Looking To The Draft

Losing sucks, but believe it or not this franchise DOES have a future, presumably even a winning one, and hopefully soon. Given that, I look to the draft for a measure of distraction and a spoonful of hope. With all but the worst of luck the Wizards will have a top-5 pick in an absolutely loaded (as of yet) draft. Off of a gut feeling, and because after a couple tragic stories I love this kid, I want the Wizards to draft Thomas Robinson. He lives to rebound, and while he doesn't have a polished offensive game, and is largely potential on defense, he is in efficient finisher and is somewhat in the mold of Nene, though with a little more footspeed. I think a frontcourt of Robinson and McGee, while limited offensively in scale of production, could be an efficient and explosive pairing (with time).

Fortunately for the DC area, however, I am not the GM of the Washington Wizards. Despite my gut feeling about Robinson, as well as the poor defensive rebounding (2nd in opponent's offensive rebound rate last year, 5th this year) he could help alleviate, there is a bigger problem this team has: efficient offense. Despite John Wall appearing to regain form, and even take a couple steps forward (looked very composed and managed the game well against OKC, need more of that), he is still inconsistent, and an unreliable scorer most nights. Unless his jumper improves decidedly, and quickly, offensive skill is needed beside him. At the 2, some nights Nick Young looks like the best in the league, scoring with ease and hitting from everywhere, but others he disappears entirely, and on those nights the team can be hamstrung offensively. Also Jordan Crawford's reliance on a decent-at-best jumper can kill the offense. And because he brings the ball up the floor so much, he can kill it quickly. At the 3, Rashard Lewis is not even a ghost of the scorer he once was. However he is clearly not in the long-term plans of the club, so it is important to look at Singleton as a viable long-term option. I haven't been blown away by his defensive game, and while it looks good and like it'll get better, his efficiency on offense is encouraging. But in spite of that, he has a one-dimensional game (shooting), and that one-dimension is not all that great, he usually takes the right shots. And then you come to the 4, where Andray Blatche does not look like the player who could carry the burden offensively, being a primary option. Neither do Jan Vesely (though his hustle has impressed me) or Trevor Booker approach anything great offensively. And at the 5, McGee is slowly evolving into a limited but consistent scoring option, though his game depends almost entirely on Wall until he can develop that post game a little more.

I say all that to highlight this: the Wizards have no reliable scoring options, and no offensive player besides Young who can carry this team on any given night. Without asking Wall to take unreasonably large steps in his game, common sense says that a scorer is needed, a consistent, efficient, high-volume option. The numbers would agree, as the team sports a league-low in offensive efficiency, and was third-worst last year. What's more is the team assist rate, which is the second lowest this season and was the worst last year. A player who Wall can pass to, and count on to score, is a necessity. And at the time, with no real post scorers and a team of largely jump-shooters who aren't great jump-shooters, a multi-dimensional threat would be nice. So, looking back at the draft, Robinson may not be a great option. Personally, I am not too well-versed in college players, but I think the answer could be Harrison Barnes, as I don't think Perry Jones can be that guy. And that, really, is my purpose for writing this. To tell you who I think is right so you can tell me who YOU think is right. What do you say, Washington fans?