Hachimura and Gafford are the future of Washington’s frontcourt:

Outside of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, it has been hard to find consistency amongst the rest of this roster, but Rui Hachimura and Daniel Gafford have been pulling their weight as of late and were huge for Washington in Game 4. 

The two frontcourt players combined for 32 points on 12-16 shooting from the floor, including three made threes by Hachimura. In addition to his 20 points, Rui Hachimura also added 13 rebounds to his name. 

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Both Hachimura and Gafford were key down the stretch for the Wizards in this game and given their athleticism and energy, they were able to help Washington pull out a “do-or-die” game against Philadelphia. 

While the 76ers will likely still win the series, these two young big guys are going to be a part of the core for Washington moving forward. Both guys are under contract for two more seasons with team options each of those seasons, giving the Wizards front-office all of the leverage in terms of their future with this team. 

However, both guys have exceeded the expectations placed upon them and could be two key core players to build with next to Westbrook and Beal next season. Having a strong frontcourt nowadays is extremely important and with the boost Gafford has given this team since he came to them at the trade deadline, it is hard to imagine that they will not renew his contract for next season. The same goes for Rui Hachimura, who was drafted 9th overall by Washington in 2019.