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Washington Wizards Host First Pre-Draft Workout

By Colby Giacubeno

Mar 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Jerian Grant (22) reacts during the second half against the Wichita State Shockers in the semifinals of the midwest regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Jerian Grant (22) reacts during the second half against the Wichita State Shockers in the semifinals of the midwest regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Wizards hosted their first pre-draft workouts today that included two highly-talented guards that could fall to them with the 19th pick in the first round. Even though the Wizards’ first priority should be addressing the absence of a stretch-four, taking a skilled guard would not be completely surprising with their lack of depth behind Bradley Beal.

Jerian Grant, a local DC product, was one of the prospects the Wizards worked out today.

Evan Pike-USA TODAY Sports
Evan Pike-USA TODAY Sports /

This past season as the point guard for Notre Dame, Grant averaged 16.5 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds. The First-Team All American led the Fighting Irish to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament where they came up short against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Measuring at 6’4 at the NBA Combine, he has great size for a point guard even in the NBA. With a quick first step, he can blow by his defenders and collapse the defense to help open up the floor for both shooters and big men. Even though Grant possesses a great ability to score, he is a very unselfish player and has a great feel to finding the open man.

Defensively, he has potential to be a solid player. Averaging 1.7 steals a game this season shows that he has the ability to create turnovers, to go with guarding Beal and John Wall in practice everyday should be a recipe for success in that category of his game. A couple challenges that Grant will face deal with his shooting consistency. He finished the year shooting 47 percent from the field which is impressive, but the carry over to finishing at the rim against bigger guards and big men at the NBA level will be a challenge for Grant.

Utah PG, Delon Wright, was also present at workouts for the Wizards today. This past season he averaged 14.7 points, 5.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds as he helped lead the Utes to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. A the combine, he measured in at 6’6 which gives him a huge advantage to see over the defense playing point guard.

The second-team All American is very crafty of the offensive end of the floor. He does not possess crazy athleticism, but he is very good at changing speeds to go by his defender. Wright offers a lot on offense, but it is his defense that will be his biggest strength as he enters the NBA. Averaging 2.1 steals per game this past season, Wright was a pest on defense for whoever he was matched up against. His length gives him a great advantage to alter opposing guards shots.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

One area that Wright struggles in is outside shooting, which is what the Wizards are looking for this off-season. However, this would not put Wright out of the conversation of being drafted by the Wizards considering his size and scrappy mentality he would bring to the roster.

Although these two guards may not be the highest players on the list talent wise for the draft, if the Wizards feel as if one of them could fill a void to take them to the next level, they won’t hesitate to take them. In a league with elite scoring point guards, Grant and Wright could add depth to the roster to help stop them defensively.

Future pre-draft workouts will be announced soon as the Wizards continue to look for their future pick to help make them one of the top teams in the NBA.

Next: Our Latest NBA Mock Draft

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