Preparing the Wizards for a Playoff Push - 2026 Offseason Preview
On the Wizards' upcoming offseason, salary cap situation, key contract decisions, rotational needs & marginal moves, and the draft and what would be required to trade down from the first overall pick.
The Wizards are now four years removed from beginning their rebuild after a decade or so of seasons spent trying to make the playoffs. They focused on accumulating draft capital, including several valuable first-round picks and a large number of second-round picks. They’ve since drafted well and built a roster with multiple layers of young talent. Their patience is slowly starting to pay off with what looks like a promising, sustainable contender.
They’ve also been fortunate enough in the lottery to get the opportunity to select two cornerstones at the top of the draft, including in the upcoming 2026 Draft. The rebuild is officially over as they prepare to test their young core and make a competitive push for the playoffs, or at least the Play-In Tournament. They’ll get a major boost from their trade deadline acquisitions and still have additional moves to make for more veteran help. They also still have plenty of draft equity to supplement this group with more young talent.
2026 Offseason Previews
Atlanta Hawks | Boston Celtics | Brooklyn Nets | Charlotte Hornets | Chicago Bulls | Cleveland Cavaliers | Dallas Mavericks | Denver Nuggets | Detroit Pistons | Golden State Warriors | Houston Rockets | Indiana Pacers | Los Angeles Clippers | Los Angeles Lakers
2026 Contract Projections
Current Extension Eligible Players Part 1 | Current Extension Eligible Players Part 2 | Current Extension Eligible Players Part 3 | Current Extension Eligible Players Part 4 | Standout Minimum Players | Free Agents and Pending Options Part 1 | Free Agents and Pending Options Part 2
Salary cap situation and draft picks
The Wizards are entering the offseason with a full roster totaling $189.4 million in salaries. They went from having a projected $80 million in 2026 cap space a year ago to sitting just $11 million below the $200.5 million luxury tax line. Instead of pursuing free agents with cap space, they used up their flexibility ahead of the trade deadline by trading the large expiring salaries of C.J. McCollum and Khris Middleton for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, respectively.
They are set to operate as an over-the-cap team below the first apron. The Wizards will still be able to take back more salary in a trade than they send out, acquire free agents via sign-and-trade, and use various exceptions like the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception and the $13.4 million Kelly Olynyk trade exception. In all likelihood, they won’t exceed the luxury tax line in the process of filling out the rotation.
Although the Wizards currently don’t have much tax space, they could create more with a few moves. Young can decline his $49 million player option and re-sign to a new long-term deal with a significantly lower starting salary. They could also trade several of their lower-salaried expiring contracts if they need more flexibility. They have a massive surplus of 13 second-round picks to help facilitate those deals.
The Wizards’ core is nearly set after making their big trade deadline acquisition and landing the first overall pick. They could make marginal moves to improve the rotation and maybe turn over some players they don’t plan on extending. Other than that, this offseason will largely focus on long-term planning, such as team-friendly extensions and improving their draft pick surplus.
