Several years ago, Chad Ford at ESPN revealed a draft ranking system employed by several teams that have been very successful in the draft. It's called a "Tier" system. You group players based on overall talent into tiers. Then you rank the players in each tier based on team need.
A team should always draft the highest-ranked player in a given tier; and never take a player from a lower tier if one from a higher tier is available. This keeps teams from reaching for a player based only on team needs, disregarding the higher rated player in the process.
In the case of the Wizards, with Nene's expiring contract, and the presumed departure of Seraphin and Pierce's, my opinion is that Power Forward should be the top team need; preferably a player that could eventually become a "stretch-4". The next highest need would be a Guard; hopefully a guard that could come off the bench and play both the 1 and 2. And finally, a back-up Center.
So here is my tiered draft prospect rankings, taking into account the Wizards' team needs.
Tier 1 (Truly Transcendent, franchise changing players)
This year, I don't see a player capable of carrying a team to the finals practically by himself. A player like LeBron James or Kevin Durant is not in this draft.
Tier 2 (Sure-fire All-Stars or "franchise" players)
Karl Anthony Towns
Jahlil Okafor
Tier 3 (projected as potential All-Stars)
Kristaps Porzingis
D'Angelo Russell
Emmanuel Mudiay
Willie Cauley-Stein
Justise Winslow
Tier 4 (projected as eventual NBA starters)
Frank Kaminsky
Bobby Portis
Justin Anderson
Devin Booker
Myles Turner
Mario Hezonja
Tier 5 (either starters or top-tier rotation players)
Trey Lyles
Kevon Looney
Jerian Grant
Delon Wright
R.J. Hunter
Tyus Jones
Cameron Payne
Sam Dekker
Kelly Oubre
Stanley Johnson
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Tier 6 (could play a significant bench role)
Christian Wood
Chris McCullough
Montrezl Harrell
Rashad Vaughn
Guillermo Hernangomez
Terry Rozier
Jarell Martin
Jordan Mickey
Tier 7 (hope for the best)
Robert Upshaw
Andrew Harrison
Rakeem Christmas
Norman Powell
J.P. Tokoto
Jonathan Holmes
Cliff Alexander
Vince Hunter
Aleksandar Vezenkov
Dakari Johnson
Cedi Osman
Joseph Young
Mouhammadou Jaiteh
(* * *)
The Wizards will most likely be drafting in the Tier 5 ranked players... unless someone from Tier 4 falls. I'm hoping Bobby Portis or Justin Anderson falls to the Wizards...
Tell me what you think in the comments. Do you think I ranked someone too low? Too high? Do you see a truly transcendent player in this draft?