as I think about it more, it actually bothers me a lot. it being washington's gm strategy.
As it stands, they have one lottery pick and 3 first rounders. if seattle misses playoffs [which is not out of the question and not entirely up to them] was would have 2 lottery picks.
but if you look at the people on the draft boards, and the people washington has under contract/ who they would want to lock down or protect, what they actually need to do is trade a pick for a cored player.
there is no way the league lets them get a 1-3 lottery pick, especially with the 2 year records. all that means is that they are not getting azzi, who should go #1. and they need guards. or, their high picks need to be guards.
what's going to happen in all likelihood is they will pick 4th and lauren betts will be available. and then they're in the exact same situation as this year.
they will keep austin, iriafen, citron, sheldon, amoore, and someone else in expansion [probably sutton melbourne or olsen]. what they need is a strong veteran guard. you could get that if you trade seattle and new york's picks and say olsen. what you want is a combo guard who is borderline all second team, low to sub 30s. but honestly, I don't think anyone of that degree wants to leave/ go play with a bunch of rookies.
which means they probably aren't going to have enough to get over the hump and get into playoffs next year either. sure, they can keep growing and building, but there's no guarantee your core stays together and healthy until you're in a position to run the table.
there's a reason minnesota was able to do what they did and it's because they stayed healthy and together [and had quite a bit of luck with phoenix not being able to do the same].
I think they have to trade for a veteran guard who can start in the offseason, but i don't know that they will. and if they don't, the draft capital kind of goes out the window, because I don't know if the ceiling of the 2026 draft is going to be enough to do what they want to do.