At shooting guard for the Wizards: Ja’Kobe Walter
Age in 2028: 23
Comparison: Klay Thompson
An elite shooter with great form while also being an elite defender. This describes top shooting guard prospect Ja’Kobe Walter to a T. Combine these skills with a smooth dribble game and a six-foot-five 190-pound frame at 18 years old, he has a high ceiling if he finds the right fit on a team.
We have seen over and over again over the past decade that having a three and d two-guard next to a ball dominant point guard can work wonders. Most if not all of the championship teams in that span have featured that build in some way shape or form in the rotation.
Combining Jordan Poole and Ja’Kobe Walter could be how the Wizards can replicate some level of the success that we have seen throughout the modern NBA. This would ring particularly true if Poole develops his playmaking like I said in the last slide.
The main issue with this pick is the fact that nearly everybody around the league believes that the Wiz will be awful this season and Walter is expected to go anywhere from fifth to fifteenth in the draft next summer.
I believe the Wizards will start next season off strong behind heavy contributions from their new acquisitions Jordan Poole and Tyus Jones alongside Kyle Kuzma. Then at the deadline, they begin to fully embrace the tank and move on from most of the players picked up from the Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis trades.
If this happens, they will have the ability to draft Walter and put together the backcourt of the future.