What Will the Wizards Do After Falling to the Sixth Pick?

The Washington Wizards, since rebranding from the Bullets in 1997, have won just four total playoff series. They are a franchise marked by inconsistency at best, and abject mediocrity at worst. They have also suffered significant bad luck in the last 28 years, including the ill-fated career of 2001 top-pick Kwame Brown and an injury-plagued campaign for 2010's number-one pick John Wall.

Despite seeing success intermittently, deep playoff runs are a foreign concept for the Wizards faithful, as they have not once advanced past the conference semifinals since their name change, losing three separate times in that round. Despite the occasional talented piece like Bradley Beal, the organization has never realized sustained success.

Once again, bad luck befell the franchise after another season spent in the Eastern Conference cellar. They received the sixth-overall pick after an 18-64 finish, which was second-worst in the NBA behind only the Utah Jazz at 17-65. Missing out on the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, as well as a high-level consolation prize in Dylan Harper, the Wizards are once again scrambling to make a draft decision for a player who can impact their team for the long term.

So who are some of the prospects that would make sense for them to draft at this point? There are a few names that come to mind, but of course, much of this depends on who has been selected already.

The first is Baltimore native Derik Queen, who played collegiate basketball for Maryland after spending his senior season of prep basketball at EYBL powerhouse Montverde. The forward prospect averaged 16.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game last season and served as a versatile big with playmaking chops that could potentially serve as an initiator out of the post. He would also provide rebounding to a team that badly needs it.

Another option, though a bit less realistic, is Texas' Tre Johnson, who averaged 19.9 points per game, shooting 43% from the field and 40% from three last season for a Longhorns team that required him to pick up the slack in spite of a bad scheme and ill-fitting pieces. His 6-foot-6 frame and elite shot-making talent make him a prospect that could help to jumpstart a unit that finished dead last in offensive rating in 2024-25.

If Baylor's VJ Edgecombe fell to them, he could be another option, though it seems he will not fall outside of the top five. Outside of these three players, Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears could also be a candidate due to his combo-guard skills.

Fit should not be the most important thing for Washington, however; the Wizards need to take the best player available, even with a young corps that has flashed potential over the last couple of seasons. Considering they won just 18 games, they need an infusion of talent instead of someone who fits a particular scheme. For that reason, Derik Queen or Tre Johnson make the most sense, depending on which is available.