2025 Draft Thread

[Zonkerbl]

I am 80% certain we are not getting Flagg

[doclinkin]

I always thought Kirilenko was overrated. Yeah, he was unique in that he had the capability of occasionally dropping a 5x5 in the box score, but beyond that, he was a fairly underwhelming scorer (15 points per 36 minutes on only slightly above league average efficiency) and extremely turnover prone. And defensively, his help defense was superb but his man defense was only above-average. I'd take, say, Trevor Ariza over Kirilenko as a one-on-one defender.

I think Flagg has a way higher ceiling than Kirilenko. He'll be similar in help defense and man defense, but he's a sturdier rebounder, a better shooter (as you said), and I think he will eventually be a guy you can run an offense through. He may not be Luka-tier as a primary option, but probably somewhere between Avdija of the last 2 months and Tatum.

A more fundamental less flashy Kirilienko. Box score stat stuffer who is good, but not likely a scoring champion. I always figured AK47 was trying to hard to be Magic Johnson with his passing. Their build is similar, similar good but not overwhelming athleticism, similar box score packing habits. AK47 had a few years where he pulled down 8 boards a game. I don't see Flagg as averaging much more than that, except that this team generally sucks at it so here he'd have more opportunities. Likewise AK 47 was never featured as the lead scorer on his team, as a #1 overall pick Flagg will get more chances. But still, tell me you don't see similarities in their build and activity:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[dckingsfan]

I am 80% certain we are not getting Flagg

I am 86% certain

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

My take on if we get #1, we take Flagg - I don't believe he would opt out.

Then we shamelessly tank again and get a bottom four (guaranteeing us a bottom 8). All of our youngster contracts don't start coming due until '27-'28 sans Champagnie. We then off-load a few to get additional picks moving forward.

Goal is to start to be competitive in '27-'28. Flagg, '25 FRP, '26 FRP, and whomever works out among Sarr, Bub, George, Champagnie, AJ and Bilal. That is 9 youngsters. We need a #1 & #2 and the others that can develop to become serviceable starters.

No?

If we get first, there should be no more tanking.

Sarr was #2 overall
Flagg will be #1 overall

That's enough!

The league should put a stop to anything that looks like tanking from the Wizards after this if it comes to fruition.

Losing on purpose is throwing games.

Losing on purpose is shaving points.

Instead of randomly developing a farm system of players from without and banking on drafting a lottery superstar; win as many games as you can.

Atlanta drafted Trae Young after winning 36 games.

The idea of being non-competitive AGAIN is sickening to me. The Wizards were stuck at 40-wins in a different era. This team needs to stop being a 20-win team ASAP.

Young players need to learn how to win. With Flagg or Harper, the Wizards should look at being playoff contenders

.

[Kanyewest]

30 win team next year, AT LEAST. Well, depends on injuries. Right now this is a team that wins a third of their games (27 win pace) and they should improve next year.

You gotta be careful about putting too much stock in late season wins against tanking teams. Yes, we have won 11 of our last 32 games, but that's only by cherry-picking the sample size at the start of that lone 3-game win streak in February. And of those 11 wins, 7 were against shamelessly tanking teams (2 CHO, 2 BRK, UTA, PHI, TOR).

The Wizards may need to be creative in their tanking strategy next season if they keep most of this roster together and a promising rookie (or two depending on the Memphis pick)

The Wizards were 6-6 once Middleton returned back into the lineup on February 21st. IRRC the Wizards started to resume extreme tank like activities after their win against Denver. Yes there were wins against not so great teams like the 76ers, Raptors, Jazz, and Nets. But they also beat playoff teams like the Pistons and Nuggets on the road. This is a small sample size though and some games could have gone either way like the Nuggets game or the Bucks game.

Also have to wonder if/how many of the Wizards young guns develop. Sarr, Carrington, Kyshawn George. Bilal as well who is only 2 days older than Reed Shephard- he was a bit passive this year but the 3rd could be the season where takes a leap. Could AJ Johnson or Tristan Vucevic be rotation players?

The Wizards also have Saddiq Bey coming back as well- depends on what version they get from him.

[penbeast0]

I was thinking about the Flagg hype, and while I think he's a very good prospect, and better than anyone in the last draft class, he's not better than Wemby from just 2 drafts ago - an actual generationally great player.

I see Flagg as equivalent to a guy like Andre Kirilienko, if AK-47 had a 3pt shot. Now that's a damned good player. And he has leadership qualities that carry him even further in the right situation. But it's not a sure-fire can't miss HOFer the way some clearly are. His advantage is mental, not based on freak athleticism or unstoppable size and power. That's significant, but a guy like Wemby or Duncan had both

I always thought Kirilenko was overrated. Yeah, he was unique in that he had the capability of occasionally dropping a 5x5 in the box score, but beyond that, he was a fairly underwhelming scorer (15 points per 36 minutes on only slightly above league average efficiency) and extremely turnover prone. And defensively, his help defense was superb but his man defense was only above-average. I'd take, say, Trevor Ariza over Kirilenko as a one-on-one defender.

I think Flagg has a way higher ceiling than Kirilenko. He'll be similar in help defense and man defense, but he's a sturdier rebounder, a better shooter (as you said), and I think he will eventually be a guy you can run an offense through. He may not be Luka-tier as a primary option, but probably somewhere between Avdija of the last 2 months and Tatum.

Kirilenko's uniqueness was his shotblocking, the rest of his game was nice but nothing unique. He's the GOAT wing shotblocker if you can play him at the 3; a terrific shotblocking 4 at least equal to Larry Nance Sr. It's special.

[dcPress]

It kind of seems like this draft may not be the ointment for the Wizards woes unless we get Flagg or Harper. And it’s hard to envision Flagg as a superstar. I’d probably go with
Flagg
Harper
Bailey
Maluach
Johnson

With the last three debatable as the BPAs but it seems like they’d fit best on the current roster.

[Tyrone Messby]

OT in Utah!

[BearlyBallin]

Wow jazz wins in OT

[9 and 20]

Utah wins!

[Jay81]

Now that we are back at 1 on tankathon….i ran the sim and got 5 5 straight times

[dobrojim]

We're tied for first. Actual first will be determined by
random drawing, assuming we finish with identical records.

[Despy]

We're tied for first. Actual first will be determined by
random drawing, assuming we finish with identical records.

thought it was head to head

[tontoz]

We're tied for first. Actual first will be determined by
random drawing, assuming we finish with identical records.

thought it was head to head

No that is playoff seeding. For the draft it is a coin flip

[tontoz]

Memphis in 6th now. Huge game tonight vs Minny.

[dobrojim]

The loss to PHL kinda ruined my confidence about
being better next year. Then I realized the team
that lost that game was our 3rd string, not our
second string. It was important to lose given UTA
won a game, but not important in projecting how
we do next year.

[prime1time]

The loss to PHL kinda ruined my confidence about
being better next year. Then I realized the team
that lost that game was our 3rd string, not our
second string. It was important to lose given UTA
won a game, but not important in projecting how
we do next year.

Why would the result of any of these games ruin your confidence in the team lol. We are tanking.

[gesa2]

Back to DAT2U’s question of who do we draft at 5-6 if Flagg, Harper, Edgecomb and Bailey are gone. I am not a Maluach believer but if the FO takes him I’ll trust their intel. I still think we go for high ceiling over high floor players. So I think it’d be one of:
Tre Johnson and hope his vision and floor game improve
Fears and hope his D and shooting catch up to his handle, or
CMB and hope his shot develops

[Dat2U]

My take on if we get #1, we take Flagg - I don't believe he would opt out.

Then we shamelessly tank again and get a bottom four (guaranteeing us a bottom 8). All of our youngster contracts don't start coming due until '27-'28 sans Champagnie. We then off-load a few to get additional picks moving forward.

Goal is to start to be competitive in '27-'28. Flagg, '25 FRP, '26 FRP, and whomever works out among Sarr, Bub, George, Champagnie, AJ and Bilal. That is 9 youngsters. We need a #1 & #2 and the others that can develop to become serviceable starters.

No?

If we get first, there should be no more tanking.

Sarr was #2 overall
Flagg will be #1 overall

That's enough!

The league should put a stop to anything that looks like tanking from the Wizards after this if it comes to fruition.

Losing on purpose is throwing games.

Losing on purpose is shaving points.

Instead of randomly developing a farm system of players from without and banking on drafting a lottery superstar; win as many games as you can.

Atlanta drafted Trae Young after winning 36 games.

The idea of being non-competitive AGAIN is sickening to me. The Wizards were stuck at 40-wins in a different era. This team needs to stop being a 20-win team ASAP.

Young players need to learn how to win. With Flagg or Harper, the Wizards should look at being playoff contenders.

Its not tanking, its about talent accumulation and internal development which does not happen overnight and usually takes years. Flagg also does not necessarily guarantee the opportunity to make a playoff run in year 1. Trade your best shooters in Poole & Middleton and they'll still struggle to score and win many games. Success needs to come on the backs of this young core, not the supplemental vets that we've added to hold the ship steady and provide mentorship.

The feeling of frustration and being sick of losing has been short circuiting rebuilds for years. I'm patient with this and in all honesty, I think the plan has always been about '25-26 as being the last year of the 'deconstruction phase'.

[dobrojim]

The loss to PHL kinda ruined my confidence about
being better next year. Then I realized the team
that lost that game was our 3rd string, not our
second string. It was important to lose given UTA
won a game, but not important in projecting how
we do next year.

Why would the result of any of these games ruin your confidence in the team lol. We are tanking.

Because our record is a result of winless NOV and
winless FEB this season. Our young players have gotten better. In order to have no chance of losing
the 2026 pick, we have to be bottom 4 in the league
next year. The pick is top 8 protected.

Above that, there is an increasing chance we could
lose the pick if our luck is poor depending on how
much better we are.

edit - thinking further about this, if we finished 5th, 4 teams below us (5-14) would have to pass us in the lottery,
6th, 3 teams and so on. Those are low odds so I'm probably over-worrying. But we are the Wizards.
So between 5-8, there is a smallish chance we could lose the pick. If we finish above 8th, the only way we keep it
is if we're selected in the top 4.