Whoops!
Now that the draft order is settled, we could talk about the winners and the losers from the lottery, but that's not what we're here for. Spence, over at DC Pro Sports Report argues that the lottery "couldn't have gone better" for the Wizards, and I'm inclined to agree, unless David Stern decides to take away the East's last two seeds and give them to the West.
Now, as to who the Wizards will actually draft:
Chris Ekstrand from SI.com has the Wizards taking Tiago Splitter, NBADraft.net has them taking Jason Smith out of Colorado State. Meanwhile, ESPN's Chad Ford is sticking to his guns in his latest mock draft with USC's Nick Young. But who do the fans think that the Wizards should pick? Well, over on ESPN Conversation some Wizards fans have posted their thoughts. I'm not saying that I necessarily agree or disagree with them, just throwing them out to see what you all think:
Seriously, trade Jamison, Haywood, and our pick this year and next year for Oden. Just do it. I'm sure Portland would be thrilled.
...The 'Zards are in desperate need of anyone who can make a basket in the post. Such a player will help to bring consistency to the offense, and lead to more open looks for the guards leading to easier buckets. Right now they rely too heavily on their jump shooting, which by itself is not enough to contend for a championship. Another need could be a true point guard to distribute the ball. Easy buckets are key to being a consistent team. That being said, I give you who the Wiz should be targeting:Josh McRoberts - A year ago he was poised to be a top 10 pick but instead he decided to stay at Duke to compete for a spot in the second round of the tourney (only to be bounced by VCU). He did not look nearly as impressive as anticipated and his draft stock slipped to the mid to late 1st round. His loss can be the Wiz gain. He has a soft touch (for a big man) with either hand and is an extremely good passer. Adding him to the squad will provide a post player who they can actually run offensive sets through. I truly believe he has the potential to be a C-Webb type player (before the knee surgery.) So if he is on the board I fully expect the Wiz to put aside their fan base's Duke bias and pick him.
I think the wizards should look at Javaris Critteron (sp?) out of Georgia Tech. He is a 6'5 point guard that would compliment Gils very well in the back court. After Stevenson laid an egg in the playoffs, we really need someone in the back court that can create something by themselves. I think Javaris is perfect for that. On defense he can guard other 2's (because he does have good on the ball defense and he is 6'5) and on offense he can play the one. All Gilbert has to worry about is scoring. It can almost be like the back court we had when larry was here. It would take pressure off Gilbert to bring up the ball....extra energ on the offensive side (cuz we know Gils will not spend it on defense). Javaris can also allow everyone else to play their game (set people up for easy scoring ability...a pure point guard). I think it would make our offense run smoother...
How's this for a bold plan: trade Arenas for the #1 pick and draft Oden. I love Gil as much as the next guy, but Agent Zero has zero chance of leading the Wiz to a championship. He's done a lot for the franchise, but it's time for him to go. He's a headache in the locker room and he's hurting the team's chemistry. It also doesn't help that he never plays defense. What we need is a great big man, and Oden seems to be the best one of those to come around in a while. Now let's just figure out how we can convince Portland that Arenas is worth the #1 pick.
...I've always like to have drafted the best talent available, which would be Thaddeus Young, if he slipped this far. This guy was regarded in the same class as Durant and Oden out of HS, but had tough time adjusting to playing SF after playing C in HS. Yet, he still averaged 14 ppg. This guy can be an All-Star. Plus, we should commit to a style of play, which is the best way to succeed, a la the Warriors and Suns. The Kings a prime example of a team that hasn't committed to a style (half-court or fastbreak?) and has shown how it doesn't work. Al Thornton would work here too. Wiz have committed to an offensive, fast team, and starting Arenas, Young, Butler, Jamison, and one of our crappy centers who we've had forever, would work. But realistically, I like Sean Williams at 17. He may not give us post scoring but he will anchor our defense in the paint which we lack, kinda like Theo Ratliff or Camby. We got lots of options at this pick.
We're actually not in bad shape with the draft. Ok. Our biggest needs are a big man who can rebound and score a little bit and a 2 guard since Stevenson is probably gone. remember we have the rights to the best point guard in Spain. The Hawks have a #11 and #3 in this draft. We could probably give them the rights to Navarro and out #16 to move down to #11. That's one option. Our other options are to draft a big guy. Hawes may fall to us and maybe McRoberts or Big Baby would work. Also, we need to take a look at Nick Fazekas. I have never seen him play but his rebounding numbers look good. Barring that, why not draft Marco Bellini? He's a good sized (6'7) 2-guard who shoots lights out. (though he's been in a slump lately). We need to face the fact that we are NOT a slow down half court team and draft guys who can get out on the break and score or shoot 3's in a halfcourt set.
So here we are, the order is set, have your draft views changed? Also, how does the draft position of different teams affect the trades that were bounced around here earlier? Feel free to go nuts in the comments section.