Washington Wizards Rewind: The 2019 NBA Draft, Cam vs. Rui

With the 9th selection in the 2019 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards selected forward Rui Hachimura from Gonzaga. Was it the right choice?

After some bad luck at the 2019 lottery, the Washington Wizards went into the NBA draft with the 9th pick. Picking 9th is never easy as the further away you get from the top 5 the murkier things get.

Pundits were all over the map with their mock drafts as to who the Wizards may take, but one name that seemed to pop up quite frequently was Cam Reddish, from Duke.

As the draft unfolded, Reddish was, in fact, available and fell further in the draft than many had suspected. The Wizards, however, opted to go with Rui Hachimura out of Gonzaga instead and Reddish went with the next pick to the Atlanta Hawks.

With some analysts not expecting Reddish to fall this far, some saw it as a bit of a surprise when the Wizards decided to go with Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura. As two guys who went with consecutive picks, they will be forever linked.

So halfway through their first year, how do the two stack up?

Lead Up

Coming out of college, you could honestly not have had two more polar opposite players in reference to how they got to the league. Reddish was the #3 recruit out of high school in Pennsylvania and went on to be a one-and-done at Duke. However, as such a high recruit, Reddish was a disappointment in college playing next to Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett.

Reddish soon entered the draft, finishing his lone college season averaging 13.5 points and 3.1 rebounds on only 39 percent shooting from the field and only 33 percent from three.

Rui, on the other hand, was an older prospect who spent three seasons at Gonzaga. He came over from Japan to attend college and was ranked #136 coming out of high school.

Rui needed a little more time to develop and earn his minutes under Gonzaga coach Mark Few. After a freshman year in which he played sparingly, Rui came on strong his sophomore and junior years in which he was an integral part of Gonzaga’s NCAA tournament success.

After a quality college career, Rui entered the draft after averaging 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds on 61% shooting.

Scouting Report

So from their college and high school careers, you once again had two polar opposite prospects to choose from.

Reddish, on one hand, had NBA measurables and his potential was through the roof, but he severely underperformed in college. Cam at his highest point has been linked to being comparable to a Paul George archetype.

Cam has a smooth jump shot, he’s a long-armed strong defender and showed at times he could take over games at both ends. However, he never shot well in college and at times at Duke looked very passive and out of the game. So drafting him was definitely a risk, based on potential.

Cam was the epitome of a boom or bust prospect with a low floor and a high ceiling.

Whoever drafted Reddish would have to be a good fit and an organization that would be able to develop him in the correct way. They would need to be able to develop his jumper and he would not fit as a top option for any team to start out.

Hachimura, on the other hand, was a bit more of a sure thing.

Rui definitely does not have the ceiling of Reddish, but Rui’s game was refined enough that he could immediately come in and contribute. Rui was known as a hard-nosed slasher who has a sound game offensively and his midrange game is elite. However, Rui has also struggled defensively and his three-point shot needs a lot of work.

Rui was thought to be a more high floor low ceiling type of player. One who may never be a superstar but definitely would be a good player from start to finish.

Year 1

So, as we know Rui ended up being selected 9th by the Wizards and Cam went 10th to the Hawks. Fit-wise, the Washington Wizards would have been fine with either player. Rui came in as a stretch 4 who could quickly replace the departed Markieff Morris which was a huge help.

Thus far into season one, Rui has shown flashes of quality play on the offensive end. He has improved his three-point shot and has been a model of consistency throughout the year. He did miss some time due to injury early in the season but returned back to form.

He was also named to the Rising Stars game along with teammate Moritz Wagner where he played very well, finishing with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The scouting report has been pretty on point thus far, Rui has played very well and although he has not been a star, he’s been a very quality starting Power Forward averaging 13.9 points and 6.0 rebounds on 48% shooting.

Cam Reddish on the other hand has had an interesting season. He played pretty poorly offensively to start the season but showed a lot of high-end ability defensively. At one point he was shooting below 30 percent from three, which definitely does not help the Hawks.

However, over the past few months Reddish has started to play more comfortably. He still has been a very quality defender and has worked his averages up to 9.3 points and 3.7 rebounds on 35 percent shooting from the field, and 32 percent from three.

Verdict

So, all in all, you again have two very different prospects that you can choose from, but which one is better off in a Washington Wizards uniform?

Cam the higher ceiling, up-and-down player? Or Rui the lower ceiling, more consistent player?

I think as of right now with the Washington Wizards looking to get back into playoff contention with John Wall coming back soon, you need as many young contributors as possible. So with that being said, with the mindset that Washington has, Rui Hachimura is the answer.

With a team trying to get back into the mix, the Wizards need some young reinforcements who can come in and contribute both now and in the future, and as of right now, it seems like that is what they have in Rui Hachimura.

Had the Wizards decided to go into a rebuild mode, Cam is probably the better option. With a team still trying to grow together and given the chance to work his way in, Cam is probably better suited in Atlanta with his high upside and raw talent.

Both players I still believe will be good moving forward, however, as of right now, it appears that both teams may have gotten the guy that they needed.