Wizards projected to finish 42-40, but just about anything seems possible

Pick a number between 32 and 54. There may be a reasonable case for the Wizards winning that many games.

Bryson Akins of Wizards On SI recently projected Washington to finish 42-40, with a best-case ceiling of 54 victories and a worst-case floor of 32.

That is quite a neighborhood.

It also reflects how difficult Washington is to evaluate. Anthony Davis can still change games at both ends, but only when he is available to play them. Trae Young gives the Wizards a proven offensive engine, though he missed significant time last season.

Then there are the kids.

No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa will face the usual rookie adjustment, while Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington remain at various stages of development. Washington has plenty of talent. How much of it is ready to contribute to winning basketball is another question.

If Davis plays around 60 games, Young stays healthy and Dybantsa delivers immediately, 42 wins may prove conservative. If Davis spends another season rotating between the court and injury report, the Wizards could be discussing lottery odds before Valentine’s Day.

Our guess? Somewhere around .500 feels reasonable. That should put Washington in the Eastern Conference play-in conversation, with enough upside to become considerably more interesting.

The Wizards finally have reasons for optimism. They also have enough variables to make anyone predicting 54 wins look either brilliant or temporarily unwell.