NBA Draft 2015: Why The Washington Wizards Should Draft The Best Player Available
By Ben Mehic
The Washington Wizards are coming off one of their most successful seasons despite finishing exactly where they finished two seasons ago.
John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter all took major steps forward in their development during the NBA Playoffs. Randy Wittman finally utilized the roster properly and the offense thrived as Washington played a modern brand of basketball.
With that said, the Wizards are going to look to add players this off-season that will help them play quicker and smaller next year. Besides trades and free agency, Ernie Grunfeld is going to have a chance to utilize the draft to build a roster around Washington’s young core.
Unlike a lot of teams that progressed this past season, though, the Washington Wizards aren’t just missing one or two pieces before making a push to the NBA Finals.
Quite frankly, they’re in a weird situation. Wall and Bradley Beal, who’s going to sign a max-contract extension with the team, are going to be in the nation’s capital for a long, long time.
But, besides their star studded back court, Porter and Marcin Gortat, the Wizards don’t necessarily have any players that are guaranteed to come back next year. The group that finished the season this year probably doesn’t have the talent to win a championship even with a healthy Wall.
Washington isn’t in a place to say, “we’re missing this type of player” before taking the next step.
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We’re less than a month away from the NBA Draft and the Wizards will begin predraft workouts on Monday.
That specific workout will be headlined by Jerian Grant and Delon Wright — two point guards slated to get picked from the late-lottery to late in the first round.
Washington didn’t have much depth at either guard position this past season, and once Wall got hurt in Game-1 of the semifinals, consequently missing three games, their season was essentially over.
Ramon Sessions was surprisingly solid after arriving to D.C. for Andre Miller, but it wasn’t enough to overcome such a devastating loss. Will Bynum was signed to a deal late in the season, and even though he did provide a spark at times, he was a liability defensively and his perimeter shooting left a lot to be desired.
If Grant or Wright are available at no.19, the Wizards will certainly consider the guards.
But that’s not the only position of need for Washington.
Players and fans alike have talked about the team adding a stretch four this off-season.
Nene’s inability to play alongside Marcin Gortat was spotlighted in the playoffs. The Brazilian big man struggled on both ends of the floor and Wittman played small for most of their run, via CSN Washington:
"Gortat on the team’s needs: “As much as I love Nene, and I think Nene understands this, too, I would love to play with a stretch four, with a guy who shoots the ball from the three-point line because that automatically gives me more room under the basket to operate. It gives me more opportunity to play pick-and-rolls to the paint where the paint is open.”"
The Wizards will certainly add a stretch four this off-season.
They’ll have the opportunity to use their mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception to find a forward who’s capable of spacing the floor for Wall, Beal and the rest of their wing players.
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Paul Pierce took on that role during the playoffs, but the soon-to-be 38-year-old could end up re-uniting with Doc Rivers in Los Angeles.
Given the connection Pierce has with Rivers and L.A. being his hometown, I would not expect Pierce back in the nation’s capital next season.
Still, even if Pierce returns, he’s not capable of playing the four spot throughout the course of an 82-game season.
At this point in his career, he’s just not a long-term option nor solution to Washington’s problem.
With the game evolving the way it has, college basketball players have begun to play similar roles they’ll likely play in the NBA.
Players like Bobby Portis and Kevon Looney, who’s linked to the Washington Wizards, will likely be available when it’s Grunfeld’s turn to select a prospect in June. They’ve both had success with shooting the ball from the outside in college and will likely become “stretch fours” once they transition to the next level.
If Pierce and Rasual Butler, who are both at the tail ends of their respective careers, do not return, the Washington Wizards are also going to have a hole at the small forward spot.
Instead of aiming to fill a specific hole in their roster, the Washington Wizards need to add the best player available in the draft in June. They need to add another guard, a forward that can space the floor, a small forward and possibly even another center.
Whether it’s Jerian Grant, Kevon Looney, Bobby Portis or whomever, the Wizards have to pick the best player available on their big board.