NBA Draft 2014: Three NBA Draft Scenarios For the Washington Wizards in the Second Round
By Ben Mehic
Although the Washington Wizards will not be selecting in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft in just a few days, they do have a second round pick and there has been some speculation about what they may or may not choose to do with it.
Similar to that of last year’s pick, the Washington Wizards won’t need their second round pick to contribute next season. Otto Porter, who was picked third overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, didn’t get much playing time because Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster played the majority of minutes at small forward, and I’d anticipate a similar outcome from this year’s pick.
Regardless, this year’s NBA Draft is considered to be one of the deepest drafts in quite some time and the Wizards could potentially find a steal with the 46th overall pick.
Here are just a few scenarios of what they could do with the selection.
– Draft the best player available
In the past, the Wizards have opted to use the draft in order to address their needs and it hasn’t worked out the way they expected. Shelvin Mack was supposed to become the team’s backup point guard, but didn’t get much of a chance to develop and was ultimately waived by the Washington before ending up with the Atlanta Hawks. The Wizards are essentially set at the point guard and shooting guard positions with John Wall and Bradley Beal, so they might opt to just take the best player left on the board. Nene is also going to remain the starting power forward, while Washington will undoubtedly look to re-sign both Trevor Ariza and Marcin Gortat this summer.
So, it’s probably best that they take the best player available.
James Michael McAdoo recently worked out for Washington, and could potentially be the best player available when it’s Washington’s turn to pick. McAdoo was considered to be a lottery pick prior to his sophomore season at the University of North Carolina before his draft stock plummeted a few years later. Although McAdoo didn’t live up to his potential, he won’t have much pressure on him in Washington and could flourish in an up-tempo offense. McAdoo is athletic and could provide relief in spurts, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up in a Wizards uniform if he’s available at no.46.
– Fill a need
As I previously mentioned, I expect all five of Washington’s starters from this season to return next year, but that doesn’t mean their roster doesn’t have holes.
Andre Miller isn’t getting any younger and the Wizards could look to add another guard to the bench. Former Georgetown Hoya, Markel Starks, has already expressed interest in suiting up for the Wizards next season and he’ll probably be available when the Wizards are on the clock. Although Starks wouldn’t be a catastrophic pick by any means, and we all know how much the Wizards love to choose players familiar with their program, they could opt to add a bit more scoring off their bench which is one of their biggest needs heading into this offseason.
Louisville’s Russ Smith could fill a need for Washington and he could also be the best player available, but more importantly, he’d give the Wizards another scoring option off the bench. As Umair Khan pointed out in the linked article, Garrett Temple will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and Russ Smith could fill his role next season.
Washington’s need for a backup guard may be well documented, but I tend to believe that their need for depth especially at the front court positions is even more necessary. Florida’s Patric Young could find himself in Washington’s rotation if the Wizards decide to let both Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin walk this summer, ultimately filling a need for a backup big man. Young also failed to live up to his potential at Florida, but the Wizards will likely sign a veteran big man this offseason and Young won’t be called upon to do much in Washington.
– Draft a project player or stash the pick
Commonly referred to as the “draft and stash”, the Washington Wizards are no stranger to selecting an international player with hopes of him eventually coming over to the states. Unfortunately for Washington, their latest “draft and stash” candidate, Tomas Satoransky, doesn’t seem too interested in coming over any time soon.
Luckily for you guys, I’m an expert in all things international basketball (I’m not) so I’ll give you the lowdown on some prospects that may be available in the second round. According to NBADraft.net; Serbia’s Vasilje Micic, Spain’s Walter Tavares (who’s compared to Peter John Ramos…) and Italy’s Alessandro Gentile (who I’ve actually watched before and have been impressed…) are all supposed to be picked in the second round.
Besides stashing the pick, Washington could draft a developmental project player who could contribute further down the road. As I already stated, the Wizards won’t expect their second round pick to contribute any time soon and they could opt to draft a player who may not be ready to play right now, but does have a bit more upside. New Mexico State’s Sim Bhullar is considered to be a project big man, while Thanasis Antetokounmpo has spent time in the NBA Developmental League and it probably wouldn’t hurt if he spends another season in the NBADL.
So, that about does it. The Washington Wizards will have plenty of options if they decide to keep their second round pick in one of the deepest NBA Draft’s in quite some time.