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The Wizards have put together a nice roster over the past few years that's helped them advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals each of the past two seasons. Unfortunately, at the same time the Warriors have built a squad that's four games away from an NBA title, built mostly with players the Wizards had the chance to select ahead of Golden State.
Here's a look at everyone on the Warriors roster and what the Wizards could have done to draft each player:
Players the Wizards missed on:
- Stephen Curry - The Wizards opted to trade the fifth pick in the 2009 draft for Mike Miller and Randy Foye, who each only played one season in Washington. Curry, who went eighth, has had a pretty solid career, in our opinion.
- Klay Thompson - The Wizards took Jan Vesely with the 6th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Klay Thompson went 11th.
- Draymond Green - The Wizards had two opportunities to draft Green in the 2012 draft. They selected Bradley Beal with the third pick (understandable) and Tomas Satoransky with the 32nd pick (not quite as understandable).
- Harrison Barnes - The Wizards took Bradley Beal with the third overall pick, Barnes went to the Warriors with the seventh overall pick. No regrets here, but it does contribute to the theme.
- Andre Iguodala - The Wizards traded the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft to acquire Antawn Jamison from Dallas. The trade worked out well for the Wizards, but it's fair to wonder if they would have been better served pairing Iguodala (who went ninth) with Gilbert Arenas back in the day.
- Leandro Barbosa - Barbosa was the 28th overall pick in the draft, so he wasn't on the Wizards' radar with the 10th overall pick, but he's gone on to have a better career than Jarvis Hayes.
- David Lee - The Wizards could have drafted David Lee (who went 30th) in the 2005 NBA Draft, but they already dealt away their first round pick in a deal to acquire Brendan Haywood back in 2001.
- Justin Holiday - The Wizards drafted Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack in the 2011 NBA Draft. Mack is the only one of the draftees still in the league. Justin Holiday went undrafted.
- Festus Ezeli - Ezeli went 30th in the 2012 NBA Draft. Again, the Wizards probably don't regret taking Beal ahead of Ezeli, but maybe they could have traded up two spots instead of taking Satoransky with the 32nd overall pick.
- James Michael McAdoo - The Warriors signed McAdoo after he went undrafted in 2014. The Wizards used their 2014 draft picks to acquire Marcin Gortat and cash considerations.
- Ognjen Kuzmic - He hasn't played a whole lot in the NBA so far, but he's played more than Satoransky, who the Wizards took ahead of him in 2012.
Players the Wizards did not miss on
- Shaun Livingston - The Wizards didn't have the chance to draft Livingston, who went fourth in the 2004 draft, but they did acquire him on two separate occasions, only to let him walk for nothing.
- Brandon Rush - Rush was taken 13th in the 2008 NBA Draft. The Wizards would have had to trade up from 18 to snag him.
- Marreese Speights - The 76ers nabbed Speights two spots ahead of the Wizards in the 2008 NBA Draft. The Wizards wound up selecting JaVale McGee.
- Andrew Bogut - He was the first overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He's the only player the Wizards did not have the opportunity to draft.
UPDATE: Some of you asked how the Wizards' record of missing on current Warriors stacks up against other NBA Teams. They finished tied with for the third most missed chances behind the Clippers, Hornets, and Kings. Here's how it breaks down:
It's worth noting every team in the NBA missed at least six opportunities, but the Spurs are the only team who missed out on less than seven.