OK, I'm still pretty bummed. Intellectually, I could clearly see how Griffin would be a perfect fit on the Wiz, and would really make them the one team that could challenge the crybabaliers for the next 5-10 years. (I would have LOVED to see a guy like Griffin - every bit as big or bigger than LeBron and almost as athletic - give a hard foul or two in the playoffs. Then we'd see what he's made of. "Danny, they're trying to hurt meeeeee......")
But emotionally, I never could give over to the idea that we'd actually get the #1 pick. I was expecting the #3 - and at least consoled myself with the idea that someone would trade up to get Thabeet. Now even that hope is gone.
So, looking at the draft with a more dispassionate approach, here's the best I can offer:
The draft won't start in earnest until the Kings with the 4th pick. The top 3 look to be pretty set, so who do the Kings take? Interestingly, their roster is kind of like the anti-Wiz. The two spots where they are pretty well set are SG & PF (Martin, Garcia, Thompson, even Hawes?). And those are the two spots that, IMO, the Wiz would be best served to upgrade or augment. And, the players slotted to go in the 4-8 range include a lot of SGs and PFs (Hill, Harden, DeRozan, Curry, Evans). I saw one insta-mock with the Kings taking Jennings. It'd be a reach - but nothing they do would surprise me at this point.
I suspect they would take Hill and hope he could form a big man rotation with Hawes & Thompson, or they trade the pick. No point in adding another SG, unless they go with the combo idea and pair someone like Evans with Martin. But let's assume that Hill goes #4.
If I'm EG, my first preference would be to trade down. If they can just unload one bad deal (Stevenson?) and stay in the top 10-12, I think it would be worth it.
I would not want them to trade out completely, with only a very few exceptions. Remember, Jamison was 28 when EG traded for him in 2004. Big difference from VC, who's already 32. Rip is 31. Redd is 30 and coming off an injury (and can't/won't play defense). I'm afraid a trade for one of those guys will cause a lot of regrets in 2-3 years, when someone from this draft will be a budding All-Star and our team looks really old. The only guys I talk about in trade would be Joe Johnson, Horford, maybe Childress (I watch a lot of Hawks games these days), Rudy F, and (gulp) Brand. I rather doubt that any of them will be available, but worth a try.
So if no trades materialize, take the best player - which in this case means the best fit, best attitude, best character, a lot more than just most potential. I would much prefer a more mature, "finished product" to yet another project. Which rules out DeRozan, Jennings, and Evans. I hope they bring in about 20 guys and match them up as much as possible. Take a close look at Harden's atleticism. Get a true measure of Blair and Curry. Maybe see if Henderson can completely shut down Harden in a competitive (2 on 2) setting.
And in the end, draft a guy who can contribute right away: Blair, Harden, Curry, Henderson, Clark, James Johnson is my short list.
My guess: Harden. Not excited about it, but not particularly exercised over it, either. And then probably follow it up with a trade to thin out the kids (Blatche & Young look like prime candidates to move). And that's all we have to show for 19-63.
"A society that puts equality - in the sense of equality of outcome - ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom" Milton Friedman, Free to Choose
