For the first time since 2018, the Washington Wizards will be picking outside of the lottery. Although they are picking later in the first round than they did in each of the last two drafts, they are once again looking for a player that can come in and make an immediate impact. Rui Hachimura, who earned a spot on the All-Rookie second team in 2020, did that. Deni Avdija not so much.
Picking outside of the lottery will make it harder for the Wizards to get a sure thing in the draft. For what it’s worth, though, each of the last three MVP awards has gone to players picked outside of the lottery (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic). So the Wizards are far from hopeless. Every draft, there are plenty of picks outside of the top ten that pan out or even excel.
The Washington Wizards must use the NBA Draft to fix their biggest issues.
Whoever the Wizards decide to take at #15, that player will need to be a solution and not a redundancy or a project. Meaning, the Wizards need to select someone who will help them fix the issues that were all too apparent last season. They don’t need a versatile, do-it-all player that still needs to find his strength, nor do they need a player that will help bolster a strength. Now’s not the time for projects.
On draft night, the Washington Wizards need to draft (or trade for) a player that will help them address one of their most pressing needs…
The Washington Wizards must address three-point shooting
No matter how you look at it, the Washington Wizards were among the worst three-point shooting teams last season. They shot it fewer than most teams, just 29 times each game (29th). They made it fewer than most teams, just 10.2 times each game (28th). And their average — 35.1 percent — was worse than most teams, too (23rd).
Individually, the Wizards did not have much firepower from beyond the arc. Of the seven players on the roster that shot at or above league-average from three (36.7 percent), four of them shot more than two three-pointers per game. Of those four, only three played more than 10 games for the Wizards: Davis Bertans, Garrison Mathews, and Raul Neto. Despite the numbers, Neto is no real three-point threat. And Mathews struggled to find consistent minutes, limiting his overall impact. Oh, and both could be gone by next season as they’ll both be free agents on August 2. Beal will always attract attention on the perimeter, but he shot below 36 percent for his third season in a row and below 38 percent for his fourth. Davis Bertans was really the Wizards’ only reliable three-point threat, and even he failed to live up to expectations.
With the 15th pick in the draft, the Wizards should look at Corey Kispert of Gonzaga and Chris Duarte of Oregon as potential picks that could increase their three-point potency.
The Washington Wizards must address wing position/perimeter defense
New draft, same story. The Wizards need a wing defender, and they need one bad. It’s not the first time the Wizards have entered the draft needing a wing defender, either. It was the case in 2018 when they drafted Troy Brown Jr. It was the case in 2019 when they drafted Rui Hachimura. And it was the case in 2020 when they drafted Deni Avdija. Still, the Wizards are searching for their perimeter stopper.
There’s no better indicator of just how badly the Wizards need a wing than the lineups they used in the playoffs vs. the Philadelphia 76ers. Throughout the five-game series, the Wizards only really used one wing player: Davis Bertans. Otherwise, they were running with three-guard lineups, which were routinely exposed by the likes of Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons. Even in the play-in games, Boston’s Jayson Tatum made the Wizards pay for their wing deficiency and exploded for 50-points as the Celtics routed the Wizards.
The Wizards won’t stop anyone if they don’t add some resistance on the perimeter. New head coach Wes Unseld Jr., who was responsible for some great defenses in Denver, should help the Wizards improve on the defensive end, regardless. But to make the Wizards into a defensive force, he’ll need the right personnel, as well.
With the 15th pick in the draft, the Wizards should consider Moses Moodey of Arkansas and Herbert Jones of Alabama as potential picks that could solidify their defensive stature.