Washington Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld may not be done wheeling and dealing, after his Wednesday night trade for Pelicans point guard Tim Frazier. David Aldridge reported that the team is looking at ways to get into the top of the second round of tonight’s NBA Draft. So will they make a move? Or will Wizards fans have another draft night where the picks have no direct impact on the team?
Wednesday night, the Wizards made their first of many projected offseason moves, trading the 52nd pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for Tim Frazier. The overall sentiment amongst NBA writers is that the Wizards got a steal for a player actually capable of being the team’s backup point guard next season.
Frazier is on the last year of his contract, but the team was able to take care of its biggest current need, a way to limit John Wall‘s minutes next season.
But, although the trade seems to be a positive, there’s a small part in every fan, that is disappointed the team won’t have a pick in the upcoming draft. That’s human nature. That frustration is also more because of the team trading its 2017 first round pick for the third time in four seasons.
So when news popped up that the Wizards are looking to get back into the draft, my ears perked up. Still it leaves us wondering, who will the team target, and what must it give up?
Let’s assume the Wizards trade for a pick between 35 and 42. So not the first four picks of the second round. Recent mock drafts have a variety of players being taken in this range, including guards Josh Hart, Monte Morris, Tyler Dorsey, and forwards Jordan Bell, Caleb Swanigan, and Alec Peters.
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The Wizards have a good amount of flexibility now in who to select if they do trade into the draft. Bringing in Frazier limits their need for a backup point guard, but him only being under contract for one more season opens up the possibility the team drafts a young point guard to groom. Of course, they still have Tomas Satoransky improving his game, but of course the team won’t hesitate to draft a player they think will be a better fit.
Another factor, is to consider who the team would have to trade. It’s possible they could trade two future second round picks to get into what is considered an extremely deep draft. Meanwhile, the team doesn’t have many tradeable assets in that second round pick range.
Some of the players are either untradeable, while others the team would want a first round pick for. Grunfeld mentioned just yesterday that Gortat was in the team’s future plans. It doesn’t seem he would dump him for just a second round pick.
I expect the Wizards have their eyes on two or three players, and will wait to see if they are still around at the top of the second round before making a trade. Potentially Satoransky and a future second round pick gets it done.
Next: Washington Wizards: Welcome Tim Frazier
As always, Wizards fans will have to stay patient, and watch the GMs do their draft day magic.