Wizards Practice Notebook: Keefe Says Sarr Is ‘trending Toward’ Returning Saturday

WASHINGTON — Less than 14 hours after a 111-109 win over the New York Knicks to open preseason play, the Wizards returned to CareFirst Arena for an early practice.

Alex Sarr, who missed Thursday’s game but is close to returning, is trending toward returning on Saturday, Brian Keefe said after Friday’s practice. Keefe said they’ll know more about Sarr’s official status tomorrow.

Khris Middleton (ramp up) is also nearing a return.

Keefe’s rotation

The Wizards’ rotation on Thursday uncovered some details. It’s reasonable to assume that, when healthy, Washington’s starting five will look as follows:

PG: Trae Young

SG: AJ Dybantsa

SF: Kyshawn George

PF: Anthony Davis

C: Alex Sarr

Deandre Ayton, Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly are the three locks to come off the bench, if those starters hold true. That leaves five players — Middleton, Bub Carrington, Justin Champagnie, Will Riley and Tre Mann — vying for the last two-to-three spots.

Keefe said nothing has been determined regarding his opening-night rotation.

“It’s still early in camp,” Keefe said. “We’re trying different combinations, seeing what works. Those [rotation] decisions haven’t been made yet.”

Carrington and Champagnie play well in opener

Both Carrington and Champagnie played well into the fourth quarter on Thursday. And they played well.

Carrington dropped Deuce McBride with a crossover into a step-back three — his second of the night. He finished with 11 points on 3-for-6 FG.

“Bub’s got the ability to make shots off the dribble and off the catch. He’s got a unique scoring ability from the three,” Keefe said. “He gave us a little bit of a burst when our offense was getting a little stagnant, which can happen early in preseason games.”

Champagnie did typical Champagnie things, particularly on defense. The 6-foot-6 forward paid homage to Jose Alvarado by stealing an inbounds pass and laying it up to quickly turn one basket into two. He added another steal when he jumped the passing lane before slamming it home in transition.

Champagnie’s best play of the night was when he came from the help side to meet James Wiseman at the rim before drilling a transition triple on the ensuing possession. He finished with 12 points (3-5 FG, 5-6 FT), two blocks and two steals.

“Justin can play with almost any lineup because of the intangible things that he does,” Keefe said. “You see the offensive rebounding. We all know the cutting and then the hustle plays he makes. He had that huge block at the rim on a help, which was great. Then he hits a three on the next possession … That’s what he does. He does winning stuff.”