The 2012 NBA Draft is now two days away and the speculation as to who the Washington Wizards will select at the No. 3 spot is reaching a fever pitch. Chad Ford of ESPN.com projects in his latest mock draft that the Wizards will select Florida Gators guard Bradley Beal.
Washington
Bradley Beal
Position: SG
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 202 pounds
Age: 18
School: FloridaAnalysis: The Wizards made the first big trade of the offseason, sending Rashard Lewis and the 46th pick to New Orleans for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza. With the deal, the Wizards essentially upgraded their front court -- Okafor likely will be their starting 5, Nene their starting 4 and Ariza their starting 3.
With John Wall running the point, that leaves them with one big hole: at the 2. I think this makes Beal a no-brainer for the Wizards, who are lacking a lights-out perimeter shooter. He's a perfect fit for this new roster. And if the Wizards believe they are in danger of losing Beal, don't be surprised if they offer the Bobcats the No. 32 pick to move up one spot. If Beal is off the board, it looks as if Harrison Barnes is Plan B.
Ford makes some good points in this article. With the deal to get both Okafor and Ariza done, there is not as pressing a need for help in the front court as there was a few days ago. The key need now for the Wizards is a shooter to run along side Wall.
For more information on Beal, here is a scouting report done by SB Nation.
The NBA Draft is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Television coverage of the draft will be provided by ESPN and will be live streaming on ESPN3.com.
For more information on the NBA, please check out the SB Nation NBA Hub Page. For more information on the Washington Wizards, check out the SB Nation blog Bullets Forever.