It is the most pressing question the Washington Wizards face right now, with the first night of the 2026 NBA Draft looming on June 23, just 13 days from now: What are the chances the Wizards will trade down from the No. 1 pick?It’s such an important question that it was the most widely mentioned topic when I asked readers to submit questions for a Wizards mailbag.That’s the first topic I address this week. I will get to more of your questions in a future installment.So, let’s dive in. The usual caveat applies: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and grammar.What are the chances the Wizards could extract Ace Bailey and Darryn Peterson for AJ Dybantsa? — Josh K.On the one hand, trading down in a draft this top-heavy is not insane. But the kinds of things added to sweeten such a deal are things the Wiz already have: future picks/swaps, promising young players with genuine potential and notable veterans. The one thing that would make it work, in my eyes, is a young player who has already proven he is quite likely to be a star (hello, Ace Bailey) — and I cannot see a team offering that. Given this, a trade down is essentially unlikely, correct? Or do you see it differently? — Will L.Josh: There is only one question! Will the Wizards trade down?!? — William C.Wizards officials believe that this year’s draft class includes more than one foundational player. Whether the front office puts the total number of foundational players at two, three or four is unclear.But a team source said the prevailing opinion among team officials is that two prospects have separated themselves from everyone else.That, in turn, likely negates any scenario in which Washington would entertain offers to move past the No. 2 pick, which is owned by the Utah Jazz.A primary goal of the Wizards’ multiyear roster teardown (what Wizards general manager Will Dawkins labeled the “deconstruction phase”) was to put the team in a position where it had the opportunity to select a foundational player. Given the enormous sacrifices involved with the team bottoming out in the league standings for three consecutive years, it would make little sense for the Wizards to risk not drafting an upper-tier player now by dropping out of the top two draft spots.If the Wizards’ opinion matches the apparent consensus among executives and scouts throughout the league, the two most likely players atop the Wizards’ draft board are BYU wing AJ Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, though not necessarily in that order.Although the Wizards have a preference at this moment (a preference that they’re not willing to share) and have conducted extensive research on all potential draft targets, team officials might not make a final decision on their preferred draft pick until several days before the draft at the earliest.