How a Top-Heavy Draft Class Threatens the Wizards

The Washington Wizards don't have much to look focus on besides this upcoming draft. The order of the lottery picks will be determined publicly on May 12, when league officials randomly select who'll receive the first 14 picks based on the odds they set up for themselves based on their regular season finishes.

Even though development is the focus of those who missed the playoffs, particularly in the case of the draft-oriented Wizards, they can only cobble together so specific of a plan without first knowing where their picks will fall.

We already know that the pick Washington acquired mid-season from Memphis is set to go at #18, and the second-rounder they got as part of their mega-package in exchange for Bradley Beal gives them precedent at either #39 or #40.

The specific placements of those later picks aren't nearly as important to Washington's plan as their top pick, a guaranteed position in the top six of the draft drawing. And in a draft without a loaded top tier of talent, the difference between a draft spot closer to six than one can not be understated.

Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper each fit the bill of what teams look forward to in a top draft class prospect; Cooper, the all-around stud with plenty of room to grow and the competitive spirit to capitalize on his potential, and Harper, the talented lead guard who can feasibly blossom into an offense unto himself around NBA talent, are each expected to make multiple All-Star games at some point in the bigs.

The rest of their fellow projected lottery-bound counterparts, though, fall a bit short of that blue chip threshold. Should the Wizards' luck run dry and provide them anything short of a top-two pick in the draft, what do their next available courses of action look like?

They have two options: either sell on the pick, capitalizing on how league competitors value the blank asset for options that better suit the Wizards' situation, or bet on the scouting department and find the best available prospect at the Washington's draft slot.

The latter is the much more likely outcome of the two, as teams with records in the NBA's basement rarely move off the hard-earned reward they're handed in the lottery. Washington's front office has maneuvered their first two drafts while making every pick count, even finding value in a rare second-round pick with Tristan Vukcevic.

And it's not as if Washington has a dearth of young talent already on their roster. recent draftees in Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George would be better severed as high-level role players alongside a franchise cornerstone, but they're well-rounded and raw enough to the point that they can find ways to contribute no matter what.

Washington executives potentially moving off of their pick is still worth considering, though. No. 3 in the draft is wide open, and another franchise with less riding on their top selection could wave their other tertiary picks and young prospects in exchange for blindly moving up to a higher pick.

Teams like Atlanta and New Orleans have found themselves in pleasantly surprising spots in the order in recent years, a reminder that not everyone at the top of the finalized lottery planned, or even assumed, their luck would carry them that far.

There's only so much the Wizards can do for the next few weeks besides scout, scout and scout, ensuring that they'll be best prepared for whatever the basketball gods throw their way on the 12th. But if they come up short of their desired position, they'll have an important choice to make.

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