The Wizards held a press conference Saturday to introduce their three first-round picks, who are products of an aggressive strategy to add young talent in this year’s draft, writes Sapna Bansil of The Washington Post. Heading into Wednesday night with the second and 26th selections, Washington took Alexandre Sarr at No. 2 as expected, then traded up to No. 14 to grab Carlton Carrington and moved up to No. 24 to add Kyshawn George.
“We walked into [the draft] Wednesday night and had a plan in place,” general manager Will Dawkins told reporters. “We were aligned from top to bottom. We were strategic, [and] we were aggressive and made sure that we accomplished our goals. So with these three young men to my left, we feel like we’re adding a few more bricks to that base-level foundation that we talked about at the end of the season.”
Sarr, a 7’0″ center, becomes the cornerstone of the franchise and an anchor for the defense. Carrington will provide scoring punch in the backcourt, while George is a wing who can handle the ball and shoot threes. All three players are expected to be part of the Wizards’ Summer League team.
Bansil notes that for the second straight year, the front office prioritized athleticism, positional size and the ability to contribute on both ends of the court. They also looked for players who are mentally tough enough to handle rebuilding.
“Not every team [has] three first-round picks, and I think it was just very cool to be able to be with these guys that enjoy the game, are very positive and are easygoing people,” George said. “We’re all in the same boat, and getting to start this rebuild as a young group, young core is very exciting.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat are unlikely to be able to re-sign free agent forward Caleb Martin, a source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Martin, who declined his $7.13MM player option on Saturday, may get offers for the full $12.9MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, Chiang adds. Re-signing him would mean second-apron status for Miami, which may now prioritize keeping Haywood Highsmith. They have been talking since teams were allowed to start negotiating with their own free agents, and Chiang hears there’s mutual interest in a new deal. Chiang also reveals that second-round pick Pelle Larsson is expected to sign a standard contract for next season worth between $1-2MM, although a two-way deal remains an option depending on how the rest of the roster comes together.
- In a SportsCenter appearance (video link), ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said there was “more of a market” to trade Dejounte Murray than fellow Hawks guard Trae Young. Murray is heading to New Orleans in exchange for a package that includes the Lakers’ first-round pick next year, and Wojnarowski said Atlanta was determined to land a selection in what’s projected to be a strong 2025 draft.
- There’s still no clarity on Miles Bridges‘ future with the Hornets, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges has been able to negotiate with the team for the past week-and-a-half, but Boone states that there hasn’t been “a hint of much traction” and the forward appears ready to test the open market.
Heat never learned the lesson
Developed the players then end up with nothing
Strus
Vincent
Martin
It’s hard to do SNT now
They should trade him a few months ago
Martin is worth $80 million contract
Rofl what lesson? Wasting your money on rotation players you can get for nothing? Nnamdi was injured last year, and not used right by the Lakers anyway. All of those guys were expected to leave the moment they signed with the heat in the first place
Heat will develop another 3 and D Guy…. no big deal… Max Strus was an over pay… Cavs are looking for wing help, by the way… the new core of kids will be developed, along with the current drafted kids….Highsmith is currently negotiating with Heat… Butler, Jaquez JR, Highsmith is more than enough 3 and D guys…
I would actually be shocked if Highsmith is somehow resigned, and it would make losing Jamal Cain make a little more sense, though I’m still annoyed about that
I just dont see how he doesn’t get paid legitimately by someone, with not many options on the wing/at the 4 that can do what he does…I thought he could get 10-13 million AAV, probably closer to the higher number
Washington had a great draft. In a so called weak draft. All three can be starters one day. This was not a great strategic and aggressive plan. Sarr fell on your lap.
So please ……. thank the inept Hawks.
Lakers should be looking everywhere you can add talent. Bridges is a guy they can get.
The only way the lakers can get miles bridges is a sign and trade which most teams don’t like cooperating with the lakers or makes them pay the “lakers” tax.
There is the possibility his value is down for multiple reasons/he looks to choose his destination to set himself up for a better financial situation afterwards. That’s the reason he is on my heat list below; otherwise, obviously he would be priced out by a lot
Heat were always losing Caleb, multiple years ago..
Of the remaining options, b/c a few have already signed, this is my Heat FA targets list, off the topnof my head (also mostly excluding bigs b/c I didn’t expect Bryant to opt out,and I hope they keep Kevin love)… this is also under the assumption the Heat keep Josh Richardson, Kevin Love, Jamal Cain, Delon Wright, and Dru Smith, and lose Caleb and Highsmith (and 1 or both of Bryant/Orlando Robinson).
Heat currently need a 2/3, 4/3, and someone that can maybe play 1-3/a 2 way combo guard that can catch and shoot and doesn’t need the ball in his hands…another option at smallball 5 could be interesting as well, but they currently have Jaime and Jovic, and Kevin Love is useful in most matchups as a spacer at the 5 next to defenders
Nicolas Batum, Miles Bridges, Kyle lowry, de’anthony melton, delon Wright, Jae Crowder, Aaron Wiggins, kyle anderson, Joe Ingles, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Xavier Tillman, Robert Covington, Wesley matthews, Gary harris, shake milton, Jae’sean Tate, Frank ntilikina, justise Winslow, shaq harrison, Marcus Morris, Taurean Prince, Oshae Brisset, KJ Martin, Derrick Jones jr, trendon watford, Torrey Craig, Keita bates-diop, Dalano banton, naji Marshall, usman garuba, dylan Windler, Kelly Oubre, Kris dunn, nerlens noel, isaiah roby, Aaron holiday, Stanley Johnson, rodney mcgruder, alec burks, romeo langford, jamychal green, chuma okeke, Cam Reddish, David Duke, Daquan Jeffries, Trevelin Queen, Charlie Brown jr, Daishen Nix, terence davis, Mac mcclung, Justin Jackson, Juan Toscano anderson, Lamar stevens, Dereon Seabron, ish Wainright