Originally Posted by
Truth&Justise
This will eventually tie back to Duval, but I want to highlight for you all what draft night was like as a Wizard's fan.
The Wiz haven't had any draft picks in the last two drafts. I was certain they'd trade their picks to dump a bad contract (compounding mistakes like that is the Wizard's specialty), but they kept the picks and nearly hit a home run! Michael Porter Jr. slid down the board, well worth the risk at #15, but he got picked by Denver at #14. So close. With a bevy of talented wings still available (Lonnie Walker, Zhaire Smith, Josh Okogie, Donte DiVincenzo, Grayson Allen) and a promising big man in Robert Williams, the Wizards went with a slightly less heralded player, Troy Brown Jr. Not a terrible pick, but it's hard to be a 3&D wing when you shoot 29% from three.
Then, in the middle of the second round, the Wizards took Issuf Sanon, an unknown 18-yr old Ukranian point guard. Who knows, maybe the kid pans out, but does he really have more potential than Duval? Or any of the guys drafted just after, like Hamidou Diallo, De'Anthony Melton, Svi Mykhaliuk, Keita Bates-Diop and Chimezie Metu? I'm convinced this was purely about money -- you don't have to pay a draft-and-stash player until (unless) he comes over.
In a few years, maybe Brown turns out better than those other wings, and maybe Sanon one day makes his way to the US. But this isn't the type of draft night that inspires confidence. We really didn't want to give Duval, or anyone else, a chance? We couldn't trade down?
Blegh.