The Washington Wizards are in a fascinating spot in the 2025 NBA Draft. Tyler Metcalf and Jam Hines break down their potential options with the #6 pick, as well as the #18 pick.
um... you like johnson's defensive tools? he is among the worst and least enthusiastic defender in the entire draft class. Johnson has 1.6 steals per 100 possessions. That's stunningly low. A pundit recently wrote "Here’s the quick rundown: Shooting guards have fared horribly in recent drafts, with only about 10% of SGs picked in the first round becoming a plus in impact metrics.
The four shooting guards who stand out from recent drafts are Jalen Suggs, Dyson Daniels, Christian Braun, and Brandin Podziemski .What do those four have in common? They are all positive defenders." Johnson is not. He's only 19 so i suppose it could change with the right enviroment (which washington probably isnt but its possible). The point is that the only guard who is a plus defender is Edgecrombe. Kon is not bad ..sort of neutral. Taking high scoring and high usage shooting guards is a bad draft gamble history shows. Even dylan harper has some glaring defensive holes. Fears, too, compounded by his having to get much stronger. Id say washington should just take the best player regardless of position. They pretty much need everything anyway. I also think Johnson might well drop draft night.
Tre's defense suffered because of high usage. What are even watching, a different sport? Tre's defensive tools are better than kon's, and with tre being tasked with creating less offense and instead spotting up, hell be able to have more energy on defense. At worst, kon gets played off the floor from being hunted. Most likely, you may have to put him on the other teams weakest player. Johnson, on the other hand, projects better and you shouldn't have to hide him with at least 1 year of development, lol. Defensive tools mean height and length, not how good he is on defense. He can move, and he's got length, and legit 6'6. He's taller than kon, and played the passing lanes a little bit. Yes, his defense isn't good. But his defensive outcome projects MUCH better. Now, lets compare him to those 4 players you just mentioned. Suggs is an elite POA defender who has a strong frame, but is a two foot finisher who lacks shooting consistency off catch or dribble. He's a good not great playmaker, but he needs to refine his finishing and add more euros, pump fakes, just more unpredictability in general. Trae is taller and longer than him, is a fine playmaker in a 2 guard role who can make basic reads, and is worlds away as a shooter off the dribble and catch, and as a self creator. He's deifnently a worse athlete and won't pressure the rim as much, but that's okay considering his shooting. Dyson daniels is a better passer and much better defender (and is taller), but the reason why it took him a couple years to blossom was because of his lack of scoring assertiveness. He's got a nice floater and has made improvements as a driver and most of all, as a shooter. Tre is much more farther ahead in that his defensive outcome should be average, while providing at the very least above average shooting compared to dyson. They have the same length. Dylan harper does not have glaring defensive issues, LOL? He's 6'6 with a 6'10 wingspan, and in HS he was much better thanks to lower usage. Rutgers relied on him a TON to carry the offense. He's got strength, not extremely quick feet but it's enough to be okay on defense. It's moreso his motor and engagement that took a blunt hit from him having the ball all of the time. He's a fine lateral mover and can contain, and depsite not being a good defensive playmaker, his stats show him having solid activity. He can make plays in the passing lanes, deflect some balls, and he DOES have upside at the POA. He'll be able to match up with 2s some 3s, and can spend time on a 1. With wemby behind him, he can go all out and push his man up. 1v1 he did fine this szn. I agree with that fears will probably not be a good defender, you don't draft him for his defense though. He carried a huge offensive load too, but like you said he needs to get stronger, was a complete non factor on D for his team. But everything else besides that good fears take, is INCORRECT. Tre's floor and ceiling are good.
i will add, addendum....the popular opinion on Kon is that he is at best average on d. Some think he's bad. I dont think so at all. But armchair scouts see things in very predictable ways. Which is fine. I,m aware mine, on kon, is a minority opinion.
defensive are we? Here is the article i quoted. And no he is not further ahead on his defense. And yes dylan harper has holes on D....starting with (like a lot of college players) not being strong enough. But fan boys will want everyone to be great. I get it. https://substack.com/home/post/p-165727329
giving me a bum paywalled article 😂. No im not a fanboy. Everything I said is facts. Go watch the real film. Let’s say tre isn’t a good defender in the NBA, that’s fine. There are many shooters who struggle to play defense. Dylan Harper is 6’6 210. He’s tall and strong for a point guard. Go watch all of his defensive possessions and come back. All you’re going to see is less energy and engagement. I think kon on defense is better than given credit for on defense, BUT BY NO MEANS AT ALL IS HE A POSITIVE ON DEFENSE. He was surrounded by all positive defenders. He’s average at best. I do think he is better than credit for, I’ll repeat. Harper walls up any guard went against. Do you even watch film, guy? Tre is a fine passer and has self creation upside that an average sharp shooter doesn’t.
Nice summary of the draft options for Wizards, and I do prefer Edgecombe, Johnson and Fears as Jamaill. I do agree that Johnson is still work taking b/c his defense measurements are there. I hope that Dawkins and company can figure out if he has the want-to attitude to be a plus defender. In the right situation (say with Smart's perspective and the examples of Bilal and Sarr to inspire), Johnson could surprise on that end. Lastly, can Jam and Metcalf tell me what you think of Noa Essengue? I wouldn't mind if this was a wildcard pick at 6 if Edgecombe and Johnson were off the board. I realize that I have recency bias in ranking him in top 5, but he - he does speak French!
um... you like johnson's defensive tools? he is among the worst and least enthusiastic defender in the entire draft class. Johnson has 1.6 steals per 100 possessions. That's stunningly low. A pundit recently wrote "Here’s the quick rundown: Shooting guards have fared horribly in recent drafts, with only about 10% of SGs picked in the first round becoming a plus in impact metrics.
The four shooting guards who stand out from recent drafts are Jalen Suggs, Dyson Daniels, Christian Braun, and Brandin Podziemski .What do those four have in common? They are all positive defenders." Johnson is not. He's only 19 so i suppose it could change with the right enviroment (which washington probably isnt but its possible). The point is that the only guard who is a plus defender is Edgecrombe. Kon is not bad ..sort of neutral. Taking high scoring and high usage shooting guards is a bad draft gamble history shows. Even dylan harper has some glaring defensive holes. Fears, too, compounded by his having to get much stronger. Id say washington should just take the best player regardless of position. They pretty much need everything anyway. I also think Johnson might well drop draft night.
Tre's defense suffered because of high usage. What are even watching, a different sport? Tre's defensive tools are better than kon's, and with tre being tasked with creating less offense and instead spotting up, hell be able to have more energy on defense. At worst, kon gets played off the floor from being hunted. Most likely, you may have to put him on the other teams weakest player. Johnson, on the other hand, projects better and you shouldn't have to hide him with at least 1 year of development, lol. Defensive tools mean height and length, not how good he is on defense. He can move, and he's got length, and legit 6'6. He's taller than kon, and played the passing lanes a little bit. Yes, his defense isn't good. But his defensive outcome projects MUCH better. Now, lets compare him to those 4 players you just mentioned. Suggs is an elite POA defender who has a strong frame, but is a two foot finisher who lacks shooting consistency off catch or dribble. He's a good not great playmaker, but he needs to refine his finishing and add more euros, pump fakes, just more unpredictability in general. Trae is taller and longer than him, is a fine playmaker in a 2 guard role who can make basic reads, and is worlds away as a shooter off the dribble and catch, and as a self creator. He's deifnently a worse athlete and won't pressure the rim as much, but that's okay considering his shooting. Dyson daniels is a better passer and much better defender (and is taller), but the reason why it took him a couple years to blossom was because of his lack of scoring assertiveness. He's got a nice floater and has made improvements as a driver and most of all, as a shooter. Tre is much more farther ahead in that his defensive outcome should be average, while providing at the very least above average shooting compared to dyson. They have the same length. Dylan harper does not have glaring defensive issues, LOL? He's 6'6 with a 6'10 wingspan, and in HS he was much better thanks to lower usage. Rutgers relied on him a TON to carry the offense. He's got strength, not extremely quick feet but it's enough to be okay on defense. It's moreso his motor and engagement that took a blunt hit from him having the ball all of the time. He's a fine lateral mover and can contain, and depsite not being a good defensive playmaker, his stats show him having solid activity. He can make plays in the passing lanes, deflect some balls, and he DOES have upside at the POA. He'll be able to match up with 2s some 3s, and can spend time on a 1. With wemby behind him, he can go all out and push his man up. 1v1 he did fine this szn. I agree with that fears will probably not be a good defender, you don't draft him for his defense though. He carried a huge offensive load too, but like you said he needs to get stronger, was a complete non factor on D for his team. But everything else besides that good fears take, is INCORRECT. Tre's floor and ceiling are good.
i will add, addendum....the popular opinion on Kon is that he is at best average on d. Some think he's bad. I dont think so at all. But armchair scouts see things in very predictable ways. Which is fine. I,m aware mine, on kon, is a minority opinion.
defensive are we? Here is the article i quoted. And no he is not further ahead on his defense. And yes dylan harper has holes on D....starting with (like a lot of college players) not being strong enough. But fan boys will want everyone to be great. I get it. https://substack.com/home/post/p-165727329
giving me a bum paywalled article 😂. No im not a fanboy. Everything I said is facts. Go watch the real film. Let’s say tre isn’t a good defender in the NBA, that’s fine. There are many shooters who struggle to play defense. Dylan Harper is 6’6 210. He’s tall and strong for a point guard. Go watch all of his defensive possessions and come back. All you’re going to see is less energy and engagement. I think kon on defense is better than given credit for on defense, BUT BY NO MEANS AT ALL IS HE A POSITIVE ON DEFENSE. He was surrounded by all positive defenders. He’s average at best. I do think he is better than credit for, I’ll repeat. Harper walls up any guard went against. Do you even watch film, guy? Tre is a fine passer and has self creation upside that an average sharp shooter doesn’t.
Nice summary of the draft options for Wizards, and I do prefer Edgecombe, Johnson and Fears as Jamaill. I do agree that Johnson is still work taking b/c his defense measurements are there. I hope that Dawkins and company can figure out if he has the want-to attitude to be a plus defender. In the right situation (say with Smart's perspective and the examples of Bilal and Sarr to inspire), Johnson could surprise on that end. Lastly, can Jam and Metcalf tell me what you think of Noa Essengue? I wouldn't mind if this was a wildcard pick at 6 if Edgecombe and Johnson were off the board. I realize that I have recency bias in ranking him in top 5, but he - he does speak French!