While the Washington Wizards appeared to be a sure bet to secure the NBA’s worst record for most of the season, the Jazz came through at the end with a dismal run-in, losing 9 of 10 to close the season with a 17-65 record.
The Wizards are in the midst of yet another rebuild, something quite common for a franchise that has missed the playoffs 12 of the past 17 seasons and hasn’t made it past the second round since losing the NBA Finals in 1979.
This is the ninth straight postseason the Hornets are missing out on. Yet, in all that time, they have failed to add healthy talent through the draft.
Bailey and Edgecombe go back-and-forth between the third and fourth picks in mock drafts across the board, so it will most likely come down to the teams involved and their specific needs.
No franchise asks its fans to “trust the process” more than the 76ers. But the team hasn’t gotten past the Eastern Conference semifinals in 24 years. And now, after a disastrous 24-58 that resulted in Philly missing the playoffs for the first time in eight years, some fresh blood is needed.
It’s one thing to be bad. And the Nets were bad, going 26-56 and missing the postseason for the second straight year. But they were boring as well, tied with the Hornets for lowest scoring average (105.1 ppg) in the league.
That 2019 NBA title feels like decades away at this point for the Raptors, who missed the playoffs for the third straight season in a miserable 30-52 campaign. Toronto native RJ Barrett (team-high 21.1 ppg), Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and Jacob Poeltl, as well as the recently acquired Brandon Ingram, give Toronto a solid scoring base to work from.
A handful of players send their draft stock soaring with bravura NCAA Tournament performances every spring. Queen was one of those who did so this year, guiding the Terrapins to their first Sweet 16 in nine years.
Jakucionis had an impressive lone season in Champaign, averaging 15.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 4.7 apg while shooting 44.0% from the floor for the 22-win Fighting Illini. The 6-foot-6 Lithuanian had previously excelled for FC Barcelona, and he exhibits the Euro game that is en vogue in the NBA right now.
The Trail Blazers have not made the postseason in any of coach Chauncey Billups’ four seasons at the helm. Maluach, the 7’2″ South Sudanese product who excelled in flashes with Duke this season, is very much a raw prospect, but one who could complement DeAndre Ayton and Donovan Clingan inside.
