With the highly anticipated return of All-Star point guard John Wall right around the corner, the Washington Wizards have a chance to right the ship in 2020-21 in a way that only the Golden State Warriors can (GSW will also see an All-Star player return from injury next season and have a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft).
Wall has looked explosive in videos that have surfaced of him playing pickup games against other NBA players this offseason but there’s still a question of what kind of results his re-emergence will yield. With a top-10 pick in the draft, the Wizards will have the option of finding their point guard of the future or looking for another cornerstone piece regardless of position.
Related: Full Washington Wizards 2020 Salary Cap Preview
2020 NBA Draft Picks
| No. 9 overall | No. 37 overall |
Wizards Draft Needs
Washington’s depth at center and the wing needs to be shored up but that’s what they should use their second-round pick on.
With the ninth overall pick, the Wizards need to look for a prospect that can either replace Wall (if the former first overall pick doesn’t look he’ll regain his dominant form), or they need to find the prospect that fits best between Wall, Bradley Beal and Rui Hachimura. Ideally, that player will be a strong outside shooter that flourishes off-ball.
There’s no need to try to find a potential replacement for Beal in this draft (i.e. Georgia’s Anthony Edwards), even if he can become a free agent in 2022, as it may help push him out of the door.
2020 NBA Draft Prospect Watchlist
| No. 9 overall | No. 37 overall |
| PG LaMelo Ball, Illawarra | G-F Robert Woodard II, Mississippi St. |
| PG Killian Hayes, Ratiopharm | SG Desmond Bane, Texas Christian |
| G-F Isaac Okoro, Auburn | C Xavier Tillman, Michigan St. |
| PG Tyrese Haliburton, Iowa St. | F Jaden McDaniels, Washington |
| G-F Aaron Nesmith, Vanderbilt | C Daniel Oturu, Minnesota |
What The Mocks Are Saying
| The Ringer | LaMelo Ball (No. 6 via trade) |
| The Athletic | Onyeka Okongwu (No. 9) |
| USA TODAY Sports | Onyeka Okongwu (No. 9) |
| CBS Sports | Isaac Okoro (No. 9) |
| The Score | Onyeka Okongwu (No. 9) |
Projected Roster
| G | Bradley Beal |
| PG | John Wall |
| PG | Ish Smith |
| SG | Jerome Robinson |
| G-F | Troy Brown Jr. |
| F | Rui Hachimura |
| SF | Isaac Bonga |
| SF | Admiral Schofield |
| C | Thomas Bryant |
| C | Mo Wagner |
| C | Anzejs Pasecniks |
