What will Wizards' depth chart and rotation look like after busy offseason?

What will Wizards' depth chart and rotation look like after busy offseason? originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

With free agency and the Summer League in the rearview, the dust is starting to settle for the Wizards' new-look roster. Over the course of about a month, the team's new front office leadership executed a substantial overhaul, trading away Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis and acquiring a ton of new faces, many of them young prospects.

More decisions will be made down the road as they finalize the roster before the season begins, but the 2023-24 Wizards have mostly taken shape. Here's a look at what they have, the biggest questions to be answered and what stands out about the new team...

THE ROSTER

PG Tyus Jones
PG/SG Delon Wright
PG/SG Ryan Rollins
PG/SG Quenton Jackson*

SG Jordan Poole
SG Landry Shamet
SG/SF Bilal Coulibaly
SG Johnny Davis

SF/PF Deni Avdija
SG/SF Corey Kispert
SF/PF Patrick Baldwin Jr.
SF/PF Eugene Omoruyi*

PF Kyle Kuzma
PF Danilo Gallinari
PF Anthony Gill
PF Xavier Cooks

C Daniel Gafford
C Mike Muscala
PF/C Tristan Vukcevic

(*signed to two-way contract)

BIGGEST QUESTIONS

Who starts at the three?

The Wizards appear to have four likely starters penciled in and those players would be Jones at the one, Poole at the two, Kuzma at the four and Gafford at the five. That leaves one spot up for grabs at small forward, with the potential for an open competition in training camp to determine that role.

The most likely candidates to be in the mix would seem to be Kispert, Avdija and Coulibaly; three of the Wizards' last four first-round picks. If the Wizards want size and defense they could go with Avdija or Coulibaly, if they want shooting to space the floor, then Kispert makes a lot of sense.

There is a solid argument for each player to be the choice for the starting lineup. Kispert just finished top-10 in the NBA in 3-point percentage and is excellent for ball movement, but both Avdija and Coulibaly could be valuable glue guys to add wing defense alongside Poole's offense at the two.

It is worth noting that if the Wizards do indeed have an open competition at the three, Avdija is 2-for-2 in those situations so far in his career. He won the spot as a rookie and then again last year in camp.

Will Vukcevic be on the NBA roster?

The short-term future of Vukcevic technically remains in question. The Wizards' 2023 second-round pick played last season for Partizan in Serbia, but has made it clear he would like to join the NBA club as soon as this season. He mentioned after a Summer League game how that was expressed to teams during the pre-draft process, so the Wizards were aware of it when they picked him.

If Vukcevic does indeed play for the Wizards this season, his role would likely be as the No. 3 center behind Gafford and Muscala. His minutes would then possibly depend on injuries and foul trouble. It would also not be surprising if that type of role included some time with the Capital City Go-Go.

WHAT STANDS OUT

3-point shooting

As we have seen with the Wizards in recent years, sometimes what looks like a decent or even good 3-point shooting roster on paper doesn't always translate to the court. All sorts of things can get in the way of well-laid plans, things like injuries, off-years, regression and team chemistry. That said, the Wizards have the potential to take a step forward after ranking 21st in threes made last season and 18th in percentage.

Poole has made 200-plus threes in consecutive years, while the Wizards haven't had someone accomplish the feat since Davis Bertans in 2019-20. Shamet is known for his shooting with a 38.8 career 3-point percentage. Gallinari and Muscala are both above-average shooters for their size. Those guys have been added to a roster that already includes Kispert, who is one of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the league.

Now, the Wizards did lose three of their top 3-point shooters last season (Porzingis, Beal and Monte Morris) and they will have some players in their rotation for whom shooting is not a strength. Guys like Avdija, Coulibaly and Davis are developing their outside jumpers while that hasn't been Gafford's game at all. But especially with the depth of big men who can shoot (Baldwin and Vukcevic can even be included), there's a chance the Wizards improve their outside shooting this season.

Depth at shooting guard

When you look at the positional breakdown, it becomes immediately clear the Wizards have a lot of shooting guards. That is despite trading away a really good one in Beal. Poole will be the starter and behind him, you have Shamet and Davis, plus Coulibaly and Kispert who will likely play both the two and the three. Wright can even slide over there as a combo guard and the same can be said about Rollins. The most interesting factor could involve Coulibaly, who at first glance appears to have a clearer path to minutes at the three, but has been described both by himself and general manager Will Dawkins as a guard.

Size and athleticism

The Wizards seem to have gotten bigger and more athletic at several positions this offseason. They will lose some size with the 7-foot-3 Porzingis now elsewhere, but they got taller at the wing position with Coulibaly at about 6-foot-8 and Baldwin standing 6-foot-9. Rollins also gives them more size at guard at 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Coulibaly in particular is going to elevate the Wizards' overall athleticism as he will immediately step in as one of their fastest and most explosive players, especially in transition.

Who gets left out?

While the starting lineup is fairly easy to picture, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. will have a lot to think about as he determines his roughly 10-man rotation to start the season. The locks would seem to be Jones, Poole, Kuzma, Gafford, Avdija and Kispert. Coulibaly also seems to have a good chance for early minutes, especially after a solid showing in the Summer League.

Shamet and Muscala appear likely to get playing time as well. If Gallinari can return to the player he was before tearing his ACL, you have to think he will be in there. That is 10 players right there and then you have Davis, Baldwin Jr., Rollins, Cooks, Gill and Vukcevic.