Labor troubles result in a weak draft class
The burden of history no longer weighs down the Wizards as they prepare for Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery. That doesn’t mean they can afford to return to their days of misfortune.
Failing to get the top pick — as it did last year — could hardly be called unfair for Washington, but dropping in the draft order could hurt even more than usual this year with the current NBA draft class weakened by the threat of a work stoppage this summer.
| NBA Draft Lottery |
| When » Tuesday, 8 p.m. |
| Where » NBA Entertainment Studios, Secaucus, N.J. |
| TV » ESPN |
After failing to move up in 12 of the previous 13 lotteries in which they had participated, the Wizards defied the odds to get their franchise cornerstone last year. Washington won the No. 1 pick and the right to choose John Wall, who would have been rookie of the year if not for Blake Griffin’s second chance at a first NBA season.
After finishing with a 23-59 record that was the fourth worst in the NBA this season, the Wizards have slightly better odds of winning the lottery than they did a year ago — 16 more pingpong balls (119 out of 1,000 — 11.9 percent).
Only the top three positions in the draft are determined by the lottery, meaning the Wizards can fall no further than seventh.
“We’re just going to go there and enjoy the night,” said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld, who will have Wall represent the team at the draft this year. “Hopefully the pingpong balls are in our favor. But we’ll be prepared for any scenario.”
Just as Wall was the overwhelming favorite to be selected first overall, Duke point guard Kyrie Irving is a front-runner to go No. 1 on June 23. Of course, the Wizards already have their point guard and would prefer to choose among Arizona forward Derrick Williams, Turkish center Enes Kanter or one of a number of other European prospects. Grunfeld said the team wants to keep its pick.
“That’s our intention at this time, but we’ll see what happens and what kind of opportunities, if any, do present themselves,” he said. “We still have the same game plan. We have said that this rebuilding plan that we’re going through is not a one-year process. When we first started this, we wanted to have first-round picks and build through the draft.”
