Ranking the top 10 draft prospects for the Washington Wizards

The last decade has seen the Washington Wizards make draft blunders on a regular basis. Now, with multiple draft savvy new names in the front office, there is hope for change. That will all start with this year’s NBA Draft.

With one of the deepest drafts in NBA history, the 2023 Draft is going to be the turning point for numerous franchises lucky enough to have good picks. The Washington Wizards could very well be one of these teams despite picking eighth overall.

This new front office has a pretty consistent type of player they like to draft early on. Two of them, Michael Winger and Will Dawkins, spent significant time together under Sam Presti, while Travis Schlenk also follows much of the same vision when selecting players.

All of these executives like bigger players with defensive versatility and above all, the ability to create plays for themselves and others. While they appreciate the ability to shoot the ball, they will occasionally settle for a player with a weaker shot if they check all of the other boxes.

Names that have been drafted with the help of the Wizards’ new powerhouse front office that fit this mold include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and AJ Griffin. While there are other names as well, these are the main names to focus on. It is likely that the Wizards follow this pattern.

Assuming they don’t move up in the draft, it seems incredibly unlikely that they have any chance of drafting names like Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, or Amen Thompson. All of these players will go top five and for that reason, are left off of my ranking.

Gradey Dick is a player who could help the Washington Wizards on day one

Due to him seeming like a high floor, low ceiling type of player, Gradey Dick lands at tenth on this list. His shooting abilities are impressive and he’s a sneaky athlete for his size, but that’s about where things end for his strengths.

While he fits the mold of a player that new general manager Will Dawkins would draft, an oversized shooter who can pass the ball and has a nice handle, he is a huge question mark on the defensive end.

Although he is a towering shooting guard standing at six-foot-seven and he knows where to be and when, he reacts a tad slow, allowing players to beat him defensively. This wouldn’t be a problem on a team like the Cleveland Cavaliers where they have two shot blockers, but the Washington Wizards have problems keeping their big men on the floor, so maybe he wouldn’t be the best selection.