An in-depth look at the Wizards’ 2023 Summer League roster

The Las Vegas Summer League kicks off on Friday, July 7, but the Wizards don’t begin their campaign until Saturday at 8 p.m. EST against Indiana. Their remaining scheduled games are on July 9 at 7:30 p.m. EST against Boston, July 11 at 10:30 p.m. EST against San Antonio, and July 14 at 5:00 p.m. EST against Oklahoma City.

The team has finally announced the names of the players who will be competing for this year’s team.

I would assume most fans, myself included, are excited to see how rookies Bilal Coulibaly and Tristan Vukcevic looks in their first minutes representing the organization. I am equally looking forward to seeing if Johnny Davis appears ready to take a step forward in his second season. Given the makeup of the roster and the lack of a pure point guard, I would expect to see on-ball reps for both Davis and Coulibaly.

Xavier Cooks and Quenton Jackson are likely names that you’re familiar with as they each some spent time with the Wizards last season. Anyone who watched the Capital City Go-Go down the stretch has seen Jules Bernard, as he became one of their key contributors after they acquired him mid-season. In 32 games, Bernard averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.

Let’s take a closer look at the names you may not be as familiar with.

Kyle Alexander

Kyle Alexander, a 6’10 big man, spent four years at the University of Tennessee and averaged 7.38 points, 6.68 rebounds, and 1.73 blocks as a senior. Alexander went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft but was picked up by the Miami Heat.

Alexander played two games for the Heat during the 2019-2020 season but spent most of that year with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. There he averaged 10.57 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.17 blocks. He played for Portland in last year’s Summer League and Valencia Basket, a EuroLeague team, this past season.

Having seen Alexander in person at two previous Summer Leagues, I think you can count on him to run the floor hard and be active on defense and the boards.

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Osun Osunniyi

Iowa State big man Osun Osunniyi was the first person named to the roster. He spent his first four college seasons at St. Bonaventure and transferred to Iowa State for his final year. The 24-year-old previously worked out for the Wizards in early June in the same session that featured Cason Wallace and Nick Smith Jr.

He has a 7’8 wingspan and recorded 2.7 blocks per game in four seasons at St. Bonaventure. Osunniyi averaged 8.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks this last season at Iowa State.

Osunniyi only made four threes in college and is a career 65% free throw shooter so I wouldn’t bet on him ever becoming much of a perimeter shooting threat. But as a mobile, rim-running, shot-blocker, he’s worth a flier and could be a good potential addition to the Capital City Go-Go.

Dejan Vasiljevic

Dejan Vasiljevic is the second member of the Sydney Kings to join the roster, joining his teammate of Cooks the last few season.

Vasiljevic, a 6’3 guard, is a high-volume perimeter shooter, making 38.8% of this 6 three-point attempts per game. Prior to that, he spent four seasons playing at the University of Miami. As a senior, he averaged around 13 points and 4 rebounds per game. Over his four seasons of college basketball, he made 36.7% of his 5.8 three-point attempts per game.

Vasiljevic played for the Suns’ Summer League team last season but didn’t get much playing time. I would expect a similar situation for him with the Wizards, unless they’re really banking on him to provide some spacing for the team.

DJ Stewart

Dewayne Stewart Jr. is a 6’6 wing who played for two seasons at Mississippi State before going undrafted in 2021. As a redshirt sophomore, Stewart average 16 points, 3.39 rebounds, 3.12 assists, and 1.36 steals. He also made 34.4% of his 4.58 three-point attempts per game.

Stewart spent most of the last two seasons playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In 17 Showcase Cup games in 2022-2023, he averaged 22.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals. He made 35.9% of his 3.8 three-point attempts per game. In 23 regular season games, he averaged 21.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals. He made 33.7% of his three-point attempts during that stretch.

Stewart is a versatile player (and scorer) who will produce at a high-level if given the opportunity. He would make for an interesting addition to the Capital City Go-Go and could probably even contribute in NBA minutes if called up during the season.

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Donovan Williams

Donovan Williams is a 6’6 wing who spent two seasons at Texas before playing his last college season at UNLV. In 2021-2022, his junior and final season, he averaged 12.7 points, 3.33 rebounds, and 1.11 assists. He also made 43.6% of his 2.89 three-point attempts per game.

In 2022-2023, Williams played eight games for the Long Island Nets, two games for the Atlanta Hawks, and 24 games for the College Park Skyhawks. In 32 total G League games, he averaged 13.38 points, 4.19 rebounds, 1.41 assists, and 1.12 steals. He only made 30.8% of his 4.16 three-point attempts per game. Williams is another athletic, switchable wing that seems to fit what Will Dawkins and company are interested in.

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For anyone wondering about the absence of Ryan Rollins and Patrick Baldwin Jr., given that this roster still has room to add players, I would expect them to be late additions once the trade is finalized in a few days.