Wizards Notes: Draft, Dawkins, Ownership, Trades

The Wizards possess the eighth pick in the first round of this year’s draft, along with the Nos. 35, 42, and 57 selections in the second round.

In previewing Washington’s draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic notes that newly installed Washington VP Travis Schlenk had a history of prioritizing players with a good court sense and solid shooting ability, as well as swingmen with high upsides, while with the Hawks.

Vecenie believes that the Wizards, who are clearly in position to prioritize talent over fit after trading stars Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis in recent days, should look to select the player on the board with the highest ceiling in the first round.

There’s more out of D.C.:

• Wizards general manager Will Dawkins is looking forward to the scrutiny and pressure that will come along with his new gig, writes Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. After 15 years spent in the Thunder’s front office office, Dawkins will get an opportunity to take on a larger role in D.C. As Wallace notes, while new team president Michael Winger will oversee the rosters of the Wizards, their G League affiliate the Capital City Go-Go, and WNBA squad the Washington Mystics, Dawkins will get to focus exclusively on the Wizards. “I’ll be more around on the day-to-day, having more conversations with the players and staff, allowing [Winger] to kind of free up and manage Monumental Basketball,” Dawkins said. “We’ll both be at games, talking to representation of our players, things of that nature. But [my role is] more so the scouting portion, managing that, making sure the building is humming and up to the standards we’re looking for.”
• A Qatari wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, is purchasing a passive minority stake in Wizards ownership group Monumental Sports & Entertainment, worth approximately 5%, according to Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico. This marks the first time a sovereign wealth fund will be buying into U.S. team sports. “The NBA Board is currently reviewing a potential investment by QIA in Monumental Sports & Entertainment,” NBA chief communications officer Mike Bass said in a statement (Twitter link via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). “In accordance with the policy, if approved, QIA would have a passive, minority investment in the team, with no involvement in its operations or decision-making.”
• Kristaps Porzingis, who will be traded to the Celtics, issued a parting statement to the Wizards team and fans (Twitter link). “Wiz Fans!!” Porzingis wrote, in part. “Thank you for showing me so much support, I truly appreciate it and [enjoyed] every night playing in front of you. Wishing you all success as I embark on the next chapter of my career.”
• The three-team trade that will send Porzingis to Boston is a rare win for all three clubs involved, opines John Hollinger of The Athletic. In a separate piece, Hollinger writes that future salary cap considerations played a major part in the Warriors’ rationale behind the newly reported deal that will send out Chris Paul, acquired in the Beal trade, to Golden State in exchange for Jordan Poole and draft equity.