5 Trade Ideas for Washington Wizards' No. 1 Pick In 2026 NBA Draft

As proud (and fortunate) owners of the 2026 NBA Draft's No. 1 pick, the Washington Wizards have options.

That flexibility runs beyond having pick of this prospect litter.

They could keep it as simple as staying put and snagging BYU's dynamic swingman AJ Dybantsa, who's perhaps the closest this draft has to a consensus top prospect. But maybe they see a better value proposition in doing something different.

After all, they hadn't finished celebrating their lottery jackpot before team president Michael Winger was telling the Stein Line's Jake Fischer that the team would "at least consider trading down." If the Wizards aren't totally sold on Dybantsa as the top prospect, then working out a deal with a franchise that doesn't value him like that could be the right way to go.

Or maybe Washington just really wants to get a super-quick fix. The team added two established stars this season (Trae Young and Anthony Davis) and could have an appetite for more with links being made between the Wizards and the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.

Again, Washington has options, plus all the time in the world to explore them all. Let's help with the exploration, then, and construct the foundation of five hypothetical trades for the first overall pick.

Sliding Back to Second

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Washington Wizards receive: No. 2 pick and Ace Bailey

Utah Jazz receive: No. 1 pick

Why the Wizards do it

Washington has to love Bailey for this to work, but doesn't require a ton of imagination to conjure. The Wizards were big fans ahead of last year's draft, then they saw him average over 18 points and two stocks (steals plus blocks) after the All-Star break. They could still be itching to add him to their young core.

And, frankly, they might be just as big on their second favorite prospect in this class as they are on Dybantsa. Or maybe their draft board features a different name at the top, like Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer. If that's the case, they'd be walking away with their No. 1 prospect and a tooled-up 19-year-old with a similarly sky-high scoring ceiling.

Why the Jazz do it

The Jazz have reached out to the Wizards about a possible trade-up, per Andscape's Marc J. Spears, because of course they have. Dybantsa finished his prep career in Utah and spent his lone season of college ball at BYU, the alma mater of Jazz governor Ryan Smith, CEO Danny Ainge and president of basketball operations Austin Ainge.

Utah has an ascending guard in Keyonte George and a loaded frontcourt featuring Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and a presumably re-signed Walker Kessler. It's already one of the Association's most intriguing young cores, but a star wing could take it over the top. And maybe the Jazz think Dybantsa's path to stardom appears a lot clearer than Bailey's.

Utah has to love Dybantsa for this to work, but that's easy to envision—without even considering the in-state connection. He looks like a lab-created modern wing, pairing great length and explosion with incredible fluidity and knockout-powered scoring punch from all three levels. If he levels-up his playmaking and defending, he has all-purpose-star potential.

Dropping Down to Third

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Washington Wizards receive: No. 3 pick, 2027 first-round pick (via CLE, LAL, MIN or UTA) and 2030 first-round pick (via ORL)

Memphis Grizzlies receive: No. 1 pick

Why the Wizards do it

Opinions remain split on the best prospect in this draft and the likeliest to go first. Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor recently described Dybantsa and Peterson as "the favorites" for No. 1, but also added that Boozer "remains on the radar."

If Washington has more or less the same grade on all three, then this pitch could give it plenty to think about. Stay at No. 1, and it can take its preference of the three, but if they're all on equal footing, it could drop back to No. 3, still get a blue-chip talent and add two extra picks to the collection, either to keep and develop or flip in future deals.

Why the Grizzlies do it

The Grizzlies are an overdue Ja Morant deal away from a top-to-bottom reset. They just need someone to spearhead this rebuilding project, as building blocks like Zach Edey, Cedric Coward and Jaylen Wells all feel more like support pieces.

Maybe Memphis sees that kind of cornerstone potential in a specific prospect. The only way to guarantee that prospect becomes a Grizzly is by getting to No. 1. The cost isn't cheap, but few significant purchases ever are. If they see fortune-changing potential for their franchise, then the reward would clearly be worth any risk.

Flipping No. 1 for Bulls' Future

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Washington Wizards receive: Matas Buzelis, No. 4 pick and No. 15 pick

Chicago Bulls receive: No. 1 pick

Why the Wizards do it

The Wizards have sat atop the draft board for roughly a month now and still "haven't made a decision yet on who they'll draft No. 1," per The Athletic's Sam Vecenie. While sources chalked that up to "Washington...doing its due diligence," it does make you wonder whether the Wizards just won't come out of this pre-draft process with a favorite prospect.

While they're probably picking between three players, maybe Caleb Wilson isn't too far removed from those discussions. He's the best athlete in this draft, and maybe its best defender. If Washington thinks he can tap into more potential as a shooter and ball-handler, it might feel like his upside reaches as high as anyone in this class.

From there, the Wizards would have the 15th pick to further invest in this core and then also Buzelis, a bouncy 21-year-old swingman who authored some really high-end flashes as a sophomore. Do this deal, and Washington might be overloaded with ascending, cost-controlled talent, or exactly what teams arguably need to thrive under this collective bargaining agreement.

Why the Bulls do it

Do the Bulls see cornerstone potential in Buzelis? What about Caleb Wilson? How about whichever prospect they realistically think could make it to pick No. 15? If they can't find a resounding "Yes!" to any of those inquiries, then this trade kind of sells itself.

Because they took so long to embrace what everyone else viewed as an inevitable rebuild, this is their first shot at adding a blue-chip prospect. While they could stand pat and get a couple of good ones at Nos. 4 and 15, moving up might be the only way to secure a great one. And if this franchise learned anything from all of that tire-spinning with the previous nucleus it's that a club can only go so far without great players.

Swapping Megastars and Lottery Picks

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Washington Wizards receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo and No. 10 pick

Milwaukee Bucks receive: No. 1 pick and Anthony Davis

Why the Wizards do it

If Washington's interest in Antetokounmpo is legitimate, this could have legs. He would legitimize this core in ways that the Anthony Davis and Trae Young deals never could. Antetokounmpo is a game-breaker in his prime. And maybe this is the perfect time to take such a big swing, since the bulk of this roster is earning rookie-scale wages.

The Young-Antetokounmpo two-man game could be an identity-former on the offensive end. The Antetokounmpo-Alex Sarr combo would be among the Association's rangiest and most disruptive.

This could be a floor-raiser that cements Washington as a top-six seed and a ceiling-pusher that grants the Wizards no worse than a puncher's chance at the ultimate crown. And they wouldn't even have to totally abandon the lottery to make it happen. In fact, they might wind up with someone awfully interesting at No. 10, like Nate Ament, Brayden Burries or Mikel Brown Jr.

Why the Bucks do it

The Bucks are "open for business on trade calls and offers" for Antetokounmpo, per ESPN's Shams Charania, meaning Milwaukee will be ushering in a new era sooner than later. Who better to lead that charge the very top pick of a draft class that's as heralded as this?

Milwaukee could send Antetokounmpo elsewhere for a mountain of draft assets, but it would do so in the hope that one of them delivers a prospect remotely close to the caliber of a Dybantsa, Peterson or Boozer. The Bucks would be left with the tricky task of calculating Davis' trade value (and fingers-crossed hoping it isn't the red), but that's a relatively small price to pay for such a seismic return.

Extracting a Cornerstone Out of OKC

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Washington Wizards receive: Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace and No. 12 pick

Oklahoma City Thunder receive: No. 1 pick and Anthony Davis

Why the Wizards do it

Holmgren, who turned 24 in May, debuted as an All-Star, All-NBA honoree and All-Defensive first-teamer this season. His struggles against San Antonio in the conference finals were sometimes tough to watch, but they didn't change the fact he's a special kind of talent. As a shot-blocking, floor-spacing unicorn big, he offers almost limitless possibilities when it comes to building a roster.

Wallace, who won't turn 23 until November, earned All-Defensive second-team honors this season while upping his scoring output and widening the gap between his assists and turnovers. Grant him a greater offensive opportunity than he's had in Oklahoma City, and he could shine as a floor general and two-way tone-setter.

The Wizards could (and should) see both as long-term keepers, and they might land a third with that incoming lottery pick. This could be the path toward perpetual growth and sustainable success.

Why the Thunder do it

Oklahoma City might use Davis as a springboard to a separate trade that helps clean up the financial picture. Not to say this is all about dollars and cents for the 2025 champs, but they do a lot of the heavy lifting. In fact, let's put an extra emphasis on heavy there, because current projections put OKC's roster cost at "a whopping $250.5 million" with "a more than $200 million tax bill" next season, per ESPN's Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon.

Turning Holmgren and Wallace into Davis wouldn't really help with that, but OKC could shed money elsewhere—like the big team options tied to Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort—if it wanted to keep him. Or it could take Davis to the trade market and trust general manager Sam Presti to find a deal that makes the future financial road easier to navigate without torpedoing the talent base.

Wait, how are we three paragraphs into this without acknowledging that this 60-win machine would be adding the No. 1 pick?! A roster this stacked with talent can make anyone look good, but it's awesome to envision Peterson slotting alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the backcourt, or Dybantsa electrifying the wing rotation or Boozer boosting the frontcourt with his polish and do-it-all versatility.