Six players the Washington Wizards should consider with the 18th pick

The Washington Wizards selected Florida State guard/wing Jamir Watkins at 43, but what should Wizards fans expect from the second rounder? Austin Veazey, basketball writer and editor for Nole Gameday and co-host of the Hear the Spear podcast, joins Matt Modderno to fill fans in on Watkins on and off the court. They discuss Watkins's strengths, areas for improvement, his role at Florida State, his likely NBA role, his potential as a jumbo playmaker, his competitiveness, and whether he's ready to contribute in his first season.

Mike LaTulip, a former Illinois guard and basketball analyst for the Field of 68 and the Illini Inquirer, joins Matt Modderno to break down the game of new Wizards wing Will Riley. LaTulip fills listeners in on Riley's strengths, areas for improvement, Day 1 readiness, long-term potential, ideal roles, and what his mindset and work ethic are like. This is everything you need to know to get up to speed on Will Riley. LaTulip also weighs in on the additions of Tre Johnson and Jamir Watkins to the Wizards young core.

Keenan Womack of Inside Texas, part of the On3 Network, and NBA Draft at SI joins Matt Modderno to break down the game of Texas freshman Tre Johnson. We go through his strengths, areas for improvement, likely role, potential ceiling, Day 1 expectations, his mindset and work ethic, player comps, and his fit with Washington. 0:00 - Intro 1:04 - Is Tre Johnson a steal? 3:15 - Other than shooting, what does Johnson bring to the Wizards? 7:50 - Johnson’s leadership and mentality 9:05 - Tre v. Cason Wallace 9:58 - Dominance at Texas 11:15 - Defense 14:20 - Day one starter? 16:47 - Player comparisons 19:20 - Closing thoughts 20:20 - Keenan’s work

Join us for our annual live NBA Draft show on the first night of the NBA Draft as we provided real-time analysis of each selection and what they meant for the Wizards.

Kevin Broom of Bullets Forever and Ersin Demir of edemirnba.substack.com join Matt Modderno for a live mock draft! They alternated all other picks but decided for the Wizards as a group with their picks at 6, 18, and 40.

Kevin Broom of the #SoWizards podcast and Bullets Forever is back to discuss players he and Matt Modderno are higher on than consensus & who make sense for the Wizards in the 2025 NBA Draft. 0:00 - Intro 5:00 - Rasheer Fleming 9:00 - Eric Dixon 13:00 - Drake Powell 16:00 - Rocco Zikarsky 22:00 - Johni Broome 26:00 - John Tonje 31:00 - Bogoljub Markovic 36:00 - Micah Peavy 39:00 - Jamir Watkins 45:00 - Alijah Martin, Jahmai Mayshack, Adou Thiero, Gabe Madsen, Zach Freemantle 59:00 - NBA Finals

Kevin Broom of Bullets Forever joins Matt Modderno on the podcast to discuss the prospects he's higher on and lower on than consensus and who makes sense for the Wizards with the 6th and 18th picks. Prospects discussed include: Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach, Derik Queen, Kasparas Jakucionis, Noa Essengue, Collin Murray-Boyles, Carter Bryant, Egor Demin, Asa Newell, Jase Richardson, Thomas Sorber, Cedric Coward, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Maxime Raynaud, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

NBA draft analyst with Ersin Demir joins the podcast to discuss 6 prospects the Wizards should consider taking with the 18th pick in the NBA Draft. Main prospects include: Nolan Traore, Carter Bryant, Maxime Raynaud, Rasheer Fleming, Jase Richardson, and Thomas Sorber. Also touched on Joan Beringer, Noa Essengue, and Will Riley.

Matt Modderno breaks down the fit of each potential lottery pick the Wizards may take in the 2025 NBA Draft, including: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach, Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Egor Demin.

Jahadi White & Matt Modderno tie a bow on the Wizards 2024-25 season and talk through what they thought of the season's of several key Wizards, including Marcus Smart, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Jordan Poole. They also covered the Exit Interview quotes of several players and head coach Brian Keefe. 0:00 - Intro 6:00 - Bub Carrington's season 11:00 - The developing relationship between Marcus Smart and Alex Sarr 17:00 - Was Sarr soft this season? How do you fix that? 24:00 - Smart is the perfect messenger for younger players 29:00 - Jordan Poole's significant growth. Is he the right leader for the team? 37:00 - Poole and Bilal Coulibaly playing 1v1 and working out together this offseason 41:00 - Coulibaly got better but we need more consistency 43:00 - Coulibaly's Swiss Army Knife potential 50:00 - Head Coach Brian Keefe on the development of the young guys 53:00 - Kyshawn George's growing confidence and not overthinking things 59:00 - What to make of Tristan Vukcevic