The Washington Wizards haven’t always had the best lottery luck. Yes, this is a franchise that won the No. 1 pick overall twice, which it used to take center Kwame Brown and point guard John Wall in 2001 and 2010. But since the NBA introduced its weighted lottery format in 1990, in all but three of the team’s 21 lottery trips, Washington has stayed put or — even worse — moved down because of how the ping-pong balls bounced.
So, Tuesday’s result was just more of the same.
The Wizards landed the eighth pick in Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery — the same spot that they had entering the evening. The San Antonio Spurs were the winners of the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes — landing the talented 7-foot-3 French center, who is one of the most anticipated draft prospects in decades.
Wembanyama now follows in the footsteps of Tim Duncan and David Robinson — two Hall of Fame, iconic No. 1 picks who landed in San Antonio — while the Wizards remain stuck.
The Charlotte Hornets (second) and the Portland Trail Blazers (third) rounded out the top 3.
Though the lottery played out as expected for the Wizards, complicating matters is that they currently don’t have a general manager to make this year’s pick come draft night.
Washington is still searching for a lead basketball decision-maker after firing general manager Tommy Sheppard last month. Owner Ted Leonsis has said the Wizards’ next hire will come from outside the organization, but like in 2019 — when he hired Sheppard — Leonsis is taking his time with the process.
For those that don’t recall, Leonsis promoted Sheppard on an interim basis upon firing Ernie Grunfield in April 2019, spoke to a reported 78 people to find Grunfield’s replacement and ultimately still gave Sheppard the top job that July.
Sheppard’s dismissal, meanwhile, came almost a month ago when was fired on April 19. So far, though, there hasn’t been a lot of buzz about his replacement. The Wizards have been linked to candidates such as Milwaukee assistant general manager Milt Netwon, New York Knicks manager Scott Perry and Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers — but it’s unclear whether any formal interviews have taken place.
The Washington Post reported recently that the Wizards have had “initial conversations” with Newton and New Orleans Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon. And while Leonsis pledged to make a hire from outside the organization, there are questions about how much of a departure Newton would be given that he worked for Washington as an executive from 2003 to 2013.
Ideally, the Wizards would have a new general manager in time for June 22’s NBA draft. Though the team didn’t name an interim after Sheppard’s dismissal, The Athletic reported that assistant general manager Brett Greenberg and vice president of player programs John Thompson III have been communicated to other teams as Washington’s points of contact. Thompson has also reportedly been involved in Washington’s search process. Notably, Leonsis decided to not hire a search firm this time around — which he used in 2019 before landing on Sheppard.
Whoever replaces Sheppard, though, faces the daunting challenge of having to rebuild the Wizards. Washington has missed the playoffs in four of the last five years — and last won more than 50 games in a season in 1979. The new executive will inherit a roster with Bradley Beal’s supermax, no-trade-clause contract (entering the second year of a five-year, $251 million deal) and a lack of elite prospects.
The next general manager will also have to make key calls on forwards Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis, who will likely become free agents this summer and will be seeking sizable raises.
That’s no easy task — even with Tuesday’s lottery taking place.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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