The Wizards have been one of the pleasant surprises in the 2020-2021 season, currently sitting in a playoff position after liquidating star point guard Russell Westbrook. This team has a lot of talent and depth in the frontcourt, but on the wing they have virtually nothing outside of Bradley Beal and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. With KCP certainly not the long-term answer on the wing with Beal, the Wizards must go after a small forward in this year’s draft.
Harrison Ingram is a freshman currently playing his college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal. He isn’t terribly athletic and his shot is still a work-in-progress, but he is a high-IQ player who doesn’t need a lot of touches to make an impact.
How he develops on the defensive end should be interesting, though banking on him to become an above-average perimeter defender isn’t the best bet. Ingram has solidified himself as a first-round pick, but his shot will determine how high he can go.
MarJon Beauchamp is one of the more interesting stories in this class. A four-star recruit in the high school class of 2020, Beauchamp decided against playing college basketball initially, then in April of what would have been his freshman year, he went to play at a local community college. He was then signed by the Ignite in hopes of becoming an NBA prospect. Beauchamp is on the older side of prospects in this class, set to turn 21 early in his rookie season.
Beauchamp is a great athlete who can do a bit of everything on the floor. He has proven to be an effective scorer from the floor in the G-League, but his three-point shooting just isn’t where it needs to be yet. Defensively, at best he projects as average.
Beauchamp, like so many prospects to come through the draft, will need to put a lot of work into his jumper leading up to the 2022-2023 NBA season. If he can even become an average shooter, he should carve out a nice rotational role in the NBA.
Pick via Charlotte Hornets (Top-18 Protected)
The move to offload Cam Reddish wasn’t a surprising one, but the timing of it & the return could be questioned. Regardless, the Hawks should have the opportunity to select twice in the 2022 NBA Draft.
After taking a swing on Dyson Daniels with their first selection, the franchise opts for a safer option in three-year NCAA player Wendell Moore. Moore has been on the NBA radar for some time but has not been able to piece it all together until this season.
Moore has been stellar for the Blue Devils this season, doing a bit of everything for one of the top teams in the country. Moore’s jumper has been key to his success, as well as the development of some playmaking skills from the wing. Moore should be able to step in and provide solid minutes early in his career.