NBA Draft 2024: Five sleeper forwards the Wizards should target

There’s been a lot of talk about how underwhelming this year’s NBA Draft is compared to past years. While I agree it’s not as top heavy, I still feel like teams can find a lot of value in the second round and in the undrafted free agent market.

The Wizards, who hold the 51st pick in the draft and will likely have their two-way contracts at their disposal, need to find as much talent as they can wherever they can get it. I already covered the wings so here are the forwards I would bet on to outperform their likely draft position.

Everyone listed here appears in the second round or nowhere in the top-60 of Rookie Scale’s Consensus Big Board, which aggregates the major, reputable draft service’s big boards. I also discussed all five forwards on Bleav in Wizards podcast.

Ryan Dunn, Virginia, 6’7.5, draft age: 21.5, consensus ranking: 31

Statistics: 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, .8 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.3 blocks, 20% 3PT (1 attempt), 53.2% FT

Case for: may be the best defender in the draft, can guard multiple positions (probably 1-thru-4), good cutter, good transition finisher, steals + blocks!

Case against: cannot shoot which is not ideal for a non-center

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Keshad Johnson, Arizona, 6’7.5, draft age: 23, consensus ranking: 55

Statistics: 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1 steal, .7 blocks, 38.7% 3PT, 71% FT

Case for: ultimate dirty work guy, switchable defender who have the best chance of guarding 1-thru-5 of anyone in this draft (at least situationally), really good on-and-off ball defender

Case against: undersized, older, limited offensive versatility, is the shooting progression real?

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Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State, 6’8.25, draft age: 22.88, consensus ranking: undrafted

Statistics: 19.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, .9 blocks, 1.9 turnovers, 32.2% 3PT, 72.1% FT

Case for: has some wiggle to him as a ball-handler, was the most intriguing guy I saw at the Portsmouth Invitational draft camp, skilled 6’8 forwards are a valuable archetype, shoot looks better than the results would indicate, fits the modern archetype of a switchable forward with perimeter skills

Case against: older, underwhelming three-point and free-throw percentage for someone trying to fill the archetype of a floor-spacing forward, really underwhelmed for two seasons at Kansas and then one at Iowa State before transferring down to a mid-major

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Enrique Freeman, Akron, 6’7.5, draft age: 23.8, consensus ranking: undrafted

Statistics: 18.6 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, .8 steals, 1.7 blocks, 37% 3PT (1.5 attempts), 72.8% FT

Case for: ultimate hustle / glue-guy type, elite rebounder, makes plays with his effort and energy, isn’t flashy but just finds ways to fill up the stat sheet, would push everyone else harder in practice as well, has good footwork to score in the post, good defensive upside with 7’2 wingspan and good lateral mobility

Case against: older, mostly a non-shooter for his career, more wing-sized but doesn’t have the perimeter skill to play out there

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Isaac Jones, Washington State, 6’8, draft age: 23.8, consensus ranking: undrafted

Statistics: 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, .5 steals, 1.1 blocks, 1.9 turnovers, 7.1% 3PT (14 total attempts this season), 71.2% FT

Case for: super productive against good competition, beat bigger players on the boards by out-hustling them but also seems to have a nose for the ball, he and Freeman are my bet for the Eugene Omoruyi-types from this draft as guys who will just find ways to be productive at the next level but don’t get drafted because they’re older with limited upside, good on-ball defender

Case against: older, more of a small-ball five probably, a non-shooter, limited perimeter skill, not a great off-ball defender at this point

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