The race for the position of the Washington Wizards' sixth man role remains very much alive. The starting lineup, having just gotten straightened out, poses plenty of needs, leaving the combination of Bilal Coulibaly , Deandre Ayton and Tre Johnson to continue vying for the coveted first spot off of Washington's bench.
Coulibaly makes sense as a Trae Young -friendly play-finisher with the athleticism to burn opponents off cuts and the defense to spice up less-disruptive lineups, while Ayton figures as the obvious relief to fill in for one of Anthony Davis or Alex Sarr when necessary.
Johnson, meanwhile, looks a bit more redundant as a score-first guard, another young prospect who'll further-complicate Washington's on-ball pecking order. But between his unparalleled shooting potential and early Young connection, managing the defense around the skinny guards just may be something that Wizards head coach Brian Keefe has to live with in advance of the season to come.
It's been abundantly clear since Johnson's one-and-done 2026 NBA Summer League appearance that he can't be limited to your classic bench-hand. He's as fluid a scoring prospect as anyone on the Wizards, a deft pull-up artist with staggering shooting range and an increased-interest in slashing for paint touches.
His jumper alone would have warranted a starting spot on post Wizards iterations past, but he finds himself suddenly-victimized by Washington's competitive lineup. No way could he challenge Young in the starting-five as the newly-paid 4x All-Star, while similarly-young wings like AJ Dybantsa and Kyshawn George provide more versatility as two-way playmakers with superior defensive size.
Oct 10, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward AJ Dybantsa (4) looks back against the Detroit Pistons during the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
That's where some of the lessons he picked up last season can come in handy. Of the 31 assists Young totaled over his five outings alongside the 2025-26 Wizards, nine came in the form of passes to a spotting-up Johnson, who took advantage of the space Young inherently created as a shooter and driver in his own right by always finding a way to creep into the point guard's line of sight.
Their chemistry has translated beautifully into this active preseason , with Young constantly keeping eyes out for off-ball movement and trail opportunities. Trae and Tre have already earned a token "All Day" commentating mantra out of Washington play-by-play broadcaster Chris Miller, who, like everyone else, has come to expect that every Young pass into a Johnson three will find its way into the hole.
As Johnson himself pressed , though, defense remains the primary need since everyone in Washington's rotation is already capable of scoring. To his credit, he seems to have raised the stakes on his individual aggression, though there's only so much that can be done about the older and smaller Young.
It's on them to keep their heads in transition and whenever tasked with locating an assignment, though the pressure now falls on Keefe to surround the scoring tandem with the necessary pieces to survive long-term. That'll require defenders and other off-ball movers, of which he has numerous worth deploying; Coulibaly, Dybantsa, George, Justin Champagnie and the pick-and-roll bigs are each capable of trading looks at the rim with jumpers, lending limitless hands to capitalize off of assisted looks as tertiary scoring options out of Young-Johnson two-man actions.
The Wizards are all-in on setting their own pace, and while, yes, such a goal does start on defense, these are players practically-created to punish opposing lineups in transition. If there's any one specific pairing already-worth nurturing in the interest of forwarding competitive hoops and fostering more in-house growth, it's the growing playing relationship between these offensively-gifted guards.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/wizards/onsi as The One Wizards Duo that HC Brian Keefe Can't Afford to Keep Off the Court .
