2023 Mock Draft 2.0: Spurs roll the dice, Hornets win Wembanyama sweepstakes

For those of you thinking that the Spurs may be the biggest wild card in this mock draft, I think that award would actually go to the Washington Wizards. The team’s drafting strategy has already felt relatively directionless to begin with over the past few seasons, but when also considering the team still also lacks a general manager, that takes an already-unpredictable team and makes them a total enigma.

The team certainly has an interesting core, composed of Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija, and recent draftees Corey Kispert and Johnny Davis, but there’s no telling whether or not that core is a viable championship-contending roster even with the perfect player to bring the whole group together. For the purpose of this mock draft, though, we’re going to assume that the Wizards keep the gang all together, for better or for worse, because that sounds like the more Wizards thing to do.

This organization has greatly struggled to develop their draft picks in a meaningful way over the past several years, so if they are going to keep their current group together, assuming this pick isn’t shopped in a trade, they’d need to go with a player that fits well in the team’s rotations and can contribute immediately. Cason Wallace strikes me as the player that comes the closest to fitting that description, but if the Wizards were to throw a real curveball, I think Kobe Bufkin could be in play here as well.