The Washington Wizards and their fanbase like nearly every organization in the league entered the season with the dream of landing Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
However, for most team's that dream wasn't much of a reality. Fortunately for Washington, the one bright spot of their trying season was the fact that for majority of the year they were in the sole lead of the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
At one point, the Wizards seemed like they would without a doubt be the team to land the generational talent, at least until rumors surfaced that his camp may be against the idea of being drafting by Washington.
Following that, the Wizards random desire to win allowed for the Utah Jazz to close the gap between them and Washington. And after Brian Keefe's squad took down the Miami Heat on a buzzer beater in the regular season finale, the Wizards officially dropped behind the Jazz, which now gives them the possibility to draft anywhere between No. 2 overall to No. 6 overall.
With that being said, Flagg in D.C. very well may be a thought in the past moving forward.
If Flagg is off the board when the Wizards selection comes, what's the best-case scenario for the Wizards? Here's a look
A pair of Scarlet Knights to choose from
While Flagg is obviously the grand prize of the available prospects in this upcoming draft class assuming he declares, there's a handful of talents who have the skillset and potential to be a franchise-altering player.
However, the two best talents behind Flagg could be the two one-and-done talents out of Rutgers.
To start, Dylan Harper has the potential to be a cornerstone for a team in the right situation. The 6-foot-6 playmaker averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4 assists, while shooting 48.4% from field goal range and 33.3% from three.
Harper has the size and potential to be a star at the next level and if the Wizards miss out on Flagg, they could pivot to the guard and land the future of their backcourt.
Nonetheless, if the Wizards have their eyes on a wing prospect, they could pivot to Harper's teammte Ace Bailey.
Bailey is listed as a guard, but his 6-foot-10 frame allows for him to play at nearly any position on the court. The Tennessee native averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds in his lone year with the Scarlet Knights, and he's now considered to be one of the top talents in this upcoming draft class.
There's no doubt that the Wizards and their fanbase hope to find a way to land Flagg, but if that doesn't become a realistic option, these two players should be their fallback plan.