In Kevin O’Connor’s latest mock draft piece for The Ringer, he has the Washington Wizards getting the second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Let’s go into the three players that the Wizards can go after in the upcoming draft.
1. Alexandre Sarr
O’Connor has Alex Sarr landing in D.C. The French center has shown flashes of his ability to defend at the rim and his wing-like skillset in a center body. Sarr is 6'11" and O’Connor compared him to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonathan Isaac. JJJ is last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and Issac has been dawned the Minister of Defense, so Sarr would be the ideal choice if the Wizards want to go with a defensive player for their future.
Sarr fits the modern era big who can switch onto small players and takes up space on defense. The Wizards are 28th in defensive rating, so Sarr would help improve their defense immensely. Bilal Coulibaly and Sarr would create a nice French connection and both are young, capable defenders with length, which is needed in today’s league.
Sarr has also shown the ability to play off the bounce, handling the ball like a wing and attacking the rim from the perimeter. Though Sarr isn't much of a shooter yet, he will look to improve that aspect of his game from the three-point line at the NBA level.