Dybantsa Sits Wednesday; Washington Opens Without Its Centerpiece

It's confirmed now. AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall pick, will not play in Washington's season opener against Milwaukee on Wednesday. The ankle he sprained on an awkward landing in the preseason finale against New Orleans has kept him out, and the Wizards open the year without the player the entire offseason was built around showing off.

I've had two notes on this ankle since Friday, so there's not much new to add on the injury itself. What Wednesday makes official is the gap between what Washington sold and what it will put on the floor. The franchise committed over $200 million to Trae Young, acquired Deandre Ayton, and spent the No. 1 pick — and the opener against the Bucks arrives with Dybantsa in street clothes and Bilal Coulibaly headed toward restricted free agency after the two sides missed the extension deadline Sunday.

It's one game, and ankles heal. But opening night without your headliner is a small, concrete version of the larger problem this organization keeps running into: the pieces don't quite line up when it matters.