Washington Wizards: What to do with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 Draft

Who’s going first overall?

As it stands, especially with the NCAA tournaments having been canceled, there are two names in the mix to go first overall this year: center James Wiseman and shooting guard Anthony Edwards.

Wiseman is incredibly skilled as far as big men go, and seeing as that’s Washington’s biggest need, makes for a nice fit on this Wizards roster. But there are also some off-court concerns, seeing as he only ever suited up once for his college team, the Memphis Tigers.

It sounds silly when you read into why the NCAA ruled him ineligible, but the fact is that some teams are going to be worried about an 18-year old who’s spent the last year off the court.

NBADraft.net has Wiseman’s current player comparison as a cross between Hassan Whiteside of the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Brooklyn Nets‘ DeAndre Jordan.

Those are two perennial top rebounders and Jordan was once a serious defensive frontcourt threat. That’s exactly the kind of player Washington’s missing on their current roster.

Regarding Edwards, there’s a lot of optimism about his abilities as a scorer on the NBA level. The 6’5” shooting guard could serve as a nice sixth man on this Wizards roster, but likely nothing more.

Could he play some small forward minutes between Beal and Hachimura? Potentially.

NBADraft.net has his current player comparisons as some sort of a cross between former Miami Heat great Dwyane Wade and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz.

Turnovers and 3-point shooting are two of Edwards’ biggest weaknesses, as well as Washington’s. It’s hard to see an immediate fit with this pairing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Wizards would be discouraged from drafting the guard.