Wemby (and arguably Scoot) are the franchise-alerting prospects of this draft, no debate there. But the top half of the draft still has a good amount of talent & intriguing prospects, including a true 3&D wing that fills a big need for us (no, not Cam Whitmore or Jarace Walker đź‘€).
The Athletic’s [Sam Vecenie](https://theathletic.com/4471377/2023/05/02/nba-draft-2023-big-board-prospects-wembanyama/) on **19 y/o PF** ***Taylor Hendricks***
>Hendricks is a monster defensive prospect. He has immense length for being 6-foot-9 with something in the ballpark of a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He’s a good weakside rim protector. His sense of timing on that end is tremendous. He goes up mostly off two feet and is ready to meet his man at the rim with strong hands and a balanced center of gravity. On top of that, he has awesome anticipation for when his services are needed to clean up messes. He’s a terrific scrambler. Beyond that, I also like his switchability. He can straight up switch ball screens as a four. He has really good feet and is a very fluid mover.
>
>And indeed, I buy Hendricks on the offensive end. He made 40.9 percent on over 130 catch-and-shoot 3s this past season. The mechanics are easy and basic in the best way. He has a high release point that allows him to shoot over the top of his defender with ease. That makes him reliable over tight closeouts. He can cut backdoor and be an elite level finisher if a shot is being created for him there.
**Hendricks’ Freshman year at UCF:**
15.1 PPG | 7.0 RPG | **1.7 BPG (led AAC)** | 47.8 FG% | **39.4 3PT%** | 78.2 FT% | 34.7 MPG (!)
**AAC All-Freshman | All-AAC 2nd-Team**
Wizards currently only have (big) wings who are either really good offensively (Kuz, Kispert) or really good defensively (Deni). We *need* one that can be both. We’re desperately missing a big wing stopper in a league that has too many talented wing scorers.
And if he’s not available, one of the twins, Whitemore, Walker and even Wallace will be. We’ll have good options at No. 8.
by SeauxAfrican
14 Comments
I like him too. All this talk from Wiz fans about Anthony Black, no, no no! He isn’t ready and needs to go back to school and polish his game more.
We say this every year. We won’t get anyone good
Fuck this franchise
It all comes down to player development and the wizards are terrible at it. If they can somehow mange to hire a quality GM and hire some good player development people, then yes you can draft great players outside the top 3.
we can also trade up for the 2 with Charlotte who have a star PG and won’t need Scoot. Give them Ted Leonsis and the rights to this years 8th and next year’s 8th or 9th pick.
The last thing we need is another wing. Seriously. This team needs a primary playmaker in the worst way. I’d give up 3 future firsts for Scoot. But I also sit in my underwear and watch the wizards play.
We can definitely get a great player in this draft at 8. It’s completely possible. There will be multiple ones available.
Cason Wallace man, I’m all in
There isn’t much that separates anyone in the 4-10 range for me.
I know this isn’t the popular pick but I’d take Anthony Black assuming he had a decent workout. Besides him the 4-10’s are all wings which we have enough of. If Black isn’t there at 8 I’d strongly consider trading back.
We all know a 9 ppg scorer is what we are drafting
I would prefer Gradey Dick or Cason Wallace, personally.
If the team doesn’t do something to alter the trajectory of the franchise – like trade up to #1 or #2, we are doomed to continue being just bad enough to never get out of the mediocre mire. Always competing for a play in spot, never contending for a title.
Does Charlotte want to pair Lamelo Ball with Scoot? Curious to see if they’d be willing to trade the pick
I was on the Anthony Black train until I saw Cason Wallace’s defensive highlights, quite possibly better than John.. I’d recommend checking them out
I love that you had to premise it with “hear me out” because the rest of the the fan base are conspiracy nuts and debbie downers. The spurs won. Get over it.
LETS GO GET OUR BOY ! UP THE EFFN WIZZARDOS ! LESHHHGOOOOO