Washington Wizards Could Transform Franchise With No. 1 Overall Pick

The Washington Wizards struck gold in this year’s draft lottery.

The year before the NBA is set to potentially institute a new draft lottery process which would discourage tanking, the Wizards were tied for the best odds for the No. 1 pick thanks to a bottom-three record in the league and earned the No. 1 overall pick for a historically talented NBA draft class.

It’s potentially a major win for a franchise which has been wandering in the wilderness for the better part of a decade. The Wizards have missed the playoffs five straight years and haven’t had a winning record since the 2017-18 season.

They’ve made some interesting moves, trading for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, two veterans with proven high-level and postseason experience who have battled injuries. If they can stay healthy -- hardly a given, especially for Davis, who has played more than 56 games just once in the last six seasons -- that’s an intriguing core to build around.

Adding a No. 1 overall pick on top of that could really change the franchise’s fortunes if things play out properly.

This is a nice draft to have the pick of the litter. Standout BYU forward AJ Dybantsa is the betting favorite to go No. 1 overall and has the skill-set to be a transformational player.

But the same could arguably be said for Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson and Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., who are the next four players in odds to go No. 1 overall.

It feels like a year where a number of top picks could make huge immediate impacts at the NBA level. As such, is there a world where the Wizards explore a trade from the No. 1 spot if another team was desperate enough?

One obvious move could be a trade for Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP’s time in Milwaukee seems all but over after he publicly stated down the stretch of this season that he was being held out of games despite being fully healthy.

A nine-time All-NBA player and five-time All-Defensive team selection, Antetokounmpo would immediately make the Wizards much more of a contender, bringing averages of 24.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals in 895 career games.

But pairing the 31-year-old Antetokounmpo -- who played a career-low 36 games this past season -- with 27-year-old Young and 33-year-old Davis would not be a move to make the Wizards sustainable for the long term.

That could make this not the desirable move, especially since it’s unlikely the Wizards would get much draft capital back and may even have to chip in an additional pick or desirable player.

The likelier path to a potential trade could involve getting a lesser pick in this year’s draft with some future draft capital thrown in to sweeten the pot.

Just to throw one team out there, Andscape reported that the Utah Jazz, who jumped up two spots in the lottery to earn the No. 2 overall pick, have reached out to Washington about trading up to the No. 1 pick.

In a draft without a clear top option, this is an option that should be seriously considered if it’s legitimate.

Regardless of which way Washington decides to go, it’s a nice position to be in, one that could set the franchise up for years to come.