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Top Stories of the Week: Wizards make their draft picks, Celtics want Pierce back, Emma Meesseman, and the City Slam

The Wizards were busy during the Draft and brace for free agency. The Mystics are also making noise of their own.

By Albert Lee
For a little while, even if it's just a technicality, Jerian Grant was a Washington Wizard.
For a little while, even if it's just a technicality, Jerian Grant was a Washington Wizard.
Elsa/Getty Images

The NBA Draft is over and we now are pretty certain who next year's rookies will be. And we have some more stories too around the world of D.C. hoops.

1. Wizards draft Notre Dame's Jerian Grant at #19, trade him to the New York Knicks in a three-way deal which brings Kansas' Kelly Oubre, the 15th overall pick from the Atlanta Hawks to D.C.

TL;dr version: The Wizards have Kelly Oubre!

Washington selected the Notre Dame guard with their 19th overall selection. But that was just a technicality, hence this tweet:

The reason why this was a technicality was because the Wizards agreed earlier to move up in the Draft to pick up Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre, the 15th pick whose rights were with the Hawks at the time. The Wizards and Hawks were able to swap picks with the Knicks who picked Grant's rights, in a deal that also involved the Wizards trading away two future second round picks and the Knicks trading away Tim Hardaway Jr. Ultimately, this is how the deal works out:

  • Wizards get Kelly Oubre from the Hawks
  • The Hawks get Tim Hardaway Jr. from the Knicks and two future second round picks from the Wizards
  • The Knicks get Jerian Grant from the Wizards

Jake has more analysis here and I agree with it. Oubre is a great athlete but was it worth giving up a couple future picks just to move up to the best non-lottery spot in the Draft? If Paul Pierce indeed signs elsewhere, this move may actually look quite good. But if he stays, will there be enough time to keep Oubre and Otto Porter content?

2. Wizards pick Iowa forward Aaron White with the 49th overall pick

Unfortunately, he appears to be headed to Europe. But that may not be a bad thing because later second round picks generally won't get much time on an NBA team anyway. Jake has more here.

3. The Celtics want Paul Pierce to come back home

Yes. Celtics GM Danny Ainge is reportedly considering selling The Truth that he should finish his career by being part of a New Big Three with Kevin Love and Robin Lopez, none of whom is in shamrocks just yet. Meanwhile, William & Mary's Marcus Thornton is.

Okay, I was looking for an excuse to throw W&M in there. But seriously, I don't see Pierce finishing his career in Bean Town. The Celtics won't be a championship caliber team, even if they can somehow get both Love and Lopez to sign with them.

I'm banking on Pierce either staying here in D.C. or perhaps going to the Clippers this fall.

4. Meesse-MANIA is starting to catch on, and Mike Thibault could be the Mystics' winningest head coach tonight

One theme around the Mystics is that they don't have a franchise player. However, their starting power forward Emma Meesseman has played some excellent basketball over her last several, games, and folks are taking notice:

I'm not 100 percent sold on Meesseman being a franchise player. But I will say that she does have some of the elements to be that player. And she's the Mystics' best player right now. Their website has more on why you should vote for her in the 2015 WNBA All-Star Game, even if she doesn't have the brand recognition that some other players in the league and her own team have.

And here's the most promising part about her. Meesseman's just 22 -- the age of a typical WNBA rookie (and Taylor Swift's favorite number) -- even though she is already a three-year veteran. ESPN's Seth Berkman has more on how Meesseman is starting to be a more assertive player.

The Mystics play tonight at 7:30 p.m. on the road against the Atlanta Dream. You can watch the game online through WNBA LiveAccess. If they win, Mike Thibault will be the head coach with the most wins in franchise history with 39. He'll have a lot more than that before he calls it quits.

5. D.C. City Slam was fun to watch last week

Last Saturday, the New York City Avenue Playground -- which is adjacent to Dunbar High School in D.C. -- was home to the 7-Eleven City Slam presented by Brisk. Even though the event won't be televised until July 7 at 10 p.m. on ESPN2, we do have some Vines to share with you.

Most of the dunks featured on SBNation.com's piece were by French dunker Guy Dupuy. Sure, Zach LaVine and John Wall may have won the NBA's slam dunk contest the last two years. But neither of those two can dunk like Dupuy and other contestants can.

We also had a chance to talk to Bradley Beal who served as a judge for the contest to see what he was up to this offseason.

And that's all I have on my plate. Enjoy your weekends!