Returning trio of Wizards intrigued front office with their versatility

Returning trio of Wizards intrigued front office with their versatility originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Change was the biggest theme of the summer for the Washington Wizards. From a new front office to massive trades and the arrival of new players to the District, the team will look a bit different heading into 2023-24 as it has in years past.

But, as is often the case with change, a bit of holdover from the previous year can help bridge the gap. That's exactly the case with this Wizards team. Returning players like Kyle Kuzma -- fresh off a new four-year extension in Washington -- in addition to a trio of younger talents in Corey Kispert, Deni Avdija and Daniel Gafford will provide a bit of stability on the roster so it isn't full of unfamiliar faces.

Wizards general manager Will Dawkins took note of that young trio and how they remain valuable pieces of the team on a recent episode of the Off the Bench podcast.

"They're each unique and different in the skillsets they bring to the team," Dawkins said. "When you're putting a team together, you want those types of players -- guys who can space the floor, guys that can defend, guys who can make decisions with the ball, guys that can eat at the rim -- so they all have value in the NBA and they have value to us."

Going down that list of guys in Kispert, Avdija and Gafford, you can check off those boxes one by one with their contributions to the team.

Kispert is a sharpshooting wing and a spry off-ball cutter that opens up Washington's offense. He and Avdija can both space the floor, with Avdija looking to take more of an aggressive ballhandling role. Meanwhile, Gafford is a rim-protecting center who is the best post defender on the roster and a consistent lob threat. Add it all up and the trio, with an average age of just 23, brings a unique arsenal of talent.

Better still: they haven't hit their prime yet.

"When you speak with them, speak with their representation and put a team around those guys, they're all still getting better," Dawkins said. "They're all still really good workers, and they all really want to be a part of what we're doing right now."

With Summer League in the rearview window, Washington's remaining offseason time continues to shrink. Training camp, preseason and finally the regular season around mid-October are fast approaching.

Bilal Coulibaly and Jordan Poole headline the list of young talent who arrive in D.C. from elsewhere. With the help of Avdija, Kispert and Gafford, their transition to the Wizards could be made exponentially easier before opening night.

"For us, it was an easy decision to make sure we're investing in those guys while we're investing into the young guys, and adding some vets to support the group," Dawkins said.