casmith07;3442952 said:
Starts in about an hour and a half...predictions?
My Wizards, by the way, have agreed in principle to a trade that will bring the Chicago Bulls' Kirk Heinrich and their #17 pick to Washington for some undisclosed compensation. I can see Washington going John Wall #1, and now Larry Sanders at #17.
The Wiz got a jump on their rebuilding, drafting Wall, trading for Hinrich and the 17th pick, then trading their 30th and 35th picks for the 23rd and the 56th... with the 17th, they picked up Kevin Seraphin from French Guiana, 6-10, 260 pound PF/C who played in France last year... it seems most NBA sources either thought that Seraphin would stay in France this year, or wanted him to play in France this year, but the Wiz want him to come over and play in the NBA this year, and apparently that's what he wants too... with the 23rd, they added Trevor Booker, a 6-7, 240 pound PF who they really liked, enough to trade up for... he's undersized for a power forward, but is quite physical, a good defender, and he runs the court well... with the 56th pick (from the Timberwolves, FWIW), they picked up an intriguing prospect, another African-- Hamady N'Diaye, from Senegal... he's a 7-0, 240 pound center with a 7'6 wing span, a standing reach of 9'3 (that's not an misprint), and a 39 inch vertical jump... just imagine, a 7 footer with long arms who has a nearly 40 inch vertical... as you can imagine, he was a hell of a shot blocker in college...
But there's more; the hot rumor du jour is they're about to sign RFA Josh Childress, formerly of the Hawks, now playing in Greece... he's a SF who will share the position with returning vet Al Thornton... he's a solid defender on the perimeter, and possessor of the best 'fro in the NBA...
So, with Arenas (if they keep him, which is still not certain but seems likely), Wall and Hinrich, I believe the Wiz have one of the best 3 guard rotations in the league... with Thornton and Childress (if that comes to pass), they'll be solid at small forward... and with Seraphin, Booker, N'Diaye added to Andray Blatche and Javale McGee, the Wizards are more physical inside...
In a post-draft press conference, GM Ernie Grunfeld said that the Wizards wanted to get tougher physically... with this draft, they took a major step forward... most of the additions are also good defenders, either inside (Seraphin and N'Diaye), or on the perimeter (Wall, Childress and Hinrich)... this is something that any Wizards fan will tell you they've been needing to do for some years now...
So on this early morning, it's a good time to be a Wizards fan again... oh, they won't be a contender this coming season, there are too many new parts being integrated and too much youth, but if they keep making moves like these, they look like they're on the right track... next year's team should be fun to watch...
