Malcolm Brogdon is not nearly as important to the Washington Wizards’ bigger picture as Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington. But this is about choosing the best new weapon for 2024-25 alone. And he enters the season better than both.

Washington will feel a playmaking drop-off going from Tyus Jones to Brogdon. That’s great news for Carrington’s Rookie of the Year chances. The Wizards should be leaning on him out of the gate to run the offense.

But Brogdon is a driver of offense himself—quite literally. He averaged more drives in Portland last season (12.3) than Tyrese Haliburton did in Indiana (12.1) while logging almost four less minutes per game. This is a skill set that will translate to anywhere, including Washington.

Ditto for Brogdon’s shooting. He has a couple of blippy seasons on his resume, but he’s a career 39.4 marksman from deep and has cleared 41 percent on triples through each of the past two years.

Sustaining that efficiency for the Wizards could admittedly be tough. Brogdon has broadened his offensive scope to include more difficult treys, but he’s most comfortable firing off the catch. He hit 51.8 percent of his spot-up threes last year. Washington doesn’t have a bonafide passer to set him up unless Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly or Jordan Poole pops.

Even so, the plug-and-play nature of Brogdon’s offense coupled with his capacity to soak up minutes alongside other guards renders him the safe selection. If you’d prefer to bet on Carrington’s vision, Sarr’s defense, Washington trading Brogdon before the start of the season or barely using him once it does, by all means, go ahead and roll dice. Pretty much anything goes this early into a team’s rebuild.