8. Washington Wizards – 6.7% chance of landing No. 1 pick in NBA Draft
It’s back-to-back years of a 35-47 record and missing the NBA playoffs once again. They’re a team that has a franchise player in Bradley Beal, who recently signed a long-term extension for another few years. But they’ve been churning in supporting cast players in and out, including recently trading away a past lottery pick in Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers.
They have three players that averaged 20+ ppg this season, including Beal, Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma, who averaged a career-high 21.2 ppg. But what hurts them is a lack of depth overall, as well as a below-average defense. The Wizards have also missed more on past lottery picks than they’ve had hit on in the past decade as well outside of Beal.
If they were to land Wembanyama, Washington instantly would move into the top half of the Eastern Conference. He and Beal could become one of the better 1-2 punches in the league and more importantly, give the franchise an elite big man they can count on. That just hasn’t been Porzingis, whose stock dipped after his first couple of years in New York.
Speaking of Porzingis, there’s little chance the Wizards hold onto him if they land the No. 1 pick. As alluring as it would be to have two “unicorns” in the frontcourt together, there could be more problems caused than solutions and it should be about putting Wembanyama in the best position to succeed.