Q: The Wizards don’t have any picks in the 2016 draft, right?
That’s correct. They traded their first round pick to Phoenix in February to acquire Markieff Morris from the Phoenix Suns. They traded their second round pick last year as part of the deal to move up in the draft to acquire Kelly Oubre.
Q: Will the Wizards trade anyone to get back into the draft?
Probably not. John Wall is off-limits. It wouldn’t make sense to trade Markieff Morris. Trading Otto Porter or Kelly Oubre now would be a lateral move at best, and more likely a step in the wrong direction. And it would be hard to find a rookie who could replace Marcin Gortat’s production right away.
Q: Can they trade a future pick to get back into the draft?
Yes, with one exception: They can’t trade their 2017 1st round pick until after the 13th selection is made Thursday night. Otherwise, they would be violating the Ted Stepien rule (more on that here).
Question is, do you want to give up a future pick to move back into one of the weaker draft classes in recent memory?
Q: Is there any other way the Wizards can get back into the draft without giving up something of importance?
Yes, they could use cash considerations to get back into the action if they see someone worth spending the dough on. In recent years, the Wizards have generally been the ones trading out of drafts, but since they don’t have a pick this time around, perhaps this is the year they flip the script, especially if they think they can get someone who can fill a roster spot on the cheap.
Then again, it’s hard to get much more than a late second rounder with just cash considerations, and at that point, you’re arguably just as well off rolling the dice and hoping they go undrafted, where you can sign them even cheaper.
Q: Have the Wizards even bothered working anyone out since they don’t have a pick?
Of course! You don’t really think they told their whole scouting department to take the summer off, did you? Yes, they haven’t had many high-profile names in because it isn’t easy to convince agents to bring players in to workout for a team without a pick, but they’ve still brought in quite a few players.
Here’s a list of every player who has reportedly come in for a workout to date (the links on each player name direct to the report that connects them to a workout with the Wizards):
- Robert Carter (Maryland)
- D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Georgetown)
- Patricio Garino (George Washington)
- Joe MacDonald (George Washington), Angel Rodriguez (Miami), Kevin Punter (Tennessee).
- Ryan Arcidiacano (Villanova), Roosevelt Jones (Butler), Anthony Gill (Virginia).
- Sterling Gibbs (Seton Hall/UConn)
- Marshall Plumlee (Duke), Alex Caruso (Texas A&M), Tonye Jekiri (Miami), Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette), Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Tim Quarterman (LSU) and Mike Tobey (Virginia).
- Octavius Ellis (Cincinnati)
- Shevon Thompson (George Mason)
- Yogi Ferrell (Indiana)
- Nic Moore (SMU)
- A.J. English (Iona), Nick Faust (Maryland/Long Beach State), Jalen Reynolds (Xavier), Jameel Warney (Stony Brook), Kevin Larsen (George Washington) Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), Prince Ibeh (Texas), and Damion Lee (Louisville).
- Shaquille Harrison (Tulsa) was set to work out on Monday but had to cancel due to travel delays.
Q: Are these workouts useless if they don’t pick anyone?
Not necessarily. These workouts are also useful for spotting talent who could play on this year’s Summer League team, training camp, or potential prospects once their D-League team is ready to go. Player evaluation doesn’t end once the last player is drafted.
Q: Are workouts indicative of who the Wizards are interested in this year?
Not really. The Wizards didn’t work out Kelly Oubre before they decided to move up in last year’s draft to select him.
Q: Have you done a podcast about draft prospects I can listen to?
Yep, we talked with Ben Standig of CSN Mid-Atlantic about some local prospects worth keeping an eye on. Check it out, if you haven’t already:
Q: So just to reiterate, odds are if the Wizards do anything, it will be very late in the draft tonight?
That’s right.
Q: So we’ll probably have to stay up late, with no promise of a payoff?
Yeah.
Q: Kinda reminds you of this whole season, doesn’t it?
That’s just a mean thing to say.