards from Oklahoma City — a team with a strong track record of rebuilding and fostering player development. Then, getting settled, Winger and Dawkins began having conversations with players like Beal and Porizingis that made clear a change of direction was needed.

With Beal as Washington’s best player, the Wizards had missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons. That wasn’t good enough to keep building around.

“Really the analysis was, ‘Can we, in pretty short order, assemble a legitimate and sustainable contender around the nucleus that we had?’” Winger said. “I think through really hard analysis, really difficult conversations, the conclusion was no.”

Now, as the Wizards’ rebuild — or sorry, reset — is set to begin, Winger said the team can’t skip steps in trying to get better. The executive didn’t provide a timeline of when he expected Washington to turn a corner, but he said Washington’s front office had extensively studied other cases around the league. The goal, he said, was to build a sustainable contender that could compete — and win — NBA championships. 

“We will hit the gas when we have the absolute perfect road to hit the gas on,” Winger said, adding that meant having the star and core players in place to make that a reality. 

To build from the ground up, the Wizards have emphasized player development. Winger and Dawkins overhauled that department this offseason with new hires in both the front office, to coach Wes Unseld’s staff and on the G-League side with the Capital City Go-Go. Dawkins said the Wizards would provide a “holistic approach” — from focusing on performance, nutrition, mental health and every other category that factors into a player’s development.

Dawkins said they’ll be careful about putting expectations and limitations on players. Year 1 will also be about making the sport “fun” for players again, he said.

“We’ll be evidenced-based,” Dawkins said, “not results-based.” 

The danger that Washington’s new regime will have to avoid is settling for mediocrity and diverting from the plan. When Winger’s predecessor, Tommy Sheppard, took over, the general manager often talked about how chasing the eighth seed wasn’t good enough. But by the end of Sheppard’s tenure, the Wizards had seemingly reverted to trying to just make the playoffs by any means necessary.

Right now, the plan is still in place. At Tuesday’s press conference, Winger delivered a 10-minute opening statement that outlined his vision for the Wizards.

“We don’t want to be a flash in the pan,” Winger said. “We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. We want to build the right way. ..It is a very heavy lift, hard decisions, a lot of patience, an intense focus on player development, an intense focus on research, and that’s what we’re going to do. 

“We will usher in at some point in the future an era of sustainable contention, and we’re going to work our butts off every single day to get us to that point.”