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The Washington Wizards weren’t too lucky in yesterday’s lottery, as they not only missed out on the top two selections (essentially guaranteeing the player they want), but they fell from 4th to 6th. Now normally having the 6th overall pick wouldn’t be too bad of an outcome, but it pretty much ensures that the two guys they want (SF Derrick Williams and F/C Enes Kanter) will be off the board. With so much of the top talent in this draft coming from overseas players, the Wizards are in a tough position at this spot. With a lot of uncertainty in this draft, Washington has 3 basic options; package a combination of their two picks and players to move up to grab one of the two guys they really want, trade back from 6 for some combination of current NBA players and draft picks, or stay where they are and find the best fit. My guess is they end up with one of the first two options as they look to better their team.

Trading Up:

Moving up won’t be easy in this draft class, but it is doable. The Wizards own the 6th, 18th and 34th overall picks in this draft. In addition Washington could look to move PF Andray Blatche. Blatche has always had limitless potential, but has never put it together for a full season. In each of the last two years though, down the stretch he flat out dominated at times. Given the fact that he is signed longterm to a relatively team friendly deal, is still young (he’ll turn 25 this summer), and has that potential he could entice a team to move back a few spots. Washington could also look to part with rookie forwards Kevin Seraphin or Trevor Booker in the right situation as well.

The Timberwolves and Cavaliers (4th pick) are the two most likely options for moving up and getting either Williams or Kanter. Minnesota very well could be looking to shop this pick as they apparently don’t love anyone after Irving in this draft. The problem is they already have a later first rounder (and a ton of young role players) so the 18th pick isn’t going to entice them too much. Even something like the 6th pick, 18th pick, and Seraphin, might not be enticing enough to move down. The Timberwolves could be interested in a deal involving center JaVale McGee along with the 6th pick, but I don’t know if that makes sense for Washington. Washington could look to try to center the deal around Andray Blatche and the 6th pick, but the T-wolves are probably looking for more of a sure thing. Cleveland might be more interested in moving back two spots and picking up another pick later in the first round. But at the same time the Cavs are likely quite interested in Kanter as well, and might not be willing to move down.

Trading The Pick Away:

The Wizards should seriously consider moving back if given the chance as they could turn the 6th pick into multiple players, picks or a combination of both. Washington currently only has 7 players under contract for next season so adding a player and a pick, or a pair of draft picks could workout well for them. If I was Washington though I would tend to shy away from adding a player or players, as the Wizards have a decent amount of salary cap and shouldn’t eat too much into it. If they are getting a player they should be young, cost under $5 million and be under contract for at least 3 years.

Since the Wizards probably won’t find too many players that fit the criteria they need, I’d look to try to turn that 6th pick into 2 or more picks. While it isn’t a strong draft overall, there are still a number of guys who can be contributors in this league. And if Washington is able to add a couple decent free agents, they can then have some nice cheap depth guys with their later picks. The only question is will they get the offer they need to trade back. Right now three teams have multiple first round picks after the Wizards selection, lets see how they might matchup.

Charlotte Bobcats, 9th and 19th selections: Charlotte is rebuilding and could use a star player, but I don’t know if they’d give both picks up just to jump up 3 spots. Now they could get intrigued if a player like Brandon Knight falls, but even then they might look to add two young players instead of one slightly better one. I’d say this would be a long shot.

Houston Rockets, 14th and 23rd selections: This could be a realistic scenario as the Rockets currently have 12 players under team control for next season. They also have a lot of youth and quality depth, meaning that it is possible that neither pick could even crack their 9 or 10 man rotation. Houston does need help at the center position, so if one of those European big men are there and Houston doesn’t think they’ll last till 14, they might pull the trigger.

Chicago Bulls, 28th and 30th: The Bulls finished with the league’s best record and very well could end up Champions. Chicago doesn’t have many needs (mainly just SG and depth at SF), but they could sit where they are and draft the best players, but it probably won’t make much of an impact for the Bulls future. Chicago has a pretty good 3 year window (and quite possibly longer) so they should look to do what they can to add players that can significantly contribute. If the Bulls stay where they are, the guys they get at 28 and 30, will probably be no better than 10th and 11th guys off the bench, for the next couple of years. If the Bulls trade up into the top 10 though, they could find a player capable of being a 20+ min a night player, and maybe even start if it is a SG. The problem is the 28th and 30th picks aren’t enough to get up to 6th, so the Bulls would need to add more. They do have an extra pick from the Bobcats for next season, that they could add to the deal, but it would be a risk for Washington. The Bobcats pick is lottery protected for next year, and has at least top 8 protections all the way through 2015. Given the fact that Charlotte is in the midst of a major rebuild the chance of Washington seeing that pick next year (or the year after) is pretty slim. That being said it is still a valuable commodity and could always be flipped for a player or pick later.

Conclusion:

Right now I just don’t see a trade up in the works, and I do feel a trade back is far more likely. Of the potential deals I laid out I think the Houston option is the only likely scenario. I would be quite happy with that move and think it would be the best for the Wizards longterm. Washington could look to try to move the pick for a selection in 2012 (which is projected to be a much stronger class) but I don’t know its a lot harder to predict who might be interested in dealing next year’s selections.

The Wizards have a nice corps of John Wall, Jordan Crawford, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche (assuming they don’t deal him), if they could add a couple quality free agents and some young talent in this draft, they could quickly be back in playoff contention.