Washington Wizards Should Buy Pick In 2016 NBA Draft

By Ben Mehic | Jun 15, 2016

Mar 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Michael Gbinije (0) brings the ball up court during the first half of the second round against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Wizards don’t own a pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but they should consider acquiring one

The Washington Wizards have a tendency to completely pass on the NBA Draft and that strategy has come back to bite them in the past.

Under the Randy Wittman regime, the Wizards preferred to have veteran players at the end of their bench occupying spots on the roster.

When the team had the chance to use a second round pick in 2014, Washington gave it up to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash considerations. The player they traded, Jordan Clarkson, is considered one of the best young guards in the NBA.

The roster spot that should have went to Clarkson, or any other developing player coming into the league, was ultimately used on ancient swingman Rasual Butler.

Butler became a part of the team’s rotation quickly, displaying a seemingly automatic 3-point shot and looked like a steal for the first half of the season. But then he came back down to earth. Asking a veteran player to produce at such a high level for the duration of 82 games was pretty unrealistic.

To make matters worse, Butler stole playing time from Otto Porter, who eventually became the team’s starting small-forward.

With Wittman gone, one could only hope that sort of thinking has left too.

Washington is now being led by Scott Brooks, who’s widely considered one of the best player developers in the league. While trying to lure Kevin Durant was certainly a key reason Brooks got hired, the Wizards want the coach to tap into their young core’s potential.

John Wall, Bradley Beal, Kelly Oubre, Markieff Morris and Porter are all under the age of 26.

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And, until this upcoming season, they’ve all spent their careers playing for coaches who didn’t necessarily get the most out of the players.

The core of the team still has a lot of room to grow, which is a reason to be optimistic about the Wizards’ future.

There’s still an opportunity to add to that group of players, though.

The NBA Draft is just a couple of weeks away and the Wizards don’t own a pick.

They traded their first round pick for Morris prior to the trade deadline and parted ways with the second round selection in the three-team trade that netted Oubre.

The Washington Wizards are now put in an unfamiliar situation. Instead of being the team that trades a pick, the Wizards will have the ability to get into the draft by acquiring one.

As J.Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic noted, the Wizards only have five players under contract and agents realize that the chance of them buying a second round selection are high.

"Some agents, including Carter’s at Life Sports Management, believe there’s a strong possibility a team such as the Wizards could buy a pick or trade in."

Teams like the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics, as J.Michael also pointed out, have over a dozen picks between them.

The Nuggets and Celtics accumulated those picks with hopes of getting an asset or more picks down the line. That could happen on draft night when the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Wizards all potentially pick up the phone and look to get into the draft.

Second round picks, like the one used on Aaron White this past season, are not guaranteed roster spots nor contracts and could be stashed away overseas.

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The “draft-and-stash” strategy that’s often used is no longer just applicable to players that are in Europe, Asia or other parts of the world.

Nowadays, teams draft players coming out of college without any intention of signing them, leading the player to develop elsewhere before the team brings them back.

Washington could also do the unthinkable – acquire a second round pick with the intention of actually using it on a player who will be on the roster during the upcoming season.

This year’s NBA Draft isn’t necessarily stacked with talent, but it’s a deep draft in terms of players that could end up becoming steals.

The likes of Michael Gbinije, who spoke with the Wizards during the draft combine, Gary Payton II, Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden all have upside that might be worth a roster spot. With a solid player development staff, there’s no reason why the second round pick cannot become a contributor in the near future.

Next: Wizards Should Host Free Agent Camp

There’s going to be a lot of activity happening during the draft. Teams are going to want to move up in the draft, trade picks, swap veterans or look to acquire selections in future drafts. If the Washington Wizards are serious about adding to their young core, they should consider buying a pick this year.

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