30 Teams 30 Days Washington Draft Preview

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30 Teams, 30 Days: Washington Draft Preview

Jun 14, 2008 12:28 PM

2007-2008 Finish: 43-39
2008 Draft Picks: 18th, 47th

Pre-Draft 2008-09 Projected Starters:
PG Gilbert Arenas
SG DeShawn Stevenson
SF Caron Butler
PF Antawn Jamison
C Brendan Haywood
Key Reserves:
PG Antonio Daniels
SG Nick Young
PF Andray Blatche
PF Darius Songaila

What the Wizards Do Well:

The Wizards have a knack for having their key players injured come playoff time. Other than that, they have some contract issues to get a hold of before we are able to see what type of team they are going to be next season.

Gilbert Arenas opted out of his contract, and Antawn Jamison is a free agent, as well. They are two of the three most important players on the roster, and if one or both leaves, this franchise will be forced to search for a new identity.

Arenas is the team?s most marketable face, but he has been hurt for most of the past two seasons. The Wizards were the top team in the East before Gilbert was sideline with this lingering knee injury. When healthy, he played in 13 games and was able to deliver 19.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.77 steals.

Caron Butler made a giant leap last season, proving he is capable of carrying the team on his back for long stretches of the season. In his third season in Washington, Butler set career highs in scoring (20.3 points, up from 19.1), assists (4.9, up from 3.7), and steals (2.2, up from 2.1), free throw shooting (90.1%, up from 87.0%), 3-point shooting (35.7%, up from 34.2%), and field goal percentage (46.6%, up from 46.3%). He also added 6.7 rebounds per game and had his first three triple-doubles of his career.

Somewhat lost in the shadows of the Washington Big Three was Antawn Jamison. Many credit the versatile power forward with being the best player on the team. He finished with a team-high 21.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, becoming one of only four players in the NBA that averaged a solid 20-10.

Greatest Areas of Improvement:

Beef in the Middle
The Wizards got a solid season out of their starting center Brendan Haywood and a very productive one out of their youthful big Andray Blatche. However, they are lacking in interior toughness and could use a big body to help deter opponents from attacking the rim. Since Jamison loves to shoot from the outside, adding a low post threat couldn?t hurt either.

Depth at the Point
While many argue that Arenas is not a true point guard ? which he isn?t ? and since the team began to play better in the postseason with Arenas on the bench and Antonio Daniels or Roger Mason running the show, perhaps it is time the Wizards look to get a point guard who is more willing to set up his teammates than himself.

Who?s Gone Number 18 Recently?

Over the past five years, the 18th pick has been a crapshoot. The New Orleans Hornets found two gems at this pick in David West and J.R. Smith, but the Celtics took a gamble on high schooler Gerald Green, who hasn?t panned out as many expected. These Wizards took a flyer on Oleksiy Pecherov two years ago and same goes for the Warriors and Belinelli last season. Neither of them are really turning out very well to this point.

2007
Marco Belinelli, Golden State Warriors

2006
Oleksiy Pecherov, Washington Wizards

2005
Gerald Green, Boston Celtics

2004
J.R. Smith, New Orleans Hornets

2003
David West, New Orleans Hornets

Who Should the Wizards Target?

For more in-depth analysis and background regarding the players that the Wizards should target in this year?s Draft, click on each player name to be redirected to Christopher Reina?s Prospect Report piece.

- Javale McGee of Nevada

Once again, we recommend that a team targets the big man out of Nevada. While McGee has been disappointing in some previous workouts, his skill set might be too much to pass up.

- JJ Hickson of NC State

Hickson has been screaming up the Draft boards after a couple of extremely effective workouts. Don?t expect the freshman out of NC State to be passed upon if the Wizards come up and no other quality bigs are left on the docket.

- Joey Dorsey of Memphis

Dorsey is a beast. Plain and simple. His age of 24 might hurt his Draft status as a first rounder, but he has the talent and motor to become the next Ben Wallace. He was a force in the middle for the Memphis Tigers and notice that they lost the national title game once he was inexplicably fouled out. His presence is invaluable, and the Wizards sure can use the Baltimore native?s toughness next season and beyond.

- Mario Chalmers of Kansas

For some reason, I love this pick for the Wiz. Chalmers is a winning point guard who can play both guard positions, defend the opponent?s best guard, and has the leadership qualities every coach wants in his point guard. This may be a reach at 18, but if the Wizards are considering shipping Gilbert Arenas out of town, sending him to his hometown Los Angeles Clippers for Elton Brand and picking up Chalmers here might be the best idea in Wizard history.

Picks Over the Past Five Years

The have done well in the recent past on Draft day, with the exception of 2006. They found Steve Blake in the second round of 2003, turned the fifth pick in 2004 into Antawn Jamison, stole Andray Blatche in the second round of ?05, and landed two youths in 2007 with loads of potential.

2007
Nick Young, 16th
Dominic McGuire, 47th

2006
Oleksiy Pecherov, 18th
Vladimir Veremeenko, 48th

2005
Andray Blatche, 39th

2004
Devin Harris, 5th (traded to Dallas)
Peter John Ramos, 33rd

2003
Jarvis Hayes, 10th
Steve Blake, 38th

Previous Editions of the 30 Teams, 30 Days Series

Whom do you want the Wizards to draft at number 18? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments and questions.

Tags: NBA

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