In his latest mock draft, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype had the Washington Wizards select Taylor Hendricks out of UCF. While he does have potential, as written here by Cem Yolbulan, he just isn’t the right pick for the Wiz.
With most of the offseason still ahead of us, the Wizards are left with two choices: build a roster around the current big three or tear it all down and start over. Both are entirely possible.
If they decide to continue forward with the trio of Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, and Kristaps Porzingis, they will need a point guard. This makes Anthony Black the best decision as he already fits the mold for exactly what the Wiz need.
A rebuild for the Washington Wizards makes things tricky
In their introductory press conference, more on that here, Michael Winger and Will Dawkins answered some questions on their goals and plans for the future of the franchise. Winger emphasized numerous times that the goal is to win a championship. He also said that it will take time to get there, potentially implying a rebuild.
If the newly renovated front office does decide to rebuild, the list of options at pick number eight grows significantly. They could still pick Anthony Black, a move very much in character for Will Dawkins, but there are more options that make just as much sense as well.
Many of the most successful rebuilds in recent memory started with a big swing at a high-risk high-potential draft pick. The Milwaukee Bucks selected Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2013, the Indiana Pacers took Paul George in 2010, and the Toronto Raptors selected Pascal Siakam in 2016.
Doing this allows the raw prospect a full year of development as one of the main focuses of the team, which then leads to a guaranteed high draft pick where they can then pick the best player available.
This history suggests that it may be best for the Wizards to take a raw prospect with a high ceiling with their pick. They could even trade down to do so, adding another pick or young prospect. They could also just trade one of their current stars for the tenth pick to draft a second quality prospect.
To me, the best prospect for a team just starting a rebuild is Bilal Coulibaly. A French prospect who has shown flashes of brilliant all-around play on both ends of the floor. He is already an elite defender but needs plenty of work on the offensive end. Players who fit this mold early in their career are Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The length of Coulibaly also supports these comparisons, standing at six-foot-seven and boasting a wingspan of seven-foot-three, he measures up pretty well with the first two.
The Washington Wizards should avoid taking Taylor Hendricks as there will be ample opportunity to draft other plays with much higher potential by choosing another path.