NBA Draft: Wizards Land 'More Polished' Ausar Thompson in Recent Mock
Wins like the 130-111 victory the Washington Wizards had over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday help inspire belief that the franchise isn't in a complete rut and may be able to build a winner out of its current pieces after all.
Even in those moments, however, it's hard to ignore everything that's brought us to a place where some are actually rooting for the Wizards to lose rather than sit through an embarrassing postseason exit.
And that would be following a less-than-stellar road into the NBA Playoffs, to begin with.
Currently, Washington's odds of making the postseason sit at just one percent, but their chances of landing an impact player in the NBA Draft go way up if the team doesn't.
For example, the team could land Overtime Elite wing Ausar Thompson, as it did in a recent mock draft from The Athletic.
"There's a case to be made that Ausar Thompson actually had a better season this year in Overtime Elite than his brother, Amen," writes Sam Vecenie. "That's largely because Ausar's game is a bit more polished at this stage."
In this mock Ausar's brother Amen goes to the Charlotte Hornets with the fourth pick to join guard LaMelo Ball and form what Vecenie says could be, "One of the most interesting up-tempo attacking duos in NBA history."
While the Wizards' Thompson isn't quite as athletic, he certainly isn't a slouch says The Athletic.
"I get a lot of Andre Iguodala vibes the more I watch Ausar," says Vecenie. "He has great feel for the game, a professional's maturity, high basketball IQ and elite athleticism. The Wizards could use all of that after years of drafting players you wouldn't exactly define as high-level athletes across the board. He'd form a nice win rotation with Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Corey Kispert."
It's easy to see Washington could benefit from an infusion of athleticism, and that makes this pick make a lot of sense.
And gives a small sliver of a silver lining around what's been a mostly disappointing season for the Wizards.
Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82
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