Wizards' Draft Opinions with 2011 Projected Lineups

After the NBA Lottery punished the Wizards with the 6th pick, my expectations for a successful draft were lowered significantly.  Being able to select Enes Kanter was my dream scenario for the Wizards pre-lottery.  After witnessing the lottery, I figured that they would end up having to select the worst of my 2nd tier since they had the 6th pick.  My 1st tier was Irving and Williams and my 2nd tier consisted of Kanter, Knight, Vesely, and Valanciunas.  In essence, they did end up selecting the worst of my 2nd tier, but after some careful analysis, I'm not as bummed about the pick as I thought I would be initially.

First off, I thought a Wizards trade up to the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th by way of their 6th/18th pick was a major possibility based what the "sources" were saying leading up to the draft.  These rumors were raising my expectations for the Wizards to draft elite talent.  Come to find out, the teams with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pick not only wanted the Wizards' 6th/18th picks but a 1st Round pick in next year's draft as well.  Insanity, quality organizations building for championships ignore this trade and give eye-rolls to the offering team's front office.  Based on that knowledge, my expectations for the Wizards draft was lowered, but ultimately, I was pleased with the overall outcome.

I do tire of Ernie Grunfield's love for tall European players, but it's pretty obvious that Jan Vesely, the Wizards' 1st Round pick (6th Overall), is not your stereotypical, "soft" European player.  He's not afraid of contact, battles constantly on the defense end, and has superior athleticism.  Every player that the Wizards surround John Wall with should have those attributes.  Because of his high basketball IQ and diligent work ethic, Jan Vesely should be a valuable addition to the Wizards' rotation for the foreseeable future (unlike past euro players like Pecherov and Veremeenko).

As for their 2nd pick in the 1st round (18th overall), it was pretty much a no-brainer.  Chris Singleton was the best player left on the board and Wizards really needed a quality wing player.  He plays exceptional defense and much to my surprise, is faster than John Wall in the 3/4 sprint.  No complaints about that pick.  As for their 2nd round pick, Shelvin Mack is a fundamental sound player that also has a high basketball IQ along with a knack for winning games and playing in crunch time.  His minutes will probably be pretty small until later in the season or he may not even play for the Wizards until 2012. 

The Wizards have built a team of defenders that can run with any team in the NBA.  They will be exciting and fun to watch.  I have my doubts about their effectiveness in the half-court game, but I'm going to assume this is why they still have Blatche on the roster.  I'm not the biggest Blatche fan, but he does provide a consistent semi-low post game in the half-court.  Wizards didn't have much else going for them in the half-court in 2010/11 beyond Blatche, some Wall pick-and-rolls, and screens for Nick Young.  Besides resigning Nick Young during free agency, I don't see the Wizards too many other changes to this roster - a few roster fill-ins and another free agent at the most.  With all that being said, here are my projected 1st and 2nd team lineups (post-draft, pre-free agency) for the Wizards come opening night:

1st Team

PG - John Wall
SG - Nick Young
SF - Rashard Lewis
PF - Andray Blatche
C - Javale McGee

2nd Team (in order off the bench)

1.  Jordan Crawford (combo-guard)
2.  Chris Singleton (wing defender)
3.  Trevor Booker (SF/PF banger)
4.  Jan Vesely (energy guy/versatile defender)
5.  Kevin Seraphin (backup big man)
6.  Othyus Jeffers (spot minutes)

Only a little bit of griping today (lack of half-court offense for 2011).  I withheld bashing the Wizards today because I'm genuinely pleased with the decisions made by the front office during the draft - this doesn't happen often.  I would call this draft a success for the Wizards right now, but let's wait until these guys play together before we heap too much praise onto the front office.