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The 2018 NBA Draft is three days away. This year’s draft should be interesting into since there have been rumors circulating around the league about teams considering trading up or down, and the top five picks may not be as predictable as they seem.
The Washington Wizards will head into the draft with a first round pick for the first time since 2015 when they drafted forward Kelly Oubre Jr. from Kansas. The Wizards, who clearly underachieved this season, finished with a 43-39 and were knocked out by the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Playoffs.
The Wizards showed they really lack scoring off the bench and a big man that fits today’s game. Point guard and super-max player John Wall expressed the team’s need at those positions.
“I think the way the league is going, you need athletic bigs, you need scoring off the bench, you need all of those types of things,” Wall told NBC Sports Washington. “We don’t really have an athletic big. I mean, Ian [Mahinmi] is older. [Marcin Gortat] is older. They’re not athletic guys, but they do the little things that permit their game to help as much as possible.”
The Wizards’ pre-draft workouts, which featured players like Zhaire Smith, Robert Williams, Troy Brown Jr. and Moritz Wagner, showed they are trying to fill the need of an athletic big-man or scoring wing.
It’s going to be hard for the Wizards to make those changes through free agency due to their cap situation. That’s why the draft may prove to be the best way the Wizards add depth to their roster.
The Wizards currently hold the 15th and 44th picks in the draft. They won’t be in the running from the draft’s premier players like Marvin Bagley III, Mohamed Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr., but here are some players the Wizards should consider when draft night rolls around.
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