2020 Draft - Part II

[nate33]

For us to pick a point guard given our needs the guy would have to basically be a lock to be a surefire future all-star imo. Otherwise, it's not worth facing the wrath from John and Brad, particularly with the ladder mulling his own future. So I very much doubt we go point guard.

That's the way I look at it. I don't think Hayes is a particular bad prospect, and in the grand scheme of things I don't think he would be a bad pick. But given the situation this team is in, drafting what amounts to a 19 year old 3rd string point guard is not maximizing your assets.

Shepard just said in the Zach Lowe podcast that he is totally fine with drafting a guy that won't help us right away if he projects to be the best player 3 years down the road.

I think we've seen enough 3-guard lineups over the past few years to prove that it works. If OKC can get away with Chris Paul, SGA and Schroeder, we can play Wall, Beal and Hayes.

[payitforward]

Hayes isn't especially my worst case other than the obvious fact that he's not a perfect need fit behind two 35 mpg guards (assuming Wall's return to play is fairly seamless and his conditioning progresses quickly - though Hayes isn't exactly the pick to jump right in and fill in for minutes in the short term if Wall does operate on more limited minutes initially). I think he's a fine pick as a value proposition at 9 and I'd rather draft him than Okoro, for one. Haliburton is a closer thing, but people who are very fond of Haliburton as a player have tended to confess they'd prefer Hayes and so I think I'm fine sharing that preference.

e: put another way - I don't think the Wizards should be able to pick Hayes at 9, so if the worst thing that happens is that he's available and another player who's also a better than slot talent but is also a neater fit on the roster isn't, that's really not so bad.

I agree with this.

[payitforward]

CBS mock has the Wizards taking Killian Hayes.

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=CBSSportsHQ

Says he's BPA at that point (Okwongwu, Okoro, Hali off the board). I'd say this is probably the worst case scenario next to drafting Nesmith, but this draft isn't good and the #9 pick looks to be right where teams don't want to trade up to.

You say worst case scenario, I'd say its a very good scenario lol. Trading up for Patrick Williams (a Twitter rumor) is a worst case scenario for me. Or reaching badly & drafting someone like Nnaji who is projected to go much lower.

Agree w/ this too. Patrick Williams is a bust in the making. Okoro is rated too high. Nnaji might turn out to be a good player, but there is no need to draft him that high.

[payitforward]

Shepard just said in the Zach Lowe podcast that he is totally fine with drafting a guy that won't help us right away if he projects to be the best player 3 years down the road....

That's the best thing I've heard from the Wizards in a long time. So much for "win now."

[nate33]

Man Azuibuike has amazing hands. He dunks and his feet are touching the groundv . You can build an entire offense around him being doubled every play. He would be the best center wizard have ever had. There is no way okongwu could guard Azuike in the post. And I could easily see azubuike shutting down okongwu u in the post. Azubuike is extrem et ly coordinated and powerful. He does get off his feet as explosively as Shaq but sky hooks, catching the ball above the rim. When playoffs come and you need a high percentage shot, and the team already knows your plays.. azubuike is like Tim Duncan. I would definitely spend a late first on him.

Posting up doesn't work in the modern NBA. The zone defense rules make it easy to front the post while providing weakside help. There's a reason why even the best low post players get just 4 or 5 post up opportunities a game. The only exception is Embiid who is both a monster physically, and extremely highly coordinated. And even Embiid only gets 8 post up opportunities a game. For comparison, Shaq averaged around 15 post-ups per game.

Azuibuike is big and strong, but he is no Embiid, Shaq or Duncan. He's just not as coordinated.

[payitforward]

A trade down with Boston would be best. Unfortunately, I just read that they really like Achiuwa. If so, & since I'm pretty sure he'll be there at 14, a trade would seem unlikely.

If I were sure they want him, I'd tell Danny we're going to take him but would certainly listen to offers. If they couldn't live without him -- they'd give us all 3 of their R1 picks.

[Ruzious]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Lol, In 3 years or so, I'd love to see Poku playing against Holmgren. Hopefully, at least 1 of them will have an NBAish body by then. I think Poku is a more fluid athlete and is longer, but Holmgren has really amazing skills for a guy his size - he's fun to watch - and more of a competitor than Poku at this point. Holmgren's build is probably more of a problem than Poku's.

[Ruzious]

A trade down with Boston would be best. Unfortunately, I just read that they really like Achiuwa. If so, & since I'm pretty sure he'll be there at 14, a trade would seem unlikely.

If I were sure they want him, I'd tell Danny we're going to take him but would certainly listen to offers. If they couldn't live without him -- they'd give us all 3 of their R1 picks.

My thinking is Achiuwa is too much like Robert Williams for them to draft at 14... unless they're thinking of trading Williams. Hmm.

[nate33]

A trade down with Boston would be best. Unfortunately, I just read that they really like Achiuwa. If so, & since I'm pretty sure he'll be there at 14, a trade would seem unlikely.

If I were sure they want him, I'd tell Danny we're going to take him but would certainly listen to offers. If they couldn't live without him -- they'd give us all 3 of their R1 picks.

All rumors are disinformation at this point.

[Ruzious]

Shepard just said in the Zach Lowe podcast that he is totally fine with drafting a guy that won't help us right away if he projects to be the best player 3 years down the road....

That's the best thing I've heard from the Wizards in a long time. So much for "win now."

To this I say - actions will speak louder than words.

Or, I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm out of chlches for now.

[WizarDynasty]

CBS mock has the Wizards taking Killian Hayes.

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=CBSSportsHQ

Says he's BPA at that point (Okwongwu, Okoro, Hali off the board). I'd say this is probably the worst case scenario next to drafting Nesmith, but this draft isn't good and the #9 pick looks to be right where teams don't want to trade up to.

You say worst case scenario, I'd say its a very good scenario lol. Trading up for Patrick Williams (a Twitter rumor) is a worst case scenario for me. Or reaching badly & drafting someone like Nnaji who is projected to go much lower.

Agree w/ this too. Patrick Williams is a bust in the making. Okoro is rated too high. Nnaji might turn out to be a good player, but there is no need to draft him that high.[Chris'sbut long perimter defenderbu
Patrick William's has Thomas Bryant issue. He doesnt have explosive second leap. He needs alot of recovery time when doing one offensive move. He does not move laterally well..deep hip bend is bad. He has to cross his knees which means he cant stop and go laterally to keep up with guards who have hesitation moves. He stung but does have alot of fine muscle coordination offensively. He is 20 pick guy not lotto. Okoro doesnt have recovery time problem but he does not have length to give a cushion and still guard the three. We already gave Beal at 8'4 reach... he cant challenge three at s position, then have another 84 reach guy at small forward. Vassell is otto porter, same leg issues. Does have explosiveness very mechanical. Does have strength to switch on power forward and doesnt have elite length 9'2 reach to challenge threes and still give man a cushion. Achiuwa is only guy in draft and maybe Paul Reed. Guys who can guard perimeter with elite defensive movement and can contest a 3pointer while still giving a cushion. Remember stopping three ball us number priority in today's NBA. Gimmicks like crowding and leaving your feet to chalkenge.. are horrible longterm strategies. Alot here on board think defense is all about effort and team strategy. You are wrong... the best way to reduce the three is to gave small forward with 9'2 standing reach and elite lateral defensive footwork.

Once you understand this concept... you will see why espn mocks has ve no i sight into decades of wizard struggles. Our closestthing was trevor ariza and he was on the down side of his career.
Achiuwa us the puck unless we see some even linger than him with even better perimeter footwork. I dont see it. I also dont see one free agent with 9'2 standing reach and elite perimeter footwork. Maybe you do? Only way to get these guys us to draft and they dont come around often. Guys like okongwu are on free agent market...like m. Chriss. But long perimter with elite defensive footwork . With offensive upside... basically scotty pippen. Nope. Picking marquise Chris's..or maybe okongwu is Charles Barkley... okingwu - larry Johnson over scotty pippen?
Obi is like Amare Stoudemire with three point shot. Wiseman is Chris bosh without the body control and explosiveness.
Anthony edwards d wade without defense or leadership skills.
Melody ball. Longer white chocolate..worse defensively.
Okoro.=beal .. without a jumpshot. More springy..same body.
P. William's is singleton...clumsy uncoordinated stiff.. power forward with mud range jumpshot.
Haliburton=Kevin martin with an even slower release

[Ed Wood]

..or maybe okongwu is Charles Barkley... Obi is like Amare Stoudemire with three point shot...

Oh, uh... huh

[prime1time]

I'd be fine with Hayes - since I think he has the highest upside in the draft. My nightmare pick would be RJ Hampton - since I hear he is going up in the charts, and he said he had a esgreat session working out with the Wizards. I think he's more athlete than basketball player at this point.

The scuttlebutt is that he's remade his jumper with Mike Miller and had remarkable results so far. The jumper is a big deal because he's quick enough to beat most guys off the dribble. He could be Dante Exum, he could something more. Definitely has a high ceiling though. Higher than Rui did last year. The work he's put into remaking his shot during the downtime is also a good sign.

How bad can the jumper be? 90.9 % from the FT line. I’ll take my chances. Also way too much noise about Okongwu imo. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a smokescreen.

[Ruzious]

I'd be fine with Hayes - since I think he has the highest upside in the draft. My nightmare pick would be RJ Hampton - since I hear he is going up in the charts, and he said he had a esgreat session working out with the Wizards. I think he's more athlete than basketball player at this point.

The scuttlebutt is that he's remade his jumper with Mike Miller and had remarkable results so far. The jumper is a big deal because he's quick enough to beat most guys off the dribble. He could be Dante Exum, he could something more. Definitely has a high ceiling though. Higher than Rui did last year. The work he's put into remaking his shot during the downtime is also a good sign.

How bad can the jumper be? 90.9 % from the FT line. I’ll take my chances. Also way too much noise about Okongwu imo. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a smokescreen.

90.9 is for Hayes, but Dat was referring to Hampton - who made 67.9% of his FT's. I'm not going to take Mike Miller's word on Hampton's improvement, but hopefully he's right - unless Boston, Miami or Toronto pick him.

[doclinkin]

I'd be fine with Hayes - since I think he has the highest upside in the draft. My nightmare pick would be RJ Hampton - since I hear he is going up in the charts, and he said he had a esgreat session working out with the Wizards. I think he's more athlete than basketball player at this point.

The scuttlebutt is that he's remade his jumper with Mike Miller and had remarkable results so far. The jumper is a big deal because he's quick enough to beat most guys off the dribble. He could be Dante Exum, he could something more. Definitely has a high ceiling though. Higher than Rui did last year. The work he's put into remaking his shot during the downtime is also a good sign.

Hampton interviews really well. Clearly he thinks the game. I liked his breakdowns with Mike Schmitz. LaMelo by contrast was fairly inarticulate in that context. He plays by instinct, and hasn't had to worry about system or adjustment because his talent is so stellar. Still not stellar enough to carry a team to a winning season though. Players like that, I always wonder what happens when they are stymied and frustrated. The NBA is a game of adjustments, the players that become all stars and HOF players are the ones who fix things year after year. LeBJ, MJ, Kobe, the rarest thing in sports, the "supremely talented overachievers" as David Halberstam wrote about Jordan. Commonly we see a rookie of the year winner who disappears or has a middling career. I'd trust a guy like RJ Hampton on a trade down if he were at 14 or wherever. A guy who thinks the game and can see his own weaknesses, he can work on them.

[WizarDynasty]

Hayes has very uncoordinated elbow and its very low. Almost like John Walls. He won't be a good 3 point shooter shooting off the dribble for a very long time. I also doubt he has much coordination shooting with one hand inside the paint due to his elbow being uncoordinated.
R.J. Hampton has series issues with being able to maintain a deep hip bend and move explosively. He also can't get deep hip bend before getting into his shot. I also see poor lateral movement defensively. He has good energy, and creativity around the basket, Would be a nice energy guy to bring off the bench for some short range iso scoring.
But shooting a static free throw is far different from shooting while moving and adjusting your shot mid air and still make the shot and avoid it being blocked. If you elbow is below the socket on your free throw, it's highly unlikely that you have a well coordinated elbow, you have a locked elbow with a low arc, which dramatically decreases in accuracy when you are moving and shooting at the same time. Might work for a catch and shoot player, but its horrible for a guard who controls the rock.

[payitforward]

Shepard just said in the Zach Lowe podcast that he is totally fine with drafting a guy that won't help us right away if he projects to be the best player 3 years down the road....

That's the best thing I've heard from the Wizards in a long time. So much for "win now."

To this I say - actions will speak louder than words.

Or, I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm out of chlches for now.

Don't forget, Ruz:

Spoiler:

Nothing ventured nothing gained

Yet...

Spoiler:

A fool & his gold are soon parted.

[doclinkin]

Man Azuibuike has amazing hands. He dunks and his feet are touching the groundv . You can build an entire offense around him being doubled every play. He would be the best center wizard have ever had. There is no way okongwu could guard Azuike in the post. And I could easily see azubuike shutting down okongwu u in the post. Azubuike is extrem et ly coordinated and powerful. He does get off his feet as explosively as Shaq but sky hooks, catching the ball above the rim. When playoffs come and you need a high percentage shot, and the team already knows your plays.. azubuike is like Tim Duncan. I would definitely spend a late first on him.

Posting up doesn't work in the modern NBA. The zone defense rules make it easy to front the post while providing weakside help. There's a reason why even the best low post players get just 4 or 5 post up opportunities a game. The only exception is Embiid who is both a monster physically, and extremely highly coordinated. And even Embiid only gets 8 post up opportunities a game. For comparison, Shaq averaged around 15 post-ups per game.

Azuibuike is big and strong, but he is no Embiid, Shaq or Duncan. He's just not as coordinated.

I like Azubuike, and I think the league is poised for a renaissance of Bigs, but yeah, skilled bigs. The question on them is not low post scoring, otherwise Boban would be a HOF player since he has the historically most efficient scoring in the NBA ever. He can't stay on the floor because he is unable to play the P&R on the perimeter. Allowing zone defenses, and enforcing the 3 second rule in the paint, and disallowing hand checks has put a premium on ballhandling penetration over pounding it into the block for scores at the bucket. A guy like Bill Russell would be an ideal Big in todays league, with his ability to play point center from the free throw line, passing to cutters in motion. Azubuike ain't big Russ. That said, against those teams that do go big, on the nights when you want a dominant interior defender and a few easy buckets he is a good guy to see at the end of your bench. It's his 40% free throw shooting that would be a significant problem though, even then.

[WizarDynasty]

Man Azuibuike has amazing hands. He dunks and his feet are touching the groundv . You can build an entire offense around him being doubled every play. He would be the best center wizard have ever had. There is no way okongwu could guard Azuike in the post. And I could easily see azubuike shutting down okongwu u in the post. Azubuike is extrem et ly coordinated and powerful. He does get off his feet as explosively as Shaq but sky hooks, catching the ball above the rim. When playoffs come and you need a high percentage shot, and the team already knows your plays.. azubuike is like Tim Duncan. I would definitely spend a late first on him.

Posting up doesn't work in the modern NBA. The zone defense rules make it easy to front the post while providing weakside help. There's a reason why even the best low post players get just 4 or 5 post up opportunities a game. The only exception is Embiid who is both a monster physically, and extremely highly coordinated. And even Embiid only gets 8 post up opportunities a game. For comparison, Shaq averaged around 15 post-ups per game.

Azuibuike is big and strong, but he is no Embiid, Shaq or Duncan. He's just not as coordinated.

I like Azubuike, and I think the league is poised for a renaissance of Bigs, but yeah, skilled bigs. The question on them is not low post scoring, otherwise Boban would be a HOF player since he has the historically most efficient scoring in the NBA ever. He can't stay on the floor because he is unable to play the P&R on the perimeter. Allowing zone defenses, and enforcing the 3 second rule in the paint, and disallowing hand checks has put a premium on ballhandling penetration over pounding it into the block for scores at the bucket. A guy like Bill Russell would be an ideal Big in todays league, with his ability to play point center from the free throw line, passing to cutters in motion. Azubuike ain't big Russ. That said, against those teams that do go big, on the nights when you want a dominant interior defender and a few easy buckets he is a good guy to see at the end of your bench. It's his 40% free throw shooting that would be a significant problem though, even then.

But that help defense always creates a crack, and from there, the ball is whipped to an open three pointer shooter due to the crack created by the help defense. If you don't have anyone to create a crack in the defense, then the crack is created with a pick and roll big. Yes a big like jokic who can hit the three, create monster picks, and post up with high field goal percentage is a game changer. Finding a guy like Jokic with his size, passing, rebounding, elite three point shooting is like a finding a needle in a haystack, almost as hard as finding a 9'2 elite perimeter defender with offensive upside.

[nate33]

Posting up doesn't work in the modern NBA. The zone defense rules make it easy to front the post while providing weakside help. There's a reason why even the best low post players get just 4 or 5 post up opportunities a game. The only exception is Embiid who is both a monster physically, and extremely highly coordinated. And even Embiid only gets 8 post up opportunities a game. For comparison, Shaq averaged around 15 post-ups per game.

Azuibuike is big and strong, but he is no Embiid, Shaq or Duncan. He's just not as coordinated.

I like Azubuike, and I think the league is poised for a renaissance of Bigs, but yeah, skilled bigs. The question on them is not low post scoring, otherwise Boban would be a HOF player since he has the historically most efficient scoring in the NBA ever. He can't stay on the floor because he is unable to play the P&R on the perimeter. Allowing zone defenses, and enforcing the 3 second rule in the paint, and disallowing hand checks has put a premium on ballhandling penetration over pounding it into the block for scores at the bucket. A guy like Bill Russell would be an ideal Big in todays league, with his ability to play point center from the free throw line, passing to cutters in motion. Azubuike ain't big Russ. That said, against those teams that do go big, on the nights when you want a dominant interior defender and a few easy buckets he is a good guy to see at the end of your bench. It's his 40% free throw shooting that would be a significant problem though, even then.

But that help defense always creates a crack, and from there, the ball is whipped to an open three pointer shooter due to the crack created by the help defense. If you don't have anyone to create a crack in the defense, then the crack is created with a pick and roll big. Yes a big like jokic who can hit the three, create monster picks, and post up with high field goal percentage is a game changer. Finding a guy like Jokic with his size, passing, rebounding, elite three point shooting is like a finding a needle in a haystack, almost as hard as finding a 9'2 elite perimeter defender with offensive upside.

Yes, but Jokic is arguably the best passing big who ever lived. Azubuike is no Jokic.