7 Stars the Washington Wizards missed drafting by a single pick

2006 NBA Draft, Round 2: Paul Millsap

Although the search for star talent in the second round of the NBA Draft is much more difficult, the sting of missing out on a great player burns that much more. The Wizards suffered the fate of a second-round miss during the 2006 NBA Draft, selecting a player who never appeared in the league.

Washington's selection of Vladimir Veremeenko, a 6'10" forward from Belarus, came just one pick after back-to-back picks for the Utah Jazz, the second of which the team used to take Louisiana Tech's Paul Millsap.

Veremeenko's appearance in the 2008 Summer League was his only showing as a member of the Wizards before the team traded his NBA contract rights to the Chicago Bulls as salary filler in 2010. Shortly there after, Millsap began to come into his own for Utah.

Millsap averaged 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in his first year as a full-time starter for the Jazz. Although he would not stick around in Utah, Millsap earned four All-Star appearances in his next stop with the Atlanta Hawks, finishing top five in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2016.

2007 NBA Draft, Round 2: Marc Gasol

The very next summer, the Wizards took another stab at finding a diamond in the rough, this time passing on a player who would turn out to be a 13-year NBA veteran: Marc Gasol.

The younger of the two Gasol brothers, Marc was drafted by the Lakers one pick after the Wizards selected Fresno State's Dominic McGuire with the 47th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. The Lakers would later swap Marc's draft rights in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies that returned Pau Gasol to Los Angeles.

Unlike many of the players on this list, McGuire did spend a considerable amount of time in the District, playing three seasons in a Wizards uniform. However, his role with the team never developed beyond that of a depth option, averaging just 2.5 points on 15.8 minutes per game.

The Wizards would trade McGuire to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for cash considerations and a protected second round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. The protections did not allow the pick the convey to Washington, leading Sacramento to draft Hassan Whiteside with what otherwise would have been the return for McGuire.