The Washington Wizards came out of the 2025 NBA Draft with two promising first-round picks: Texas' Tre Johnson at No. 6 and Illinois' Will Riley at No. 21. Both figure to earn immediate roles for a young team with its sights set on the future. Washington has a couple veterans toiling on the roster right now, but the Wizards aren't in a position to let CJ McCollum or Khris Middleton stand in the way of long-term development.
This haul was largely celebrated in Washington, and understandably so. Johnson was a real treat to watch last season with the Longhorns: He was the nuttiest shooter in college basketball and the top scorer in a historically loaded SEC. Appointment viewing. Meanwhile, Riley fits a common (and successful) mold for this Wizards front office — that of a long, versatile wing who can create off the dribble a little bit and hopefully defend across positions.
But while it's hard to bash the Wizards' first-round haul, neither pick was my absolute favorite. Johnson has a sizzling highlight reel, and there is immense value in an elite movement shooter like him, but the rest of his game leaves much to be desired. He's not a bad passer necessarily, but Johnson typically focused on hunting his own shots in college. He was inefficient at the rim, and thus relied heavily on his jumper. Even elite shooters can struggle in the NBA without more balance.
Riley was largely inconsistent from 3-point range and a pushover on defense (so was Johnson, for that matter). Washington is better than most teams when it comes to long-term defensive infrastructure, but drafting two prominent rookies who will struggle to passably defend or hold up more broadly against the physicality of the NBA is a risk.
Washington can afford to be patient, and the results of this season will hardly be definitive. But even so, fans may come to regret the Johnson and Riley picks after seeing these rookies in 2025-26.
Jase Richardson, Orlando Magic (No. 25 overall)
Jase Richardson fell to the Orlando Magic at No. 25 in one of the more baffling slides of the 2025 draft. The Michigan State product became one of the few freshmen to win the heart and trust of Tom Izzo, beginning the season as a bit player off the bench and ending it as the Spartans' go-to star in March Madness.
It's not hard to understand the root cause of why Richardson fell: He's a 6-foot-2 combo guard. Small guards are out of fashion in the NBA, especially those who aren't point guards by trade. But just because Richardson spent the majority of his time off-ball at Michigan State, that doesn't mean he can't run point. He was a primary ball-handler all throughout high school and the Magic let him pull the strings in Summer League, which he did with tremendous success.
Richardson's scoring efficiency for a small freshman guard was off the charts. He essentially doesn't have a bad spot on the floor. He's a knockdown spot-up shooter. He can beat a closeout and rope a mid-range pull-up. His floater is effortless. At the rim, Richardson has the strength, touch and craft to offset his small stature.
There will be defensive concerns at the next level, but as things stand, Richardson is far better at guarding his position than Johnson. I would've advocated for Richardson over Johnson at No. 6; to pass on him for Will Riley at No. 21, too, feels like a decision that will live in infamy. Expect Richardson to play meaningful minutes on a top-four seed this season.
Khaman Maluach, Phoenix Suns (No. 10 pick)
Khaman Maluach was heavily tied to the Wizards pre-draft, but he fell rather unexpectedly to the Phoenix Suns at No. 10 overall. It was a great outcome for Phoenix, a team long in need of a stabilizing defensive force in the paint. The subsequent Mark Williams trade undercut this pick a little bit, but long term, Maluach figures to be an important staple next to Devin Booker as the Suns retool.
On the surface, it may sound a bit strange to advocate for Washington taking another center after selecting Alex Sarr No. 2 overall a year ago. But Sarr might not really be a center; he certainly lacks the strength to handle the rigors of that position as it currently stands. Plus, while Sarr put up plenty of eye-popping stat lines as a rookie, there remain genuine concerns about his scoring efficiency. Maluach was a better prospect, straight up.
Washington does need to invest in more perimeter firepower, and Johnson should take on an outsized scoring role from day one. But Maluach, on paper, accentuates and elevates the talent already on the roster in a way Johnson simply will not. The 19-year-old needs a patient hand, which Washington can provide, but Maluach should be ready on some level as a rookie. He's a towering presence in the paint, a profcient offensive rebounder and a hyper-efficient rim finisher — all perfect traits next to Sarr, a rangy, switchy defender with deficient physicality, in the frontcourt.
Maluach should develop into a premier rim protector if all breaks right. That will empower not only Sarr, whose ground coverage and off-ball defensive instincts are his best attributes right now, but other high-level defensive prospects like Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George, too. Washington has built this roster on length and defense. Maluach would take all that to the next level.
Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans (No. 13 pick)
The New Orleans Pelicans made one of the most absurd trades in recent NBA history on draft night, giving up their unprotected 2026 first-round pick (after a 21-win season!) to move up from No. 20 to No. 13 to select Maryland's Derik Queen. That is an impossibly risky move that could derail the future of the Pelicans organization. If there is one silver lining, however, it's that Queen rocks. He shouldn't have been on the board at 13. New Orleans might end up missing out on AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson, but at least Queen will give the fans plenty to root for.
He will begin his rookie season on the injured list, but Queen shouldn't take long to win over fans once he's back. He was a hero for the Terrapins in March Madness, hitting one of this spring's most memorable shots in a game-winner over Colorado State. More than his highlight reel, however, Queen is an extremely unique and fungible offensive talent with the potential to one day develop into New Orleans' primary fulcrum.
While Maluach was the ideal defensive complement to Sarr in the Wizards frontcourt, Queen is a more ideal offensive complement. Sarr's help-side rim protection would help cover for Queen's shortcomings as a rim protector, while Queen's incredible playmaking and interior scoring can help mitigate Sarr's emptier calories on that end of the floor.
In an ideal future, both Queen and Sarr are able to space the floor, attack closeouts and give Washington real playmaking from the four and five spots. Whereas Sarr is slender and explosive, Queen is built like a tank, but not the least bit stiff. He can create from the elbows, bully smaller defenders in the post and he's one of the most creative passing bigs to enter the league in a hot minute.
Queen is arguably a more developed offensive fulcrum than Johnson at this stage. While Johnson is a dynamic perimeter scorer with a nice package of dribble moves, he's not actively setting up teammates and he's not getting to the rim. Queen can work at all three levels and he's going to generate a ton of clean looks for teammates off of his gravity in the post. He would've been a great pick at No. 6. Better yet, he's a hometown kid — a Baltimore native who went to nearby Maryland and would be sure to embrace D.C. as his long-time NBA home.