In 2011 NBA draft, Washington Wizards have many possibilities with sixth pick

Chicago — A few minutes after Arizona sophomore Derrick Williams finished his last interview and coolly walked out of a ballroom at a downtown Chicago hotel, Turkish big man Enes Kanter entered and was quickly surrounded by a huge throng of reporters.

The Washington Wizards obviously have interest in both players — one, a dynamic forward who could go first overall, and the other, a rugged big man who could go as high as second. And, Kanter, who is good friends with John Wall after spending the past year enrolled at Kentucky, even said on Thursday that the Wizards are one of the teams that he would like to play for next season.

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

“If I had the choice, I like Washington,” Kanter said.

But when it comes to the NBA draft, Kanter doesn’t have the choice and the Wizards probably won’t either. The decision was so much easier for the Wizards last year, when they had the No. 1 overall pick and all the discretion to get the player they truly desired, which turned out to be Wall. This year, the Wizards have the sixth pick, a position that leads to maddening speculation and wide-ranging possibilities.

They would have to trade up to get Williams and maybe Kanter, or simply hope that Kanter slides down. More realistically, the Wizards would have to look at players such as San Diego State sophomore swingman Kawhi Leonard, Texas freshman forward Tristan Thompson, Kansas twin junior forwards Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris, center Jan Vesely from the Czech Republic or Lithuanian forwards Jonas Valanciunas and Donatas Motiejunas.

Duke point guard Kyrie Irving is considered the player most likely to go first to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Wizards have no interest since they are already set at that position. The Wizards spoke with Kanter on Wednesday and have already set up an interview with Williams this week at the NBA combine, where more than 50 draft prospects hope to leave an impression in advance of the June 23 draft.

If they can make a deal to move up for Williams, the Wizards would get someone who believes he’s the best player available. “Definitely. I am,” Williams said. “A lot of people in this draft have already peaked or reached their mountain. I haven’t hit the surface. It’s pretty crazy, kind of like a movie, coming out of nowhere, being a top two, three, pick, it’s kind of amazing, considering where I come from.”

Vesely, Valanciunas and Motiejunas were not in Chicago, but the Wizards still had several players to evaluate for their lottery selection, and their other two choices — 18th and 34th. In addition to Kanter, the Wizards also spoke with the Morris twins, and Kansas combo guard Josh Selby on Wednesday. They expect to interview 15 players in Chicago and bring in others for workouts at Verizon Center.

The Morris twins boast matching tattoos and facial hair and were virtually interchangeable parts at Kansas, where they took turns grabbing rebounds and scoring inside. Marcus Morris, a 6-foot-9 forward, is trying to transition to playing small forward at the next level while Markieff Morris is an inch taller and about 10 pounds heavier and expects to remain at power forward.