The Washington Wizards have found out where they'll be selecting in the first round of the upcoming NBA Draft and they have absolutely every excuse to mess this up.
Washington finds themselves as one of only a few teams holding two first round picks with the No. 6 overall pick in the lottery and the No. 18 overall pick courtesy of the Memphis Grizzlies from their trade deadline move to acquire Marcus Smart in February.
However, after their nightmare scenario became a reality on Monday night, Washington is now in position to go from a franchise-altering offseason to another few months of disappointment for Wizards fans.
Wizards offseason ruined before it started
The Wizards were tied with the highest-odds to earn the No. 1 overall pick entering Monday's NBA Draft Lottery. With the No. 18 overall pick already locked in, Washington seem poised to put together a dream offseason that could finally give the fanbase hope moving forward.
However, the opportunity to acquire Cooper Flagg is now a dead dream, but that's not even the worst part of it all. Not only are the Wizards out on Flagg, but they're also set to miss out on arguably the next best prospect behind him which is Dylan Harper.
Furthermore, falling out of the top five as a whole puts them in position to where their top pick will be all but dictated by which top prospects the five teams ahead of them pass up on.
Although there's plenty of talent in the top of this draft with potential, the problem for the Wizards is that after an abysmal season the last two years, they're rewarded with what many consider one of the worst draft classes in history last offseason and now this year they fall to the absolute lowest spot they could've.
From having no excuse to mess this offseason up, to every excuse to is one of the biggest downfalls in Wizards history. And considering this franchise has seen the likes of Michael Jordan, Gilbert Arenas, John Wall and Bradley Beal suit up for them and have absolutely nothing to show for it, that says a lot.
Nonetheles, with their draft selections finalized, the Wizards should be taking the next month to do their research, narrow down potential prospects and make sure that when draft day comes, they're prepared to take a swing on players that they feel can not only add to their young core, but improve it. because at this point, taking a swing is their only hope.