The Washington Wizards currently hold the No. 6 and No. 18 overall picks in the first round of the upcoming NBA Draft.
In addition to their current first-round selections, Washington also holds an additional pick at No. 40 overall.
Of course, Washington could be open to potentially bringing in three rookies and potentially more assuming they remain active on the trade market.
However, there's also a scenario in which the Wizards are positioning themselves to make a bold move in the upcoming draft to give them a chance at selecting one of the top three prospects in the draft class.
That said, let's dive into the rumors that are currently swirling around the Wizards.
Wizards eyeing trade up?
Since the Wizards nightmare scenario became a reality in the NBA Draft Lottery falling to the No. 6 overall pick, all eyes have been on the potential that Washington could be a team considering a trade up in the draft to secure themselves a chance at selecting one of the top players available.
Ahead of the Wizards are three playoff teams hopeful of making a run next season. To be exact, those teams are the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and the Philadelphia 76ers. At least those are the squads holding a top three pick. Behind them is the Charlotte Hornets at No. 4 overall and the Utah Jazz rounding out the top five.
With Washington holding two picks in the first round of this draft and multiple win-now veterans with the potential to move, including Marcus Smart, Khris Middleton, and even Jordan Poole, to name a few, the Wizards have the ammunition to make a bold move to potentially move up in the draft order.
If the Wizards prefer not to package a veteran with one of their top picks, they could simply just trade one of the available veterans to acquire additional draft compensation to sweeten the pot for a deal.
Assuming the team on the opposite end of the deal would prefer to not take an incoming salary the size of the available the Wizards vets.
In addition to the vets, Washington also has multiple young players who have shown potential that it truly wouldn't be a surprise to see them move in a deal, especially if it puts them in position to net a top three pick.
With the drop off of talent behind Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and either of Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Wizards make a move up on draft night or maybe even sooner.