After my rousing success predicting last year’s draft (I got as many picks slotted correctly in the top 2 as I did in the remainder of the draft, to give you an idea), I’m determined to redeem myself.  This is my best guess as to what goes down Thursday night, barring the inevitable trade activity that will doubtlessly destroy my draft board.  This isn't necessarily what I hope will happen; I'm rooting (irrationally) for Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, and Chris Singleton like a lot of you.  I did, however, make Donatas Motiejunas slip a spot in the name of wishful thinking.

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While more of our franchise's future rides on a pick on the other side of the first round, the second first-round pick that we acquired from Cleveland in the Antawn Jamison trade provides a good opportunity to fill a need that we are unable to address with our earlier pick.  So what prospects look to be available in the late first round, and what positions should be our areas of need?

With a fortuitous draw at the Draft Lottery, we might have a chance to draft a certain freshman point guard out of Kentucky, but most of the high lottery prospects that the Wizards would be interested in drafting are small forwards (Evan Turner [which would be great], Wesley Johnson, Al-Farouq Aminu) or centers (DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Favors, Cole Aldrich [ugh]).  The Wizards should be looking to pick up a center at some point in the draft, and most of the non-lottery prospects seem to be falling in the mid-first and mid-second rounds, so the Wiz would probably be better served to pick up a center with their second-round pick to get one closer to its value if Cousins, Favors of Aldrich isn't a Wizard next season.  That leaves the position of shooting guard as the best position to be looking for, and there are a number of prospects that seem to be falling near the bottom of the first round and the beginning of the second that the Wizards might be interested in.

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