Should the Wizards Still Consider a Center in 2025 Draft?

Should the Washington Wizards target a center in the upcoming NBA Draft? Absolutely. The real question is which pick they should use.

The Wizards hold two 1st round picks in the upcoming draft, and while one of them is guaranteed to be a top 3 pick, should the Wizards add depth at the center position with the other one and who should they target? Before we can talk about the late first-round pick, how could the lottery pick impact how the Wizards pick with the second one?

Lottery pick

While none of the prospects the Wizards are looking at are centers, the direction of the later 1st round pick hinges on who the Wizards pick with their lottery pick. If they get the number one overall, it's looking like Cooper Flagg. If they fall to the 2nd or 3rd pick, it'll be Dylan Harper or Ace Bailey. If they fall to the top 5, then it gets interesting. With Poole in DC in the short-term and Bub Carrington being the long-term answer, matching him with a shooting guard or another lead guard could be the strategy. VJ Edgecombe or my favorite, Tre Johnson, could be the targets.

If the Wizards decided to trade back for more picks in later drafts, then they may draft a center. Derik Queen out of the University of Maryland, an undersized yet very scrappy center who could play power forward, would fit and would slot in nicely beside Alex Sarr.

Speaking of Alex Sarr and power forward, both he and Tristan Vukcevic can play power forward and thus would be another reason why drafting a center with the late-rounder would make sense, especially another seven-footer.

Danny Wolf

Enter, Danny Wolf. Wolf is 7 foot, 255 pounds, and has an NBA-ready body. A very nimble, quick, and skilled center who moves more like a guard than a big. Has good passing vision and a nice outside shot but can be a bit turnover-prone. Many scouts and experts compare him to Frank Kaminsky but he reminds me of a certain second-round pick, Nikola Jokic.

The biggest key to the whole process is the fact that the Wizards have options. In years past, the Wizards would either miss on draft picks or trade away their first-round picks. Now with Will Dawkins in the front office, they have a general manager who is going to build through the draft and hit on picks. He's done well up to this point. Can the good times keep rolling?

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