Wizards NBA draft picks 2023: When do Washington Wizards pick? Order and more explored
The Washington Wizards finished the 2022-2023 NBA season at the 12th spot (35-47) in the Eastern Conference. On top of that, they reportedly have traded away Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns. This makes the upcoming NBA draft extremely important for the Wizards to position their franchise well for future success.
The Washington Wizards are reportedly looking to draft Anthony Black with the number eight pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Black is a 6-foot-7-inch guard who has great passing abilities as a point guard. Black's IQ is notable for a 19-year-old player, and it also shows up on the defensive end, where he averaged 2.1 steals per game.
However, Black does have a few shortcomings. With his height, Black does not have the best handles on the basketball. More so, with his slow shooting style, he is not a lethal scorer. In fact, his shooting percentages are somewhat low for a guard. In this regard, he might be more similar to Lonzo Ball, who has a strong defensive presence but struggles to shoot well from the field.
Unfortunately, the Wizards do not seem to have a draft pick that will change their fate. They will likely get a strong young player, but it is not going to be a top two or three kind of pick.
Why did the Wizards trade away Bradley Beal?
The Washington Wizards are reportedly trading Bradley Beal to the Suns in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, at least four second-round picks, and multiple pick swaps.
In the 2020-2021 NBA season, Beal was one of the top scorers in the league (31.3 points per game), finishing second only to Steph Curry. Over the last two years, he has somewhat declined and missed games. He averaged 23.2 points and six assists over this period.
Bradley Beal (31.3 PPG) finished first in the East and second in the NBA in scoring for the second straight season. 🐼👏 https://t.co/IcuJdiWaoZ
Beal still has four years left on his contract, which is set to pay him over $207 million. Despite this big contract, the Wizards let go of Beal at a very cheap price. The direction that the Wizards are taking is uncertain at the moment, but they could potentially be looking to rebuild.
After Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma could also potentially leave the Wizards this summer in free agency. The Wizards do not seem to have a pick in the 2023 NBA draft that will land them a franchise player.
Given this situation, it makes sense why the Wizards would trade away Beal, a franchise player, at such a cheap price. It might indeed be that the Wizards were looking to get rid of the hefty contract before they fully commit to and enter a rebuild.