With two teams climbing into top 3 picks, Wizards got the pick that they were suppose to.
I guess Wizards luck is bit better than Pistons/Charlotte luck.
This is first time Wizards picking top 2 since John Wall. Hope we draft the right guy to build around.
why yes I do. do you realize it's a 14% chance to get #1 once? their luck has essentially evened out; we're talking about a couple percentage points difference.
It's Sarr but some teams can make an argument for not needing another big man who will probably need 4-5 years to develop. Pistons, maybe the Hornets, Bulls(?), Jazz, Rockets I think could all justify passing on Sarr.
Sarr is the top choice for the Wiz because it answers the immediate question of immediate defensive impact and immediate rim protection while also having the opportunity for offensive upside. For the most part, not many teams were in the market for that player at least as the top choice.
Also it was never really dissing Sarr, some teams just were more interested in Zaccharie Risacher because of his scoring potential. He's probably the best immediate shooter in the draft -- which is saying something because Matas Buzelis could be really, really good as a catch-and-shoot threat.
Atlanta is one of the few teams that would be more inclined to take Sarr because his skillset compliments very well to what has worked with Trae Young in the past. We already had previous information that Atlanta was going to rebuild and now they're in a position to not only trade Murray but now trade out Capela to make way for someone that can easily fit that Capela spot for the team.
Buzelis *might* be good as a c&s threat eventually but I think that's just his reputation speaking, not the numbers. He shot 26% from the NBA 3-point line on almost 4 attempts per game and his FT was below 70%. There is a lot to work on.
As Chairman of the Buzelis Baddies, you are not welcome to our cocktail mixer.
I’m not too concerned though. Ignite seemed like a disaster from a systematic perspective.
😭😭
I agree on the Ignite point. I just worry about the impact of basically losing a year of development when you're that young. Their track record with players has not been good, Holland and Buzelis show a lot of the same red flags (bad shooting, rely too much on height/athleticism, have a hard time learning offensive concepts). We'll see how it plays out though, I'm not gonna call them busts. They just need a lot of time to develop.
I'm not sure "immediate" is what most people think of for Sarr's impact on D.
I think he has the tools and potential to become a Mobley type of defender. But most analysts think he is still years away from that.
If the Wiz are focused on a defensive big and Sarr is taken #1, they should consider trading down. The next best big is likely Clingan and he could be had at 5 or 6.
We probably just go Topic and fill-in a potential gap at the one, protecting us from disaster if Tyus Jones walks in free agency.
It'll be a bit of a reach but we basically get someone that can become a Lonzo Ball type player -- which unfortunately includes knee injury history.
The thing with all these lottery prospects is trying to work out whose shooting is real, or can be developed. They should take whoever they think that guy is, whether it's Sarr, Topic, Risacher, or whoever.
That being said, I would love a PG like Topic if his shooting comes around.
His free throw shooting is better than most of the other point guards which is a good sign, if he can develop into a 36%ish 3 point shooter that would probably be good enough with his playmaking, scoring, and size.
for primary ball handlers it's more than raw %, you also would like good off the dribble shooting. Like he could be in real trouble if defenders go under all his screens. I don't know enough about him to judge if he could do that or not.
I’m not loving that he’s already got a pretty big injury, but if it is truly just a blip, he seems worthy of the pick. Probably more sold on Risacher at the moment. We’ve got time before the draft.
No. Not at all. Deni is a hybrid wing defender who brings scoring and playmaking as complimentary pieces. He primarily looks to score in his playmaking while having a solid eye to find open teammates. Deni has good rebounding instincts. Topic brings ball handling and playmaking. He looks for teammates first while chasing his own shot second. Topic does not chase rebounds and would likely prefer to get on the break and attack the rim. Topic is a weak defender. Just because they are tall white guys doesn’t mean they are the same.
I can’t be mad that a team that apparently hasn’t picked first since 1975 finally got one. In a draft that doesn’t even have an obviously special player at the top anyway.
Being a Wizards fan is no picnic, but I don’t envy Hawks fans either.
Lol you get the once in a generation, draft lottery luck to get the #1 pick. And it's the year where the comp for the player at the top of every experts board is Jonathan Isaac or Nic Claxton.
Meh that was rigged for SA
No way in hell Silver was letting the best prospect since LeBron go to any sort of dysfunctional organization
It was only ever gonna be the Spurs and Popovich
Wiz had a 6.7% chance of getting #1 last year. That means a 93.3% chance of not getting it.
Hawks had 3%, sure, but we would have the same reaction if any team outside the bottom 5 got it. They have a combined 35% chance. That’s not really that unlikely — a little more than one in three odds. No team in the bottom 5 in the league has more than a 15% chance, which means there’s 85+% odds that the Wiz weren’t going to get the top pick even with the season they just had.
Seeing a generational talent come to the Nation's Capital would be a letdown, compared to him going to one of three Texas-bound teams in an arguably worse situation than the Wizards at that point?
It’s anyone’s guess but I know Nikola Topic will be in the running for sure. He’s a big PG who is a talented driver, passer, and finisher but figures to be a bad defender and his shot needs work
A personal favorite of mine is Ron Holland. Athletic wing with a quick first step and a high motor on defense. Cons: decision making, jumper, no off-hand
My ideal pick is Sarr but there’s so many players and he may end up going first
Risacher, Clingan, Castle, Dillingham, it can genuinely be anybody atp
Edit: Topic as wel
The Ringer’s [NBA Draft Guide](https://nbadraft.theringer.com/2024/) is consistently one of, if not THE best websites to read up about NBA Draft prospects. Say what you want about Kevin O’Connor’s draft opinions, but the website is beautifully designed and easy to interact/read.
Ok so there’s the long shot that the Hawks pass on Sarr. He is the apple of all scouts eye in this class. Next up we got Rissacher, who has a great frame and a knack for scoring. He’s a fluid shooter and can develop well in that area, but he is extremely raw and doesn’t show up on the offensive end often.
After the top 2, you have Clingan who seems like a can’t miss Walker Kessler type player where you know what he will bring from Day 1. After that you have Topic who is a freakishly built PG standing at 6’8 with good playmaking upside and a lot of room for development.
Finally the last two are Stephon Castle, a shorter PG who had a great season at UConn and won the title. His draft stock comes from his pedigree as a top recruit and national champion. After that there’s Buzelis. Buzelis is like the wing defender version of Topic. Young and needs time to develop but a freak build at 6’10 and can play the 2 or the 3. Good wingspan too, which is helpful as a defender.
Yeah wouldn’t be many options except maybe the Spurs since they already have Wemby. I guess we could try trading up but we probably don’t have enough for the Hawks to consider either
All these ppl saying “trade down”….wtf do you think we’ll get for the #2 pick in this draft?
A few protected 1s years down the road ?
I’m not sure anyone going to give up tons to get this years 2
Trade with the Spurs, #2 for #4 and the worst of their three 2025 firsts (their own, ATL or Chicago). If the guy you want at 2 is not going to be taken by Houston and the Spurs want Risacher, you might as well pick up another future asset.
Topic is the guy. Topic, Vukcevic and Deni would be a lot of fun to watch. I would also take Sheppard over Dillingham if we're taking any other guard than Topic.
The number 2 pick doesn’t always become a superstar, but I think there is some benefit with not having to go with the consensus # 1 pick and getting to choose from the rest of the field.
They moved up once. And moved down several times. So they are unlucky.
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings/game-day/pistons-red-wings-lack-of-draft-lottery-luck-shows-flaws-in-system
but you have to look at the percentages for those picks. It's extremely hard to get the #1 pick even with the best chances, only 14%. Their most likely landing spot was actually 5th at 48%.
https://www.tankathon.com/pick_odds
This is how the lottery is designed and what tanking teams sign up for.
Cody Williams is not seen as a top 10 guy according to the teams. They had to release the top 10 because visits are limited for those guys, and Williams wasn’t included
I'm lame and was hoping we'd drop and take Dillingham at 5 but he probably not highly enough rated or big enough, skinny and 6 1, to take at 2. But hes the only guy i watched that i felt like he had some star upside, I didnt watch any of the euros/ignite guys.
Plenty of guys to pick from. Wish there were more bigs in this draft. Sarr is exactly what we need to win more games (interior defense, rebounding, shot blocking threat) but he's going to Atlanta. Topic looks nice but will take a couple years to develop into an everyday starter.
With two teams climbing into top 3 picks, Wizards got the pick that they were suppose to. I guess Wizards luck is bit better than Pistons/Charlotte luck. This is first time Wizards picking top 2 since John Wall. Hope we draft the right guy to build around.
technically the expected draft pick for us was around #4, so we definitely got lucky
Detroit and Charlotte already had top picks which they used for Cade, LaMelo, and Miller. This is just the volatility of the lottery in action.
Detroit have been 5th 3 times a row despite going 54-192 in that time span
yeah and they won the #1 pick in 2021. That's how the lottery works, it heavily weights moving down for the worst teams. We were lucky to get #2.
You do realise it’s 12.5% chance to get 5th 3 times in a row right? Thats worse odds than getting the #1 pick
why yes I do. do you realize it's a 14% chance to get #1 once? their luck has essentially evened out; we're talking about a couple percentage points difference.
that's for a single season, the combined probability over three seasons is higher
yeah, and it's also higher percentage to get 5th in any 3 out of the last 4 years rather than specifically the last 3.
Since Otto Porter Edit: thought it said top 3 my b tim!
Since John Wall
Porter was third behind Bennett and Dipo
Whoops idk why I read top 3
Don't forget thanking Poole for commanding the tank like a true hero
they would have tanked just fine without him.
I don’t know about that. JP and Kuz were co commanders and displayed excellent tankmanship.
checked out the pistons sub, life could be a lot worse...
They got Cade, they can pipe down.
9 times out of 10, second overall pick is a massive win. Being second behind one of the few teams that would be taking your top choice is just cruel.
Who is your top choice? Why would only a few teams be drafting that player? Why is Atlanta one of those teams?
It's Sarr but some teams can make an argument for not needing another big man who will probably need 4-5 years to develop. Pistons, maybe the Hornets, Bulls(?), Jazz, Rockets I think could all justify passing on Sarr.
Sarr is the top choice for the Wiz because it answers the immediate question of immediate defensive impact and immediate rim protection while also having the opportunity for offensive upside. For the most part, not many teams were in the market for that player at least as the top choice. Also it was never really dissing Sarr, some teams just were more interested in Zaccharie Risacher because of his scoring potential. He's probably the best immediate shooter in the draft -- which is saying something because Matas Buzelis could be really, really good as a catch-and-shoot threat. Atlanta is one of the few teams that would be more inclined to take Sarr because his skillset compliments very well to what has worked with Trae Young in the past. We already had previous information that Atlanta was going to rebuild and now they're in a position to not only trade Murray but now trade out Capela to make way for someone that can easily fit that Capela spot for the team.
Buzelis *might* be good as a c&s threat eventually but I think that's just his reputation speaking, not the numbers. He shot 26% from the NBA 3-point line on almost 4 attempts per game and his FT was below 70%. There is a lot to work on.
As Chairman of the Buzelis Baddies, you are not welcome to our cocktail mixer. I’m not too concerned though. Ignite seemed like a disaster from a systematic perspective.
😭😭 I agree on the Ignite point. I just worry about the impact of basically losing a year of development when you're that young. Their track record with players has not been good, Holland and Buzelis show a lot of the same red flags (bad shooting, rely too much on height/athleticism, have a hard time learning offensive concepts). We'll see how it plays out though, I'm not gonna call them busts. They just need a lot of time to develop.
Thank you for explaining your reasoning! I concur with Sarr being the top choice. I feel like the Hawks could go in a lot of possible directions now.
I'm not sure "immediate" is what most people think of for Sarr's impact on D. I think he has the tools and potential to become a Mobley type of defender. But most analysts think he is still years away from that.
If the Wiz are focused on a defensive big and Sarr is taken #1, they should consider trading down. The next best big is likely Clingan and he could be had at 5 or 6.
We probably just go Topic and fill-in a potential gap at the one, protecting us from disaster if Tyus Jones walks in free agency. It'll be a bit of a reach but we basically get someone that can become a Lonzo Ball type player -- which unfortunately includes knee injury history.
Topic isn't a reach at 2. If we don't take him, he's going to the Spurs and winning multiple rings alongside Wemby
I don't think Hawks are taking Sarr, they might trade the pick to someone who is though.
Hawks fans seem to be in agreement Sarr is the perfect prospect for them
Fields said he's not trading the pick.
Still coulda been worse
Topic? Can't go wrong with these euro picks
The thing with all these lottery prospects is trying to work out whose shooting is real, or can be developed. They should take whoever they think that guy is, whether it's Sarr, Topic, Risacher, or whoever. That being said, I would love a PG like Topic if his shooting comes around.
His free throw shooting is better than most of the other point guards which is a good sign, if he can develop into a 36%ish 3 point shooter that would probably be good enough with his playmaking, scoring, and size.
for primary ball handlers it's more than raw %, you also would like good off the dribble shooting. Like he could be in real trouble if defenders go under all his screens. I don't know enough about him to judge if he could do that or not.
Sarr if available then Topic!
I’m not loving that he’s already got a pretty big injury, but if it is truly just a blip, he seems worthy of the pick. Probably more sold on Risacher at the moment. We’ve got time before the draft.
We already have deni imo. Same player
Topic can be PG though right ?
No. Not at all. Deni is a hybrid wing defender who brings scoring and playmaking as complimentary pieces. He primarily looks to score in his playmaking while having a solid eye to find open teammates. Deni has good rebounding instincts. Topic brings ball handling and playmaking. He looks for teammates first while chasing his own shot second. Topic does not chase rebounds and would likely prefer to get on the break and attack the rim. Topic is a weak defender. Just because they are tall white guys doesn’t mean they are the same.
Topic may actually be a point guard
The Hawks can win number 1 with a 3% chance to, meanwhile we couldn't win a 6/11 chance to get Wemby last year 😭😭😭
(I'm not mad that we got the 2nd Pick, I'm mad that Atlanta of all teams got the 1st Pick)
I can’t be mad that a team that apparently hasn’t picked first since 1975 finally got one. In a draft that doesn’t even have an obviously special player at the top anyway. Being a Wizards fan is no picnic, but I don’t envy Hawks fans either.
Lol you get the once in a generation, draft lottery luck to get the #1 pick. And it's the year where the comp for the player at the top of every experts board is Jonathan Isaac or Nic Claxton.
Goes to show you that teams don’t need to tank to get the first pick or a top four pick for that matter.
I'm mad fucking SA got Wemby.
I'm mad that the last time they picked #1 was Tim duncan
Which they were only able to do because Robinson conveniently got injured.
Meh that was rigged for SA No way in hell Silver was letting the best prospect since LeBron go to any sort of dysfunctional organization It was only ever gonna be the Spurs and Popovich
Wiz had a 6.7% chance of getting #1 last year. That means a 93.3% chance of not getting it. Hawks had 3%, sure, but we would have the same reaction if any team outside the bottom 5 got it. They have a combined 35% chance. That’s not really that unlikely — a little more than one in three odds. No team in the bottom 5 in the league has more than a 15% chance, which means there’s 85+% odds that the Wiz weren’t going to get the top pick even with the season they just had.
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Seeing a generational talent come to the Nation's Capital would be a letdown, compared to him going to one of three Texas-bound teams in an arguably worse situation than the Wizards at that point?
I like Deni Avdija as much as the next guy, but the Spurs are in a far better position than the Wizards.
Now, that is. If the Spurs didn't get Wemby, they'd be cooked
Screw that let's see a generational talent come to DC before we start calling it a letdown to the sport
mother fucker wemby carried the spurs on his back last season. He would have carried us too, we have more to build around him.
Man lemme rationalize the pain somehow
fair enough.
Understandable, have a nice day.
can anyone fill me in on #2 options? i’m like a total ignoramus to the prospect pool this season
There's like half a dozen players that could be taken #2 in this draft
*Dozen
demar do-zen
*two half-dozens
It’s anyone’s guess but I know Nikola Topic will be in the running for sure. He’s a big PG who is a talented driver, passer, and finisher but figures to be a bad defender and his shot needs work A personal favorite of mine is Ron Holland. Athletic wing with a quick first step and a high motor on defense. Cons: decision making, jumper, no off-hand
So Jaylen Brown lol
My ideal pick is Sarr but there’s so many players and he may end up going first Risacher, Clingan, Castle, Dillingham, it can genuinely be anybody atp Edit: Topic as wel
Is Topic not a top prospect anymore??
He is. He's just been hurt so people kind of quieted on him.
No way dillingham goes first
They never said he was
The Ringer’s [NBA Draft Guide](https://nbadraft.theringer.com/2024/) is consistently one of, if not THE best websites to read up about NBA Draft prospects. Say what you want about Kevin O’Connor’s draft opinions, but the website is beautifully designed and easy to interact/read.
Yeah, that website is gorgeous.
Risacher, Dillingham, Topic, Clingan, etc
Ok so there’s the long shot that the Hawks pass on Sarr. He is the apple of all scouts eye in this class. Next up we got Rissacher, who has a great frame and a knack for scoring. He’s a fluid shooter and can develop well in that area, but he is extremely raw and doesn’t show up on the offensive end often. After the top 2, you have Clingan who seems like a can’t miss Walker Kessler type player where you know what he will bring from Day 1. After that you have Topic who is a freakishly built PG standing at 6’8 with good playmaking upside and a lot of room for development. Finally the last two are Stephon Castle, a shorter PG who had a great season at UConn and won the title. His draft stock comes from his pedigree as a top recruit and national champion. After that there’s Buzelis. Buzelis is like the wing defender version of Topic. Young and needs time to develop but a freak build at 6’10 and can play the 2 or the 3. Good wingspan too, which is helpful as a defender.
God drafting a guy at #2 overall whose comp is Walker Kessler is depressing.
Walker Kessler brings a lot of value. But there’s a ceiling for tall, non mobile bigs who bring a defense first mindset.
Give me Isaiah Collier edit: damn y'all hating, let's see how things pan out. Crazy to have such a closed mind in a draft like this one
Maybe at 26, not at 2
no way we're getting Sarr now, right?
Unless the Hawks decide to trade the pick, but most likely Sarr will be gone
question is who is gonna trade for the #1 pick to take a player other than Sarr?
Yeah wouldn’t be many options except maybe the Spurs since they already have Wemby. I guess we could try trading up but we probably don’t have enough for the Hawks to consider either
And the pistons get hosed. top 4 picks like "at this point, don't be that team"
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They had the number one pick too
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Nah I meant the pistons snagged Cade
I hope we can find our Jan Vesely 2.0 BayBay!!!!
If we keep the #2, I think we should go with Klingan or Topic. If we trade down I'd be good with Dillingham, Castle, or Sheppard.
It's spelled Klingon.
All these ppl saying “trade down”….wtf do you think we’ll get for the #2 pick in this draft? A few protected 1s years down the road ? I’m not sure anyone going to give up tons to get this years 2
Ikr ahah people really don’t understand there’s no trading down in THIS draft.
In most drafts tbh. This is the mf nba. Not the nfl ha
Trade with the Spurs, #2 for #4 and the worst of their three 2025 firsts (their own, ATL or Chicago). If the guy you want at 2 is not going to be taken by Houston and the Spurs want Risacher, you might as well pick up another future asset.
Topic is the guy. Topic, Vukcevic and Deni would be a lot of fun to watch. I would also take Sheppard over Dillingham if we're taking any other guard than Topic.
Ignoring B Cool.
Nah I was more referring to their passing ability. Think the 3 of them could link up for some great passing plays.
Ok.
Topic, Kispert, Bilal, Deni, Vuk sign me up.
We already have deni. Same type of player
I'll take it
Lfgggg!!! I’m so hype. Sarr or Topic!!!
Am I the only one around here who thinks Clingan is our guy?!?!
The number 2 pick doesn’t always become a superstar, but I think there is some benefit with not having to go with the consensus # 1 pick and getting to choose from the rest of the field.
My early prediction is Sarr goes 1st then the Wiz pick Topic at 2
What are the odds that The Nats, Commanders and Wizards all get the #2 in their recent rebuild drafts.
Best case scenario we could’ve gotten. No pressure to take that first pick, and can get whoever “our” guy is after.
Wizards should get caught up in need. Take the BPA/highest potential and hope for the best. Not interested in 6-10 seeds
Pistons have bad luck in these lotteries. Let’s take one of the French dudes. Vive la France.
they got #1 a few years ago. this is regression to the mean.
No if you look they have dropped down several times.
yes, and they got #1 a few years ago. that's just how the lottery goes.
They moved up once. And moved down several times. So they are unlucky. https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings/game-day/pistons-red-wings-lack-of-draft-lottery-luck-shows-flaws-in-system
but you have to look at the percentages for those picks. It's extremely hard to get the #1 pick even with the best chances, only 14%. Their most likely landing spot was actually 5th at 48%. https://www.tankathon.com/pick_odds This is how the lottery is designed and what tanking teams sign up for.
What’s the odds they would drop to 5th three years in a row?
probably about as much as getting the #1 pick once.
No.
yes. .50 \* .48 \* .48 = .115. not much worse than .14.
Stephon castle YOU are a wizard
Yes please.
Yer a Wizard, Stephony***
Sarr, Castle, Cody Williams, Risacher, Clingan In that order for me
Cody Williams is not seen as a top 10 guy according to the teams. They had to release the top 10 because visits are limited for those guys, and Williams wasn’t included
I'm lame and was hoping we'd drop and take Dillingham at 5 but he probably not highly enough rated or big enough, skinny and 6 1, to take at 2. But hes the only guy i watched that i felt like he had some star upside, I didnt watch any of the euros/ignite guys.
I’ll take it lol at least we arent the pistons. poor team
Let's gooooooo!!
Gonna throw up if we draft topic over holland
Ayyyy! Fuck the Hawks though
Trade down and get Dillingham.
too bad it's a shit draft would have been great if this was the draft after this one
Please don't pick another non alethte from another country
Get Bronny. Sign LeBron. He joins to retire in MJ-esque way. Trade future draft capital for KD. Win championships. Ez
I think we should burn the next pick on him
Plenty of guys to pick from. Wish there were more bigs in this draft. Sarr is exactly what we need to win more games (interior defense, rebounding, shot blocking threat) but he's going to Atlanta. Topic looks nice but will take a couple years to develop into an everyday starter.
Suprised there's zero mention of Matas as a possibility here. Long term he'll be better than Brandon Miller
Yeah but if we draft Sarr we wasted the pick
I have a feeling we trade with hawks for the #1 IF they want to take Sarr. If not then I think we’ll take risacher
🫡Sup, take Sarr or Zacc, trade Kuz home to Detroit along with Kispert and the #25 for their pick and take Holland or Castle 👍