Good lord the Wizards have the worst luck.

FRPLG

We need not a generic X player which is all we'll get at 5. I think that is why I hate the lottery. In just about any draft there are maybe 3 impact guys and then a bunch of role type players of varying degree of quality. An awful team goes from being able to find a building block to getting yet another generic role/ok player.

itvnetop

I actually like Harden a lot... saw him play throughout the Pac-10. Reminds me of a left-handed Brandon Roy. He just had a terrible tourney, but the dude is silky smooth... he can score, pass and his overall skill-set is polished.

I'm not sold on Hill at all and since the top PG and PF (our areas of need) are off the board, go for talent... why not draft another SG Trojan, DeRozan? I'm fairly certain the FO isn't sold on DS as the future 2... and Nick will need some competition. Harden is definitely a lot further along than DD, but DeRozan has more upside... which isn't what the Wiz are looking for at this point (all points to a trade for immediate vet help).

Whatever we do, let someone else draft Thabeet. We already have defensive centers in Wood and McGee, so he'd be redundant. Our main areas of need: pass-first PG and defensive PF... if we can't fill those with relative talent to the 5th pick (meaning, not reaching for a Blair, Curry or Lawson), get our next need- a SG (if Gil's going to stay at the 1).

SmootSmack

Well, as itvnetop points out, Harden is pretty solid. And if we can get another Roy...wow! But I'm not totally convinced Harden is there yet, for one thing he really struggles going right and his midrange game could use some work. Either way, he's already better than Dixon. I don't think the Zards will rush to bring Dixon back. I want Crittenden to focus 100% on being a point guard, and I am not impressed at all with Nick Young. I'd send him packing along with the #5 for a vet.

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jsarno

Saw a mock draft, they have you getting Thabeet...great pick IMO. You need him for defense.

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Dirtbag59

James Harden seems like a better choice considering he has more potential along with a higher floor then the big men available at this spot. Sucks for the Wizards though as it seems like they'll never be able to get a suitable big man to compliment their scorers. Though I do like the notion that Harden is a less athletic Brandon Roy as they will be sitting pretty if they can get anyone even close to Roy's talent level. Hill might be a good choice to, but he might not last till 5.

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Zerohero

So you have no problem with teams tanking it?

I think you dont see this problem with football because one rookie normally isn't gamebreaking with a 53 man roster. In basketball one player can really make a difference.

jsarno

No, I don't care if teams tank it. They already suck, so tanking 5 games or so means squat. If the commish thinks they truely tanked it, then fine the team for doing so, but don't hurt the teams that actually NEED that pick. The lottery doesn't help the teams that the draft is designed to help with. The problem is these teams that suck need a great player to lead them, the problem is NOT teams tanking games. The focus needs to be redirected.

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an23dy

If you look at the probabilities our odds were not that bad. It was about 50-50 whether we would get a top 3 pick. The Kings had even worse luck than us. And you never know about any of those top picks. You never know how players will turn out. Last time we took Devin Harris when we had the 5th pick, didn't keep him, but he's an all-star now.

jsarno

Well, if you're talking about the first pick, 22 picks were all stars from 79-04. Only 4 weren't all stars. (pervis ellison, joe smith, michael olowokandi, and kwami brown...although 96-97 Smith was snubbed when he averaged 18.7 points, and 8.5 rebounds a game, and pervis ellison was snubbed in 91-92 when he averaged 20.0ppg, and 11.2 rpg!...which makes Olowokandi and Brown the worst picks in the past 3 decades...funny how one was from the dysfunctional clippers, and the other from the wizards led by Jordan.)
The last 4 years, none have made it...YET.
08- Derrick Rose (certainly will make the all star some day)
07- Greg Oden (will make the all star team some day as well)
06- Andrea Bargnani (had a break through this year, also logged the most minutes in his career...scored over 15 points per game...might make it some day if he continues to progress)
05- Andrew Bogut (had over 10 rebounds per game, but might have seen his most productive season. If he can add 5 more ppg, he'll be an all star)

Also, so far 13 1st picks are hall of famers, and at least 7 more will be, which totals 20.
So I'd have to say the first pick is of utmost importance. I understand you wouldn't have had the first pick if there was no lottery...just pointing out that you do know how a player will turn out if it's the first pick most of the time.

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SmootSmack

Latest rumor has them talking with the Thunder about moving up for Rubio. But OKC wants the 5 and Magee. I don't like that deal

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FRPLG

I thought Rubio only wanted to play for certain teams?

FRPLG

And no I don't like the idea of moving Magee. He has some good upside and the last thing they need to do is ship out inside talent.

itvnetop

I don't either... McGee's a keeper. The other rumor was trading up for either Rubio or Thabeet... I wouldn't even trade McGee for Thabeet straight up, much less throw in the 5.