Beal, Kidd-Gilchrist are among possible choices
Two years removed from winning the NBA Draft Lottery and picking John Wall with the No. 1 overall pick, the Wizards continued their return to unlucky form, dropping to the No. 3 pick despite owning the NBA’s second-worst record.
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The New Orleans Hornets, who finished the year 21-45, moved up from fourth, a 13.7 percent chance, to first. They likely will select Kentucky freshman forward Anthony Davis when the NBA Draft takes place June 28. The Charlotte Bobcats, who had the highest odds (25.0 percent) of winning the lottery after finishing the 2011-12 season with a 7-59 record, dropped to the No. 2 pick, and the Wizards fell to third.
Despite winning their final six games of the season, Washington (20-46) was originally slotted for the second pick, with a 19.9 percent chance of winning the lottery. Instead, with Zachary Leonsis, the son of team owner Ted Leonsis, representing the Wizards on stage at Disney/ABC’s Times Square Studios in New York, Washington moved down for the 11th time since the lottery started in 1985. The younger Leonsis had carried with him the wedding bands of his two late grandfathers and a Greek cross that his father was given by his own grandmother.
The Wizards could have dropped as low as fifth, but the Hornets were the only team outside the top three to move up. Picks No. 4 through No. 14 are determined in reverse order by record.
Last year the Cleveland Cavaliers claimed the No. 1 pick when Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sent his then 14-year-old son, Nick, to the stage.
While the drop takes Washington out of the running for Davis, who is seen as a potential game-changing addition, the Wizards remain in contention for the top-tier players just below him. That group includes Florida freshman guard Bradley Beal, Kentucky freshman small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kansas forward Thomas Robinson, North Carolina small forward Harrison Barnes and Connecticut center Andre Drummond. All of those players could work out for the Wizards in the next few weeks before the draft.
“We have been committed to our rebuilding plan and have seen the results of those efforts start to materialize with how our team is coming together,” Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. “Adding a top pick in the draft will only help that process, and we’re very optimistic about the future of this team moving forward.”
The Wizards have held the third overall pick twice before in franchise history, selecting Billy McGill in 1962 and Rod Thorn in 1963.
In addition to the No. 3 pick, the Wizards hold their own second-round pick (32nd overall) and the Dallas Mavericks’ second-round pick (46th overall).
