The lottery fell out of the Washington Wizards’ favor and consequently, the Wizards fell to the #9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. But all is not lost.
Going into the draft lottery last week, the Wizards had a 3.8% chance of falling to the 9th pick. In the most Wizards fashion ever, they ended up with exactly that – 9th pick – after finishing with the 6th-worst record in the NBA. The pick is locked in. Now the question becomes what will the Wizards do with this pick?
The current roster is in turmoil with only six players signed to return next season, so as of now the best move to make in the draft is very much in the air. There is always the possibility of trading back in the draft and trying to make something out of the pick. The dreams of a wing player such as Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, or Jarrett Culver falling to the Wizards still exist as well. Although those dreams further form a reality than hoped.
Point Guard Prowess
With a glaring hole at the point guard position and John Wall‘s impending injury absence, the best move for the Wizards is drafting someone who can play the 1 or the 2 guard spot. The best players available at this position are Coby White from UNC and Darius Garland from Vanderbilt.
If either fall to the Wizards, they’d be making a mistake by passing on them.
Garland only made 5 appearances with Vanderbilt this past season after undergoing season-ending knee surgery. Regardless, many scouts still label him as the top point guard prospect in this draft class. Garland shoots the three extremely well, almost 48% in his five games. And the Wizards could certainly use some help from behind the arc. At only 19 years old, he already stands at 6′ 2″, 175 pounds and Garland still has plenty of time to grow both physically and as a basketball player. His future certainly looks bright.
Coby White also boasts a rock solid frame at 6’5″, 185 pounds and again, is only 19-years-old. Feel old yet?
Unlike Garland, White had a full body of work this season and impressed every step of the way. As with any freshman, White had his moments. But overall, he showed why he is a bonafide lottery pick and has a game that will translate to the next level. In his freshman year at UNC, White averaged 16 points per game and shot 42% from the field. To put it in layman’s terms, White can shoot the lights out of a gym in a heartbeat.
Another 19-year-old phenom who the Wizards would be lucky to have is Romeo Langford. Langford’s draft stock has dropped a little bit after his underwhelming freshman season at Indiana. In his only year of collegiate basketball, Langford averaged 16.5 points per game, but his effort levels at certain times seemed nonexistent. Effort issues aside, Langford has all the tools to make the jump to the NBA and I think will be one of the major sleepers to come out of this year’s class.
Take Your Pick
The Wizards can’t go wrong in getting any of these three guys. The pick may not be as high as hoped for, but the options at the nine spot are still very promising. The obvious next step is acquiring a new GM and then comes acquiring a fresh young point guard to bring some life back to the franchise.
With talks between the Wizards and Tim Connelly heating up, they could be done with step one sooner rather than later.