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Washington Wizards NBA Draft 2015 Preview: Why They Should Trade For Another Pick

ByOsman Baig|

The Washington Wizards go into the 2015 NBA Draft with two selections including a first round pick — this after not having a 1st round selection in the 2014 NBA draft (traded for Marcin Gortat) and bypassing the draft completely after agreeing to sell their second round selection to the Los Angeles Lakers .

This was a far cry from the strategy employed when the Wizards’ unofficially began their rebuild in 2010. In 2010 the Wizards had two 1st round picks of their own, acquired the rights to Kevin Seraphin in a trade that was agreed upon with Chicago pre-draft, and went on to acquire rookie Jordan Crawford prior to the trade deadline.

The following year the Wizards had two first round draft picks again (the second first round pick came with Jordan Crawford in the trade with Atlanta) and had three rookies on their opening night roster.

Fast forward to the future and the Washington Wizards are no longer rebuilding.

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A shift in philosophy occurred.

Outside of John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter, much of the youth that made up the roster is gone and the and in its place are older veterans, many of whom are on short term deals.

This wasn’t done by coincidence; an emphasis was placed on bringing in veteran players who can teach the younger players how to play winning basketball and the results have been relatively positive.

It’s time for another shift — not back to the strategy employed in 2010 (because Randy Wittman would lose his mind if he had to coach four rookies on a playoff team), but the draft must be prioritized again.

The core is in-place and there’s money to spend on a young veteran free agent as soon as next summer but the back-end of the roster is in a state of transition. The Washington Wizards have been limited by having to rely on veterans who go through the ups-and-downs and come along with limitations that their age and resume would suggest.

The team is in need of an infusion of youth on the back end of the roster; young players who can potentially fill the Wizards’ needs on a long-term basis. The 19th pick is a start, but in such a deep draft it’s time for the Wizards to cannonball their way back into the deep end of the draft pool and acquire an additional 1st round pick.

The crew here at Wiz of Awes recently completed a mock draft and one thing stood out to me while we as a group went through our selections — this is a deep draft and there are a lot of players at positions of need who can help the Washington Wizards now or down the road that are projected in the latter portion of the draft.

The rookie contracts, in particular, are an added benefit.

For a team that is dearly trying to position themselves to be a player in the free agency class of ’16, having bottom half of the 1st round rookie contracts on the books will enable them to set aside money for a free agency run without going out to the market with a depleted roster.

Just as an example: the $1,266,000 slot for the 19th selection in the 2014 Draft (players can sign for 120% of the rookie scale) was eclipsed by everyone on the roster outside of Drew Gooden, Garrett Temple, Rasual Butler and Will Bynum.

Why This Draft?

That starts with looking at the Washington Wizards’ primary needs.

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The coaching staff seems to finally be embracing the notion of small ball, opening up the floor, and playing with pace.

They seem to have a greater understanding of the value of surrounding John Wall and Bradley Beal with players that suit their style of play.

Based on this sentiment I would identify a stretch 4, a big man capable of guarding the perimeter, and guard depth (ideally another shooter) as the three primary needs.

If Paul Pierce retires, you can add another wing to the list as well. According to DraftExpress.com, the following players projected to go anywhere from 13-40 could fit the bill for those needs:

  • Stretch-Fours: Bobby Portis, Kevon Looney, Trey Lyles
  • PF/Cs: Montrezl Harrell, Robert Upshaw, Rakeem Christmas
  • Guards: Jerian Grant, R.J. Hunter, Delon Wright, Rashad Vaughn, Cameron Payne
  • Small Forwards: Justin Anderson, Kelly Oubre, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sam Decker

The talent in this draft would allow the Washington Wizards to fill long-standing needs that they haven’t been able to address in free agency or through trades at a low cap figure.

How Can They Acquire Another Pick?

The phrase “easier said than done” comes to mind, but Ernie Grunfeld does have some tools available to him to possibly make this happen. The first of which is next year’s 1st round draft selection.

If the Washington Wizards are successful in bringing home Kevin Durant in 2016, it’s all-in at that point. Their goal would be the NBA Finals and developing a rookie in 2016 would be far from the focus. Why not then leverage that pick for a selection a year sooner so that whoever is selected has one full year in the system under their belt by the time the summer of ’16 rolls around.

A second key tool that can be used are the Washington Wizards’ trade exceptions.

The Wizards have a $4.65MM TPE, or Traded Player Exception, from the Andre Miller trade which could be used to take on salary from a team willing to part with a selection in order to create additional cap room or space under the luxury tax.

The TPE isn’t large, but Dallas for example has already been rumored to want dump Raymond Felton’s contract. Would they part with their first round pick to create additional cap room needed for free agency?

Then you also have the rights to our good friend Tomas Satoransky and of course – CASH (I mean, don’t they owe us after last year?). Can any of these assuredly get the Washington Wizards an additional pick in Round 1? No, but if the right scenario presents itself all you need is one GM to agree to dance.

As expectations continue to increase, it’s safe to say the rebuild in Washington is over. That does not have to mean the draft should become an afterthought.

The Washington Wizards have quickly gone from being one of the youngest teams in the NBA at the start of the rebuild to now one of the oldest. The core that’s in place can and should be supplemented by drafting players who can grow and develop in their system. Young players who will be in a much better position to contribute given the locker-room and professional environment that exists now; an environment that did not exist just a few short years ago.

Next: Wizards Draft Primer: The Big Men

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