The Washington Wizards acquisitions of Trae Young and Anthony Davis ahead of the NBA trade deadline made the team's future plans to compete sooner rather than later crystal clear.
Still, with neither superstar set to see the floor anytime soon, it appears that Washington is moving forward with their sights set at one last tanking effort with the hopes of landing the final piece of the puzzle in the NBA Draft this offseason.
Considering the amount of talent in this loaded NBA Draft class, it's easy to see why the Wizards among nearly every other team in the league who's in position to tank are openly making their offseason goals obvious.
With the Wizards currently holding the second-worst record in the NBA at 14-39, the stars seem to be aligning for Washington to position themselves for one last major upside pick this offseason.
However, the team's dream plans to pair a top prospect like Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa or even Cameron Boozer to their core this offseason could turn into a nightmare if this latest NBA Mock Draft from Bleacher Reports proves true.
Wizards fall to No. 5 in recent NBA Mock Draft
Obviously, there's plenty of talented prospects headlining this offseason's NBA Draft, but with the list of players mentioned above, it's become clear who the top prospects in the draft are.
With teams lining up for the hopes to land one of Peterson, Dybantsa or Boozer, it's clear that landing in the top 3 this offseason would be a major boost for rebuilding teams, especially the Wizards, who's bad luck has continously hindered their rebuild over the last few years.
All that to say, the dreams of landing a top prospect could be derailed if the latest mock from Jonathan Wasserman comes to fruition.
A look at the Wizards projected draft haul:
Round 1, Pick 5: G Keaton Wagler, Illinois
Round 2, Pick 43 (via CHI): G Dash Daniels, Melbourne
Round 2, Pick 53 (via MIN): Richie Saunders, BYU
By no means is this a bad draft haul for the Wizards.
In fact, landing a talent like Keaton Wagler with their first pick would be a major boost for the team's future plans.
At the same time, the possibility of ending their rebuild with one last final draft swing and adding a prospect like Peterson, Dybantsa or Boozer to the mix was the dream for the Wizards this offseason.
To say the above draft class wouldn't be just slightly underwhelming considering the team's offseason hopes would be a lie.