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Will the Washington Wizards be able to fight their way into a potential playoff spot next season?
The Wizards finished their 2022-23 campaign with a 35-47 record in their second year under head coach Wes Unseld. It was the same record they finished with the year before. Guard Bradley Beal and forward Kristaps Porziņģis led the team in scoring with 23.2 points per game each, while Porziņģis led the team on the boards with 8.4 rebounds per contest.
Washington ended the NBA Draft Lottery with the No. 8 pick, taking spots over the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks and Orlando Magic. The Wizards chose former Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis with the No. 10 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He finished the year with averages of 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and one assist per game in 28 games and five starts. He scored 20 points twice in early April, once against the Milwaukee Bucks and again against the Atlanta Hawks.
Would Arkansas point guard Anthony Black be the right fit for the Washington Wizards with their No. 8 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft? How would he fit with a Wizards squad needing a spark to push them into their first playoff appearance since the 2020-21 season?
Two-way prowess
No team can ever have enough two-way talent.
Black, a former 5-star recruit from Duncanville, Texas, placed second on the Razorbacks with 12.8 points per game while shooting at a 45.3% clip from the field. He added 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per outing in 36 games and 36 starts.
The 6-foot-7-inch guard said he would play any role to help his team win games in an April article from ESPN NBA Draft expert Jonathan Givony.
“Some games the team needed my scoring, and other times my role was to get others going,” Black said, via Givony. “Switching up roles was pretty easy for me depending on who was hot. I was happy to do whatever we needed to win games. I feel like I can impact the game on or off the ball.”
Black also took pride in his defensive ability, saying he was passionate about it after he declared for the 2023 NBA Draft in April.
“Defense is something I was always super passionate about,” Black said, via Givony. “That comes from me being competitive. Wanting to win, taking pride in my matchups and not get scored on. That was the first thing they taught us at Arkansas; defensive principles, having a head on a swivel, helping teammates and learning how to affect the game off the ball.”
Black could immediately help boost a team who finished with an offensive rating of 113.7, good enough for 22nd in the NBA. Their defense, which placed 21st with a rating of 114.9, could use a player with his talents to help provide a long-term solution and help guide it in the right direction.
A potential starter for the Wizards at the point
The Wizards must find a long-term starter at the point guard to find their way into playoff contention.
Washington has two point guards, Monte Morris and Delon Wright, on Spotrac's 2023-24 Salary Cap grid for the Wizards. The guards took second and third place on the team in assists per game last season with 5.3 and 3.9, respectively. Though they are reliable options at the point guard spot, Black's size, playmaking and overall two-way ability could make him a fantastic choice for Washington if everything were to go their way.
Even Black himself sees a good fit in D.C.
“Just a great team,” Black said on Wednesday at the NBA Draft combine, via NBC Sports Washington Wizards reporter Chase Hughes. “They've got some good scorers. I don't know what they're thinking, but I think they need a guard.
“I feel like I can come in and make an impact on the team and even help those dudes get better. (I could) play with a Razorback, too.”
