ESPN’s NBA draft guru has the Wizards taking Turkish big man Enes Kanter with the sixth overall pick in next week’s draft.
Here’s what Ford had to say about the pick:
The Wizards know they aren’t taking a point guard — not with John Wall in the fold. So the questions are: Who’s the best player on the board and what do they need? The Wizards are very high on Vesely, but in this mock he’s off the board.
Kawhi Leonard is an option. He brings toughness, defense and versatility to a team that can use all three attributes. But the Wizards are really looking for rebounding help up front and Kanter is a very good fit here. He’s tough, he isn’t afraid to be physical and he has good size. Tristan Thompson is a dark horse here as well.
The biggest news here isn’t that the Wizards would want Kanter – we already knew that. What’s surprising is that he’s projected to fall all the way to the number six pick.
Kanter is a highly regarded prospect who loves the idea of playing alongside John Wall, who the big man knows from his days of ineligibility at Kentucky. However, most draft experts believe that he’ll be long gone by the time the Wizards get to take him – at least, that’s what they used to think.
Ford also has the Wizards taking Jordan Hamilton with the 18th pick. He draws comparisons to current Wizard Rashard Lewis, but that would hardly deter the Wiz from taking Hamilton, since Lewis’s only value to the team is having a horrendous contract that’s one year shorter than Gilbert Arenas’s.