Washington Wizards NBA Draft Preview | The Wizards Podcast | S2, E34

Washington Wizards NBA Draft Preview | The Wizards Podcast | S2, E34

what is up and welcome back to another episode of the Wizards podcast i’m your host Greg Finnberg and today’s episode we’re going to be talking about the Washington Wizards and going through my NBA draft preview we’re going to be talking about a plethora of things ace Bailey slide and possibly falling to the Wizards at six my big board for for number six number 18 options at number 40 possible trade up and trade back scenarios and spots for the Wizards all the latest reports and buzz that I’m hearing and that others are hearing about the draft and all all of that and more in this episode so my goal with this with this Wizards NBA draft preview pod is for you to come away from it knowing everything you need to know entering Wednesday’s round one and and eventually Thursday’s round two and so when you’re at your your draft party or you’re you’re watching the draft with your friends and they say “Hey man who do you think the Wizards should take at six or who do you think there is going to fall the six?” and you sit there and you say you know what you know ideally a guy like Trey Johnson with a shot making shooting 40% from three at Texas falls to the Wizards or maybe a VJ Edgecom a really athletic wing falls to them but I doubt that happens considering Philly’s interest in Edgecomb at three and you know Charlotte’s interest in Johnson at four so you know maybe Canipple goes top five and the Wizards are sat there and you got Ace Bailey out of Ruckers a really good score a very high ceiling uh but could also you know not pan out in the NBA you got Jeremiah Fear shot 28% from three at at Oklahoma some people don’t think he can shoot high turnover rate but he can get by anybody you throw in front of him led Oklahoma to the tournament so I think it’s probably going to be between both Bailey and Fears and we’ll see what they do there and then your friend sat there and says “Oh my god like how do you know all that stuff you’re you’re a genius.” And you don’t even have to cite me you can just say you know what I know ball and that’s fine you don’t have to you don’t have to say you learned it from the Wizards podcast uh but you’ll know deep down inside that you did learn it here and and hopefully that is the goal of this episode that you you gain that type of valuable insight into what the Wizards are thinking when it comes to to the number six overall pick so without further ado I want to start the episode by talking about some of the recent draft buzz um kind of going through a plethora of different reports so that you guys are updated with with everything that that the general public at least knows and and again these are reports these guys aren’t necessarily there with these teams so again not saying it’s all correct or or true but it all you know it’s all from from credible sources that I’ve I’ve kind of pulled into one big pile of of reporting uh and I’ll start it here with with everything that’s happening with with Ace Bailey because I think that’s kind of the the story of the draft right now you know Flag will go one you know unless something crazy happens Harper will go two and you can kind of start to to fill it out from there but where he’s Bailey goes is really going to dictate the temperature of this you know top five top six of the draft uh basically I put out another shorter pod the other day so if you really want a deep dive into everything that’s happening with Bailey and how he could potentially fall to the Wizards you can go to the latest video on the channel or the last pod it’s about 21 22 minutes of me just diving into it but I’ll give you a refresher if you missed that episode essentially Ace Bailey is the only US-born prospect that is yet to complete a pre-draft individual workout um you know he for whatever reason and I think it’s from from his Omar Cooper who who is his agent apparently he’s a guy that that might not be giving the best advice but he’s in his ear basically telling him to to cancel the pre-draft workout that he had with the Philadelphia 76ers last minute um ESPN reported that Bailey has refused to work out for several teams in his you know draft range which I can summize as being anywhere from three to six and and maybe it stretches to seven and eight as well but you know that probably means that he’s canled already with with Philly but um you know maybe refused to work out with Utah we I saw a report today that he refused to work out with the Jazz and possibly the Hornets maybe even the Wizards and Pelicans and Nets and stuff like that um but but some of those teams you know he’s definitely apparently refused to work out for um so it’s a very very weird draft strategy apparently wants to stay on the East Coast um he wants a proven pathway to development and to stardom which I would expect to be the Wizards in that you know area you know if you want to play NBA basketball as a rookie you want to play heavy minutes as a rookie you know look no further than the Wizards because three of the top five rookies from last season and minutes played in total um or I guess in I minutes played per game basis is the right stat um three of those five rookies were on the Wizards last year you know Bub led all rookies with 30 a game sar was second and then George was fifth so if you want uh you know to be on a team where you’re going to play heavy minutes as a rookie and you’re gonna have a proven pathway to stardom and to development why would you not want to go to the Wizards um you know the Nets obviously make sense too and I’ve seen reports especially from Troy Hallebertton that suggest Bailey would like to play for the Nets as well um I don’t know why Utah wouldn’t be that as well well I know they have a bunch of young guys already and they have Markin and all but they still would give him good minutes charlotte probably as well although they do have Miller they took Saloon last year they have LaMelo Ball that apparently some prospects don’t want to play next to um but that’s kind of the reporting on on on Bailey like he he clearly wants to go to specific destinations i think based on the reporting on where he would like to you know force his way to Washington makes sense um so you know if you if you told me a week ago Ace Bailey you know I I would say um what is the percentage on on Bailey falling to six I’d say maybe 10% probably less and now I’m sitting here saying 75% chance that Ace Bailey is available at six just based on the reports that I’ve seen the lack of pre-draft workouts um and a lot can change right there could be last minute workouts and stuff but but nothing yet and if you ask me now I’d say that that that’s a big development in terms of reporting with with Bailey um I mentioned Troy Halleurn earlier it’s my guy Wizards Insider um he’s been plugged in so I I’ve seen a lot of people question his credibility like Troy knows what he’s talking about he is plugged in he has sources within the team so you can choose to believe him or not i’m going to because I trust Troy um but Troy Troy reported that the Wizards had individual workouts with Trey Johnson Jeremiah Fears and Coniple um you know Fears was held apparently at Georgetown so they could um have it secretive so no one could see apparently he has fans in the Wizards front office same with Johnson who has apparently been shooting the lights out and killing it in bridge off workouts which is not a surprise to me he’s three on my board canipple individual workout there as well with the Whiz um I’m sure they they like Canipple i don’t know if that’s the swing that they’re looking for necessarily you know in the top six but but nonetheless they apparently according to Troy had individual workouts uh Derek Queen Troy said had a group workout which you can take from that what you will but if you’re having individuals for all of these guys projected in the top five top six and Derek Queen who’s slipping on some draft boards has a group workout I think that their interest in him you know based on that is significantly less than than a fears or or a Johnson or a canipple uh because if they really liked him I would assume they had him for a one-on-one individual and based on tours reporting they didn’t um and they could always have him in for a last second workout before the draft they’re still 4 days before by the time I’m recording this but um that that could all change and that’s that’s Troy’s reporting um in terms of other prospects in this range and what what I’m hearing or what other reports are are indicating is that the Hornets really like VJ Edgecomb uh you know his floor I’ve heard is four i would assume if I did a mock draft right now I’d tell you Philly takes him at three apparently he had a good workout there they think he’s a good kid good athleticism the shot has a way to go but but he fits pretty well on a contending team like Philly and kind of plug him in on the wing anywhere so I would assume Philly takes him there and I think unless the Wizards trade up to like four or maybe even three if they really like him um you know they’re not going to get VJ Edgecom so you could probably take him off your board for the Wizards I’d be pretty surprised if he falls to six so I’d assume Philly takes him there but but if not Charlotte will take him uh I’ve also like I said heard that Trey Johnson’s been killing it in terms of shooting and all that and prejob workouts interviewed well uh Khan Canipple worked out with the Utah Jazz he said he had a Zoom call set up for with Philly i’ve heard his floor is eight so I I doubt he falls past that again while the Wizards might like him and he’s a really talented prospect they might be aiming for a higher ceiling in that range than Canipple and I certainly think a guy like Bailey and Fierce have higher ceilings than Canipple uh in terms of of other reports Jake Fischer reported this was about a week ago that that teams believe the Whiz were looking to to maybe leaprog the Jazz into the top five um again that that would make sense if they have a guy that they’ve circled and they they really like him you know Will Dawkins has shown he’s not afraid to trade up for for anybody uh he did it with BL he did it with uh Bub Carrington he did it with Keshan George so like he’s willing to pay the price if he really can get value back and also likes the prospect that he’s getting um and so I could I could definitely see a trade up and we’ll talk more about that later in the show um the signals reported that Malawok worked out for the Jazz he visited the Wizards i don’t know if he worked out for the Wizards but I read a report that he visited the Wizards uh I also want to talk about my guy Grant Absth um he he and I’m sure if you follow NBA Central on on Twitter you saw the aggregated post but it was basically an excerpt from Grant’s article saying that the Wizards have contacted the Spurs in regards to the number two pick which you know would be to draft Dylan Harper and that there were some surprising names thrown out there i mean I could assume that’s probably beli with the French connection you know and the friendship with WBY you know maybe it’s even like Bob Carrington or Kehan George no matter what it is I I think it’s too steep of a price and I I really like Harper as a prospect but I I just don’t think he’s that much better than a guy that you might be able to get at six like especially if Bailey falls to you at six i think Harper’s a much better prospect but not someone that I’d be willing to trade beli up to get you know and and some people will be like you got to get your star um you have a bunch of like good players but you need a great one you’re not going to go anywhere with these good players i disagree you know they’re only a year in most of them two years in like let them develop i’m not trading one of the the last two draft uh years of of picks to to go up and get Harper i’m not doing that uh but but Grant did reach out to me um and was basically like they aggregated it and they they forgot to include the the notable part in that all of those offers were were shut down they were they were basically saying you know what thanks for your offer but we’re we’re not going to do it and so I think that’s important you know the Wizards are doing their due diligence i’m sure they’re looking at at moves to be aggressive uh but in terms of the traction to number two I just I think that that’s not going to happen so I wouldn’t get your hopes up on that and that’s kind of the the reports and all the draft buzz that I’ve compiled about some of the top prospects as of now and I’m recording this a bit early i’m recording this on on on Saturday night so you know a lot could could come out after and if it does maybe I’ll add in in some stuff later but nonetheless like that that’s kind of the the buzz that’s been been circling around you can you can take from it what you will you can call it a smoke screen if you want uh but but that’s what what I’ve compiled um now moving forward I want to get into into my my big board at at number six because like I could go through my entire big board but this is the Wizards podcast this is a Wizards pre-draft preview um I want to talk everything Wizards and and so you have number six and yes they could trade up they could trade back and I’ll get into some of that later but I’m going to talk about this big board at number six as if they’re going to stay put uh as if the top five uh picks stay put and so where I’m looking at now is is basically this is where I’m at minus uh Flag and Harper because I know for sure that they’re going to go um so if if you ask me at six taking those guys out who who I in an ideal world I would prefer falls to Washington it’s Trey Johnson you know the the 40 plus percent from three at at Texas in an SEC that that was a really tough conference leading them to the tournament uh you know just basically carrying that offense on his back really good shooter one of the best if not the best in in the draft uh somebody that I think you could plug and play pretty quickly somebody that apparently had really good pre-draft workouts so in an ideal world that’s the guy that falls i’d give it maybe like a 5% chance that he’s there at six so I doubt that happens same goes for Edgecomb like I I have him right after uh Johnson on on that board really athletic wing that I think could be a good defender in the NBA if the shot starts to fall he could be a good wing uh as well to put anywhere you know I feel like he’s a guy that can kind of fit anywhere uh and so you know I just buy his his upside and his potential there and kind of put him in there behind Trey Johnson but I I doubt that they they are there right like if you had to have me guess I would assume that Edgecomb goes three to Philadelphia i would assume that Trey Johnson goes four to Charlotte um and if not there then he certainly goes five to Utah if Genipo goes four so like I I just I don’t foresee any pathway to either of those guys falling like I mentioned with Edgecom earlier I think if Philly doesn’t take him at three you know Houston the Hornets turn that draft card in so quickly to take him at four from all I’ve heard so those guys would be ideal but I I really don’t think there’s a good chance that they fall and so now you’re sitting at at five6 if you’re the Wizards um and I think this is a good spot for them right because let’s say that Ace Bailey doesn’t get drafted at number three let’s say he doesn’t get drafted by the Hornets at number four the Wizards are sat there at six and you have a 100% chance of either drafting Ace Bailey or Jeremiah Fierce i heard the Wizards are very high on Fierce and I understand the oh well the Wizards have Jordan Pool and Fierce is probably a similar player to Pool like why would you draft Fierce i if you haven’t listened to any of these pods sure but if you have you don’t understand that my take on this is you draft the best player available like this team has so many needs that you’re not just going to draft plugandplay guys like you’re the Sixers and you can contend next year you need talent and I think Fear is is talented enough and and everyone’s saying he turns the ball over too much he can’t shoot the ball he’s too small like that’s said by a lot of people about a lot of smaller guards that come into the league but I really like his reads in the pick and roll again he’s only 18 years old like again he should be a freshman in college next year and he’s going to be starting NBA games so there is a long ways to go obviously is a point guard but I I I’m still going to be very happy if the Wizards land a guy like Fierce but I I think that realistically and from from what I’ve been hearing from from talking to a lot of people that that have been plugged into the situation is that the Wizards are are realistically between four guys at at six it’s it’s Johnson Edgecomb Bailey Fears and and they’re going to have a chance to draft one of those four which is why I wouldn’t move back i wouldn’t move up i think that the Wizards need to take talent and even if Brooklyn sat there and says “Hey here’s 19 uh and eight and I want to move up and get Bailey again.” That doesn’t do enough for me like I’m taking Ace Bailey pretty quickly if he falls you just can’t pass on that talent um we’ll talk I don’t want to get too caught up in trades but but but if you had to ask me you know that first tier at six would be Trey Johnson VJ Edgecom then Ace Bailey then Jeremiah Ferris and as big of a Fierce fan as I am I just think that you can’t pass on talent like Ace Bailey and I will say like I tweeted out Ace’s uh highlights from his 39 points uh on 16 of 29 from the field game against Indiana on the road last year um and if you look at the quotes and replies like I did it’s either number one Ace Bailey is the worst player I’ve ever seen he can’t get past these college defenders on Indiana he’s taken only tough shots and the other people are like “Yeah but he made over 50% of them.” Like he was getting tough buckets imagine what he can do with a better handle with NBA you know type development with more separation and and he’s going to be a star and it’s very he’s probably one of the most polarizing if not the most polarizing top prospects that I’ve seen in a while but I I buy it you know I I I obviously understand the concerns especially the red flags of the pre-draft process but I don’t think that’s Bailey i think that’s his agent so I’m not too concerned with that i just think that he’s just too talented to pass on at six as much as I or the Wizards like fears um and if the Wizards get to that point I I also wouldn’t expect them to pass on Bailey i think if Bailey falls to six unless they’re completely blown away with fears or they’re blown away with a tradeback offer I think you just got to submit the card and and say you know what we’re banking on the upside and so that’s kind of where I’d be at in that first tier and realistically for the Wizards I don’t think I need to really go further I guess because one of those four players will be there and I will be happy if they get one of those four players but if you go into other tiers I would have Canipple there right after fears and that’s mainly because I think he’s the most talented of of the people uh in that second tier and now I don’t think the Wizards should draft him i mean it’s pretty clear if you stay at six like any of the guys in my first tier one of them will be on the board so you should take that guy if I was drafting I would take the whatever guy is left but in that second tier I think Canipple is the most the most talented now now I do have someone here at at six on this a number six overall big board and that’s Noah Si like I I I think that there is a a realistic chance and this is just me big braining this like taking what I saw the last two years where the Wizards had you know belali after playing in the playoffs pretty late into June had one opportunity to work out individually with the NBA team before the draft he chose the Wizards because they were the highest that could possibly take him I guess in his range and he killed it and they traded up and they took him at seven uh and then you have Bub Carrington who last year comes in I think the night before the draft kills it in his workout and the Wizards are like you know what we really want this guy we have this trade with Denny Odia we’re going to we’re going to move 22-y old Denny on a great contract um and I don’t know what the the main reason for doing that was but I think getting Bub Carrington at 14 which is probably the the start of his draft range was vital in making that move and they draft Bub and so I could I could foresee you know a guy like Cassen that’s still playing deep into the playoffs hasn’t done any individual workouts he comes in late and he’s like you know what the Wizards are maybe the one team that I could convince early on to draft me he does a workout with the Whiz maybe he kills it and I could see maybe the Wizards are like you know what Bailey is gone and we could do fears but Asen killed it and we’ll take him like that would be shocking but if I’d have a sleeper where you know like the the 1% chance in the 1% in me thinks that maybe the Wizards take a big swing um you know 610 barefoot seven foot wingspan for a sen French lanky forward it kind of speaks Will Dawkins and the archetype he likes so that’s a that’s a a kind of you know from left field type play that maybe the Wizards make and maybe if they trade back they could they could still take him because I think he’ll be there towards the back end of the top 10 and probably outside that but that is if you had to ask me if there’s a dark horse candidate I’d probably say him based on the size and the measurements and the intangibles uh but but I I I I still think it’s fears or Bailey think the Wizards from what I’ve heard are down to those four that I mentioned earlier and and it’ll likely be Bale Your Fears based on what I’ve been uh reading up and hearing so that’s kind of my big board i got Derrick Queen right after Sang like I I’ve seen him really falling to the back end of the lottery i’ve seen reports that the Wizards could want to trade back into the lottery to take him moving up a couple spots from 18 i just think the value in Queen like I think will be there later and I’d rather take somebody else at six and that doesn’t mean that I don’t like Queen he’s eight on my board currently um but I just I would rather take Bailey or fears you know over over Queen at six and then in that next year Malawa you know Jieor Demon I like them but again I just I I would rather take other other players it doesn’t mean that I I don’t think those are two talented prospects and certainly if they fall I I think the Wizards should be all over drafting one of them um but I just certainly wouldn’t do it at six uh again like to recap if you ask me best case scenario Johnson falls to six that’s great um my realistic prediction here is the top five goes Flag Harper Edgecomb Johnson Bailey and the Wizards take fears at six like I I I think you know for all of the Ace Bailey not wanting to work out with the Jazz I don’t know if there’s any truth to those rumors and I also think the Jazz are the type of team to be like you know what f it like you’re the best player here we need some talent we need to take a big swing to get this rebuild going because they said they don’t want to rebuild next year they want to compete let’s take a guy like Ace Bailey here and I think that’s realistic um if you wanted a bold prediction uh and this is a really bold prediction and this is this is going back into into the trade route uh but but if you had to you know sit here and say like Greg give me your Galaxy big brain uh prediction here here it is okay and you can clown me on this for the comments this isn’t you know what I think is going to happen but bold prediction top five goes Flag Harper Edgecomb Canipple Johnson and the Wizards out there at six with a chance to take Ace Bailey but the Nets come in and they say “You know what we we need Ace Bailey we really want Ace Bailey here’s eight and 19 for for for Bailey.” Uh and then if I’m the Wizards I’m like “Okay the Pelicans really like him too you want to give me a better offer and see if there can be a type of of bidding war you know when it comes to to Bailey and if not uh you take eight and 19 and you trade back to to eight you know Nets take Bailey at six the Pells are apparently pretty high on Malawok maybe they they take him there at seven and then the Wizards get 19 and still get Fears at at eight um or if fierce goes seven they still get a sen at eight or demon or queen at eight and then they use 19 and 18 to trade back up and take someone like queen like demen like a sen like so whoever falls and that they really like that’s kind of like a bold prediction that I think could happen if they end up trading back but if I’m them I’m I think fears are bailey one of them will be there and so I would just sit at at six i wouldn’t trade up either like I I really like Trey Johnson but I wouldn’t be willing to pay as as much as I think it would cost to to to move up with with Philadelphia and kind of make a a play there so that’s kind of everything I I guess you need to know in regards to the number six pick um there’s certainly trade up and tradeback scenarios um that that I could see you know Philly at three I think it’s likely too expensive it’s only if the Wizards absolutely love one of Bailey Edgecomb and Johnson and think that they need to make a move up to get him uh Charlotte again I I’ve seen that they’re reportedly open to a move back if Edgecomb is off the board but again I think they need Talon i think they’ll take Trey Johnson if he’s there um the Jazz again doubt that the Wizards swap with them but but I could foresee something like you know Bailey falls to five and the Jazz don’t want him and they got Brooklyn on the phone saying “Hey we’ll move up from eight three spots here’s we’re going to give you we can give you like eight 19 and like 27 and we will move back or we’ll give you Cam Johnson and eight or I don’t know what their value is to get a guy like Bailey but if they really want him they’re on the clock and then you got to go if you’re Utah to Washington and say “Hey do you really want Bailey?” Because he won’t be there at six i have Brooklyn who’s going to trade up you need to give me a lot to move up and get him because I think Washington’s would be a more enticing offer to to Utah if they don’t want Bailey you can only move back one slot you still get to pick basically the guy you want you know considering you clearly don’t want Bailey he’s on the clock and you’re going to trade your pick so I think you know they go to Washington and maybe Washington’s like you know what we we have to move make a move up for for Bailey we’ll give you we’ll give you uh six we’ll give you 40 we’ll give you like three or four second round picks or maybe they’ll give you the protect the the late 2026 uh first rounder they got in the Reggie Jackson for Jared Butler trade from Philly you know there’s there’s a plethora of of options but I I honestly think that’s pretty realistic if Bailey falls and and Utah doesn’t want him he doesn’t want Utah maybe a bidding war with Washington their hand is kind of forced like what happened with Bal where um Utah in that draft apparently was going to you know jump Washington uh to get Koulabali and so Indiana was like hey give me two seconds and and your pick at se at eight and then move up to seven and take Bal and that was kind of the deal that happened so I could foresee something like that happening where the Wizards give up you know plethora of seconds um or or maybe you know a future first from another team and I could foresee trades like that happening now I don’t see a big big jump up into the top three top four for Washington but a one jump up to maybe get Ace Bailey that’s something that I I think could realistically happen if there’s a bidding war between them and Brooklyn and maybe even the Pelicans who apparently like Bailey as well um in terms of trading back again like possibility is mainly Brooklyn i really don’t think the Wizards would like to go any farther back than than eight uh certainly but but if you’re if you’re the Wizards Brooklyn has 81 19 26 and 27 they have a bunch of future ones you know if you’re really looking to take someone top 10 and then move back up and take another guy late lottery having 18 and 19 is certainly a good package if you’re looking to move up to get you know a Derek Queen in the late lottery or Jagger or Demon Anoa Sen somebody like that um so that’s the realistic trade option I see with with Brooklyn maybe is picking up eight but also getting 19 and 26 27 some of those uh but but I I realistically think the trades are maybe a little overblown um the most realistic one is a bidding war for for five to get Bailey and maybe the Wizards just slightly edge out Brooklyn’s offer uh to just move up one spot utah only moves back one spot give up a couple seconds and and you know get get Ace Bailey i could see something like that happening based on you know Dawkins being aggressive and trading up in a lot of of drafts in the past uh moving moving forward i gave you my big board for six um I’m going to give you my my big board for 18 now um it starts with with Ace Newell out of out of Georgia um you know this is a a big man that I realistically think could play the four or the five in the pro level i think he’d compleiment Sar as somebody that that can rebound better than Sar somebody that can kind of pick up Sar where he might have faltered especially as a rookie i think that’d be a pretty good combo you know Newell is 14 on my board if he’s there at 18 I certainly think the Wizards should take him um I have him slightly edging out Thomas Sorber but if the Georgetown uh product is there you know bruising center that I think has a way more polished out interior game than Sar does um show the ability to shoot the ball but I don’t foresee him to be a knockdown shooter but it’s somebody that I think could play alongside a guy like Sar uh certainly so if he’s there I I’d be high on him rashier Fleming out of St joe’s really really good wingspan and and height for a forward in the league tremendous shooter shot 39% from three on a high volume at St joe’s um just kind of the the typical prototype of of a a four i compare him to a guy like Nas Reed who’s had a lot of success in the NBA uh so I’m pretty high on that that’s kind of my first tier of guys that if they’re there at 18 and the Wizards I think will trade up from the spot but if they don’t um and and one of those three you know forwards are there I would I would like the Wizards to to take a crack at especially considering the Wizards lack of depth down low like if they let Rashawn Holmes walk for um pretty much only 250,000 this off season um that leaves them with Alexar and Tristan Vukovich and Vauvich is still on the two-way deal so you need some depth you need you know centers especially if you’re moving on this rebuild or forwards and so I think that would make sense there uh at 18 that that next uh range I got Drake Powell out of UNC i think he’s a prototypical 3 and D guy i’m a lot higher on power than most but um just really like what he provides um to an NBA team might not be the flashiest pick but but every team needs three and D guys especially on the wing the more depth you can have there the better and I think Powell um has shown an ability to to be that that type of three and D guy um Nolan Nolan Treyair out of out of France like this is a predicted top three top five pick at the beginning of the season didn’t have a great year but but ended it shooting the ball way better than I thought um he would and and so I I would buy the the defense that he brings the possible offensive upside with Treyair um Cedric Coward certainly I I based on all reports he’s could go top 10 he’s probably a lottery pick so I doubt he’s there um I’m a little less high on him than some but he apparently can’t miss he’s a really good shooter and and the development has been pretty astounding throughout college so definitely someone that I would bank on if he’s there uh to take i got Nick Clifford Noah Penda uh Danny Wolf Colin Murray Bole’s kind of rounding out that that that spot um that’s just kind of my take on some of those prospects that could be there in that range but if I had to guess like one of New Fleming or or Sorber should be available at 18 uh and based on reports I think Troy reported this as well that the Wizards have been looking to move up from 18 to kind of get back into the late lottery and if a guy like Queen Falls falls or Demond falls like I I I could see the Wizards being very aggressive in in moving up to take one of those uh one of those players uh I I think best case scenario right is like somehow someway Queen Debon Sorber Sen one of those four just like has a draft fall and and they’re there at 18 we saw this just two years ago with Cam Whitmore where everyone was saying you know what with the Wizards it would be great if he fell to them but he’s going top five easy and then he fell out of nowhere and I’m pretty sure the Rockets ended up taking him at 18 and so you know a guy like Derek Queen who some think could go in the top 10 some maybe right outside it if he begins to fall because of his poor combine performance or he’s not doing good in pre-draft workouts and he’s there at 18 like that’s an easy that’s an easy pick if Demond falls which I doubt he will it’s an easy pick and so I think one of those guys could end up falling to the whiz best case scenario but if they don’t maybe the Wizards are like you know what we need to trade up realistic expectation like I think a guy like Thomas Sorber could fall to the Wizards here at 18 and I think if he does that would be a great pick um so so him or Fleming would probably be my prediction there i think that they are you know pretty good Dawkins type players that would fit this rebuild pretty well and so that’s kind of my my big board at 18 not as indepth as six because we just don’t hear as much buzz about these guys uh than we do six and that’s because the draft is is way more structured in the beginning where you kind of know where guys are are likely going to fall and then it’s kind of a free-for-all outside the top 10 and outside the lottery with trades and move backs and and all that that movement you don’t really know who’s going to be drafted where and so you know not as much depth obvious obviously about about 18 but but there’s certainly going to be talent there if the Wizards don’t move up my guess would be that they try to and maybe they do crack back into the lottery to take someone that falls but certainly wouldn’t be mad if they stayed put and had a pretty simple draft at six and 18 and and just you know kind of took whatever talent would would fall to them because I think there will be talent there um getting back into into some of the trade buzz like I mentioned there’s not many potential suitors in terms of trade ups and trade backs like the trade up market is pretty pretty dead in my opinion i really don’t see that unless it’s a slight move up with with Utah um to to to kind of out bid Brooklyn and get Bailey um trade backs possibly Brooklyn um if they want to trade back into the lottery it’s it’s pretty tough like San Antonio is one of the teams that I think wants to contend next year have some expiring salaries they’re sat there at at at um at 14 they weren’t one of you know they weren’t the best shooting team last year they still have a decent bit of of open roster spots and especially on the bench with shooting needs so again I think Kiss is the most likely veteran to get traded troy Hallebert you know supports that claim um I I I just realistically think that if there’s going to be a move one that would make sense would be you know 18 and Kiss for 14 and and like Harrison Barnes at $19 million expiring salary kiss’s on a decent contract for the next four years maybe the Spurs want Kiss to be part of their year their their young core certainly gives them shooting and it’s not like I’m I’m not being biased here because I know Cory Kiss is a he’s a good shooter he had a bad year last year but in the right system I think he can get back to the 38 39 plus 40 plus percent from three and I’m sure the Spurs if they make that trade would be one of the teams that would be willing to buy into into that possible upside for Kiss so like 18 and Kiss for a four spot move up you get 14 and Barnes’s $19 million expiring deal um I think the Spurs would do that too if they really did like Kispert so that’s a deal that I think could make sense and the Wizards get back to 14 they can take someone that falls into the lottery um but but in terms of other slots like Atlanta I don’t think would make would make too much sense in that back end of the lottery i think they still need talent um and I don’t really know what the Wizards could send them to really you know entice a trade um you know I’ve seen a lot of people saying that Houston pick a 10 because they’re another team that’s contending uh I think maybe they trade that back to Phoenix i think they certainly will if that’s where KD goes and I’ve had to guess i think that is where KD will go um but again like I’ve seen Kiss an 18 for 10 uh that makes no sense like the the contracts don’t really align with the Wizards uh and the Rockets for Kiss so like I would probably take that out of the equation i think if you’re looking at a move up you know 18 to 14 giving up Kispert and and taking on Barnes’s expiring deal that’s the trade that I think makes sense or something along those lines there’s also the possibility the Wizards get into a multi-team trade like Kevin Durant trade I’ve heard is probably going to be a multi-team you know three four team trade to make contracts work the Wizards certainly have cap space to take on bad contracts maybe in order to do that they get a slight move up and and get someone that they like we we’ll see what happens uh but but that’s certainly a spot that I think they could they could be at um where where they they could maybe move back up um in terms of like their trade assets if you’re looking at who could be dealt at the draft if you’re the Wizards like P Kisper Smart Middleton Bay are kind of your veterans that the contending teams might covet especially at the draft uh I would assume like I mentioned that Kissird is the most likely to get dealt i I I don’t foresee pool getting traded unless the deal is unbelievable smart maybe middleton no the contract’s just too bad bay i think the Wizards would probably like to see what they have in him and build that value up and other teams too because he’s a guy that hasn’t played in over a year he’s coming off an ACL injury they they’d probably want to see more that you know of Bay before they make a deal so I I doubt that happens so again Kisser maybe and and if anyone else were to get traded I think it’d be pretty uh surprising but again I’ll remind you that nobody thought that Dendi Avia would get moved last year at the draft and the Wizards were like you know what we got two ones we can get Bob Garington uh we’re going to have to take it and that’s kind of what they ended up doing so like I don’t think Jordan Pool is going to get traded but I could be you know loading up to to watch the draft at 7:30 and I get the the Shams notification that he’s gone and he’s to another team the Wizards got you know a decent hall so I would keep I would I would keep your expectations open i would I would enter the draft knowing that this run office could be unpredictable at times and who you know no matter who you think is untouchable or or couldn’t be dealt could certainly be dealt on on draft night so that’s kind of their their trade assets in terms of additional first round picks if they’re looking to move up um they have their own next year’s top eight protected they can’t technically trade that but it is it is probably going to you know stay with the Wizards um they have a 2026 first round pick that is the worst of OKC LAC and Houston a 2030 first round pick via Portland and they have a 2030 top 20 protected first round pick via Golden State um they also have pick swaps via Phoenix in 26 28 and 30 um but I I again I don’t think that you can trade pick swaps unless you also trade the pick along with it uh is what I’ve read so those are like what they have in terms of assets but I don’t know about tradable assets and then second round picks like this took me a while to count and I could very well be wrong but based on my account they have 11 through 20 31 um and if not 11 then maybe it’s like 12 or it’s 10 but it’s somewhere in that range and so I think that they would be very willing to trade some of those second round picks to move up a couple spots and and get their guy so that’s just kind of the ammo they have on top of the veterans that they could deal and the contracts they could take back if they’re looking to make some some draft trades and and it’s some some enticing assets and and I think the Wizards would be completely you know comfortable maybe trading one of those excess ones if they could really jump up and get the prospect that they that they so covet uh in in the top part of of the draft um again I could go into some names at at at pick 40 um I just did a mock draft kobe Brea out of Kentucky shot 43% from three in the SEC he fell to the Wizards uh at 40 i selected him i think that’d be tremendous value there a guy like Cam Jones out of Marquette i I I’d be pretty pretty happy with the Wizards taking you know somebody with the offensive ability and the talent that that Cam certainly has seion James out of Duke uh maybe Tyrese Proctor like there are certainly going to be some names at 40 and if I had to guess the Wizards will will trade this pick but there will there will be there will be talent to be had there will be guys in that range that Washington uh could certainly covet you know especially um in a deep class like this but the last couple of years they they’ve moved that pick and especially last year moving the second to move up two spots in in the late first round get Keshan George so I think they’re going to be aggressive with the stockpile of picks and assets they have um if I had to guess there’s there’s probably like a less than 25% chance that they pick at 68 and 40 and like nowhere else there’s no movement um but but hopefully this is kind of a good um summation of of what to expect for for the Wizards come come Wednesday night’s draft it’s at 8:00 p.m eastern time it should be on ESPN on on Wednesday the 25th the second round again is separate so that will be the next day and I think that actually starts sometime in the afternoon pretty early if I recall but that’ll be the next day uh on the 26th Thursday and so be on the lookout for that um I’m going to do a I haven’t done Twitter spaces in in forever and I feel like I owe that to Wizards fans so I’m going to do one the night before the draft uh I think probably around like 700 p.m 7:30 makes the most sense uh but most likely 7 on my Twitter um and that’s just going to be an open forum for draft discussion so anybody that wants to come up and share their draft thoughts who the Wizards should take at 6 18 40 what trades that they should do what they think about Bailey fears all that uh open discussion for as as long as I I can keep it going um to kind of preview the draft there and talk about the Whiz with Wizards fans and Wizards Twitter people there so be on the lookout for that if you want to participate or just listen um and so I think this will probably be the last pod before it’s going to be a preview pod uh I will have a pod after round one i will also have a pod after round two kind of recapping the Wizards draft and and kind of my takeaways grading each pick grading their draft overall so be on the lookout for that but that’s probably going to wrap it up for for this episode there’s a lot that that that could happen between now and and Wednesday and certainly by the time this is released and Wednesday there’s going to be a lot of of buzz and a lot of reports saying this guy doesn’t want to go here this guy wants to go here there’s draft workouts here and here trade buzz here and here so the steam is starting to to certainly pick up i think Kevin Durant getting traded will be the first domino to probably fall and then there will be dominoes that fall after that um and so I I would certainly be on the lookout for for that and kind of how that affects the whole draft landscape to begin with but if you had to you know have me and I’ll end the episode with this um if you ask me right now you know Greg if you had to guess who who are the Washington Wizards taking at number six on on Wednesday I would say Jeremiah Fierce again like Ace Bailey could be there and that that would make sense but I I’ll see it when I believe it and I certainly think if Baileyy’s there even if you like Fierce you have to take Ace Bailey but if you you had to have me guess like I think Bailey will still somehow go in the top five beers will be there at six and the Wizards are going to just kind of take him because from all I’ve heard they like him so theers would be my prediction there at six i I don’t foresee a trade up or a trade back i think the Wizards like the talent they have there um from what I’ve been hearing they’re down to those four guys and Johnson Edgecomb The and Bailey for um who they want at number six and and the math works like one of those guys will be there at six so I if I’m them I stay put unless I’m blown away by an offer and I take whoever falls to me at that spot i think you’d come away from the draft pretty happy considering that you got shafted by the draft lottery and and you didn’t get a top pick that you probably should have gotten based on how much losing you had but nonetheless that’s a topic for another discussion um you know coming coming away certainly with Bailey at six after that fall would be an unbelievable draft and if you even get fears there great value um but hopefully you come away from this episode knowing everything you need to know about the Wizards and their draft again based on any of the takes that I had or any of the reports I I talked about feel free to let me know in the comments what you think um who you want to draft at six who you like at 18 trades that you would probably propose um but but feel free the comments are at open form my DMs are always open so feel free to to let me know how you’re feeling about the Wizards entering Wednesday night’s draft but again it’s going to do it for this episode i hope you learned something about the Wizards that you can take into Wednesday’s draft thanks for listening as always go is

Greg breaks down everything Wizards fans need to know entering Wednesday’s NBA Draft, including Ace Bailey’s possible slide, options at No. 6, the latest trade buzz and more. Enjoy!