John Wall contemplates…
Who the Wizards should take.
Anthony Davis would have been nice, very nice. But the world is not always nice. Sure, the Wizards technically “slipped” one spot to third in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery. But, looking at the odds going in — a 19.9-percent chance to land the first pick, an 18.8-percent chance to land the second pick, a 17.1-percent chance at third, and a whopping 31.9-percent chance to slip to fourth — you can live with the results. I woke up this morning feeling more than content with either Bradley Beal or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — almost anxious for either/or to happen already.
But, there could be other options. Thomas Robinson anyone? OR… what about a trade?
Twitter is for excitement and overreaction, sometimes. So, in the hype, a conversation between myself and user @UGotTheseIn10 quickly advanced in the direction of sending the third pick to the Portland Trailblazers for Nicolas Batum and the 11th pick (assuming UConn’s Jeremy Lamb would be available at 11) — the idea of jettisoning Andray Blatche to Portland as part of the deal even surfaced. Of course, the unison of such thoughts heavily weighted with Wizards sensibilities means the scenario would most certainly be too good to be true.
Also, per TAI’s John Converse Townsend, team owner Ted Leonsis claims: “I don’t think we’ll trade the third pick in the draft.”
Still, don’t underestimate what tricks Ernie Grunfeld may or may not have up his sleeves.
BUT, as the Wizards stand right now, in the aftermath of the lottery and about 29 days from the draft, who should they take? A quick post-lottery query on Twitter, #WizShouldTake, yielded a sampling of results:
@Truth_About_It BRADLEY BEAL!!
— dennis (@heartofaKNGLION) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It Brad Beal
— Al W (@AMW3724) May 31, 2012
Bradley Beal RT @Truth_About_It: OK #WIZARDS FANS… w the 3rd pick, who should they take? #WizShouldTake
— J.J. (@CarbonPrimo) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It #WizsShouldTake Drummond (looking at this realistically)
— Griffin Wong (@Griffwong90) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It Brad Beal
— Al W (@AMW3724) May 31, 2012
Bradley Beal RT @Truth_About_It OK #WIZARDS FANS… w the 3rd pick, who should they take? #WizShouldTake
— Jeremy Levin (@JLevin28) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It I would be very happy with Beal. Seems like a good fit next to Wall. #WizShouldTake
— Evan Raab (@evraab) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It #wizshouldtake kidd-gilchrist. @wizards need help on the wings.
— Alex Cabellon (@alexcabellon) May 31, 2012
Trade it for someone who is ready to contribute RT @Truth_About_It: OK #WIZARDS FANS… w the 3rd pick, who should they take? #WizShouldTake
— Ed D (@aznz3r0) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It I say we trade the pick for James Harden. He’s better than anyone in this draft not named Anthony Davis. Plus, he’s only 22.
— Levi Gregg (@LeviGregg) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It with the 3rd pick the #wizshouldtake the best available trade option, period
— King in Me (@Rivers_Man) May 31, 2012
A shot of whiskey n b thankful we arent the Bobcats RT @Truth_About_It: “OK #WIZARDS FANS… w the 3rd pick, who should they take?”
— J O (@joeyohmygod) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It Bradley Beal
— jarem yruhdwohc (@ChilledOnTheRox) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It #WizShouldTake MKG if he’s there
— Marcus Harrington (@HIM_88) May 31, 2012
“@Truth_About_It: Lotta responses rolling in… What about you? #WizShouldTake Grunfeld’s contract and set it on fire.
— Gshammgod (@GShammgod) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It hoping for PJ3 personally. Do you think his helps or hurts Wittmans chances of staying??
— David Thompson (@dt3) May 31, 2012
@Truth_About_It #wizshouldtake MKG him and wall on fast breaks would be like Bron and wade
— Wayne Cole (@llttlewayne) May 31, 2012
So, let’s put it to a TAI vote…
Who you got, Wizards fans? Beal?
Thomas Robinson. I haven’t seen someone actually rebound here in a decade. This guy is a beast. Low post players dominate in the playoffs, let’s be smart for once. Zero faith in Grunfeld.
The obvious answer seems to be MKG I think. Guy looks like a guaranteed all-star imo. Plus he would be perfect for the Wizards cause he has a high motor, something we don’t see much around here.
But if Charlotte takes him, I would go with Harrison Barnes. Probably not a popular selection, but he is the most offensively polished player in the 2012 class from what I can tell. Seems to have all-star written all over him in a sort of Joe Johnshon-mold.
Even though I haven’t seen much of him, I wouldn’t have much of an issue with Brad Beal either. Anyone to get Jordan Crawford on the bench.
I think the main area of need is the wing though. Unless Vesely develops some sort of perimiter game, there is a huge lack of talent in that area for the forseeable future unless we draft/sign someone.
If you keep the pick, there are really only two choices here:
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
or
Thomas Robinson
Both of those guys will feature on contenders at some point in their NBA careers. Hopefully, one will feature for DC.
Also, those are the kind of guys the Spurs would choose. And when in doubt, do what Pop would do.
I go with Thomas Robinson. Sure the Wizards have depth in the frontcourt but can you honestly say that Booker or Seraphin are 20-10 guys that will command double teams? Nope. Sure it’s no guarantee that T-Rob will either but the potential is obvious.
You want a guard to complement John Wall? Either use both 2nd round picks on shooters OR trade them both to move into the late first round and go for Evan Fournier.
Not to mention that a quality two can be found via free agency. Potentiall All-Star power forwards, on the other hand, are a bit harder to come by.
Problem with drafting Thomas Robinson is that you are basically saying our last 3 first round picks were all a waste. All three of those guys basically being power forwards and all which is what Thomas Robinson appears to be.
Michael, here is the problem: those picks were pretty much a waste.
My opinion is there are three guys that will go 2-4. The Wizards need everything except a point guard and a center. One of these three guys will be gone and it will be a coin flip over the other two.
My top choice would be Gilchrest if he is available. He’s 18 and he’s the character guy in the draft. When in doubt – and we are – go with the character guy.
The idea of having an elite backcourt is rather appealing. But is is such a crap shoot.
All 3 are character guys, that doesn’t help too much. So when in doubt, go with the character guy who actually fills a positional need (MKG/Beal). And if still in doubt, the player who fits a skill need, shooting. That’s my thought process at least.
As for those picks, they weren’t a waste, they just were not made with a lot of other options available. Seraphin and Booker were 17 and 23, Vesely was in a weak draft. Robinson likely will be better than all of them, but getting solid roational guys outside of the lottery is no slam dunk.
I can’t imagine passing on Thomas Robinson.
Oh wait, Grunfeld is picking….
Drummond to the Wiz !! He’ll need a couple years to develop behind Nene. His physical tools are too great to be ignored. Hall of fame potential
[...] a foregone conclusion by now that this is a no brainer decision from a basketball stand point. In a poll done by Truth About It Wizards fans responded by saying that Bradley Beal would be their top choice in the draft. Beal is [...]
with the third pick, i made the earth sick, mj, him jay, fade away perfect