If you're not a Jan Vesely fan, you won't like reading this from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express:
Vesely appears to have received assurances from the Wizards that he's indeed the pick, according to reports from NBA teams who have spoken with his camp.
So yeah, there's that. Unless the Wizards trade up for Enes Kanter, the available options are pretty slim. It's pretty much Vesely, wait a year on Jonas Valanciunas (if he isn't taken by Cleveland), go with Kawhi Leonard or do what I'd do and take the Bismack Biyombo plunge.
More links below the jump:
-Michael Lee, in a blog post that is worth reading, says the Wizards have Jonas Valanciunas over Vesely on their board. Hmm...
I've heard that the Wizards have Valanciunas rated slightly ahead of Vesely, since the Lithuanian big man is two years younger and has a little more upside and room for improvement. In my story for the paper, a person with knowlege of the Wizards' thinking told me that Valanciunas "might be worth the wait" if his buyout agreement forces him to stay in Lithuania for another year.
-Mike Wise argues for Jan Vesely, essentially saying he has the "it" factor. I'm more open to Vesely than most, but this particular argument seemed kind of weak to me.
-My piece on SB Nation D.C. on Kanter. Also, here's my piece on Derrick Williams for SBNation.com.
-Sam Amick says the Wizards are still trying to move up for Kanter:
The Wizards have been eager to add the 21-year-old Czech for quite some time now, and they get their shot here. Vesely's athleticism, speed and offensive versatility would fit in nicely with the group headed by point guard John Wall. That said, sources told me the Wizards are offering the No. 6 and No. 18 picks for a chance to get into the top three and grab Kanter.
-Bill Simmons says he would trade JaVale McGee and No. 6 for Derrick Williams and Anthony Randolph.
TRADE NO. 2: Washington trades Javale McGee (25 cents) and the no. 6 pick (30 cents) to Minnesota for its no. 2 pick (50 cents) and Anthony Randolph (dime). Final tally: Washington (60 cents); Minnesota (55 cents).
I guess this one depends on your feelings for McGee: Washington believes he's a 50-cent piece and reportedly turned down a variation of this deal; I think he's a quarter and would rather build around John Wall and Derrick Williams than John Wall, Javale McGee, and the Turkish Guy (or the Lithuanian Guy, or the Congolese Guy). Then again, I'm higher on Williams than most: he's a "modern" power forward, a scorer with an inside/outside game who only hurts you defensively on those rare nights when you're facing a low-post beast like Zach Randolph. We also know he doesn't shy away from big moments, as evidenced by his memorable March Madness run (that should count for something, right?). What am I getting with McGee other than someone who lands on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays twice a week? Yeah, he can block shots, but so what? My buddy House (a huge Wizards fan) says of McGee, "He's the single most fundamentally unsound player I've ever had the displeasure of watching on a consistent basis. He's lost three out of every four plays on defense. His basketball IQ is the same as my son's basketball IQ, and my son doesn't turn one until next month." Sounds like the perfect fit with Michael Beasley! Too bad we'll never know because Washington overvalues McGee.
-Bismack Biyombo may have a bad back, which may be one reason the Wizards have no interest in him.
-Finally, here's the collaborative SB Nation mock draft, in which I picked Biyombo and Klay Thompson. I strongly doubt it actually turns out that way.