The Washington Wizards selected 20-year old SG Tomas Satoransky out of the Czech Republic with the 32nd overall pick (2nd round) of the 2012 NBA Draft. Satoransky is 6′7″, 210 pounds. He was a backup overseas last year as he only averaged 16.9 minutes, 4.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.6 steals per game. Satoransky shot 50% from the floor last year, but only 27.3% from three point range. A lot of scouts like Satoransky’s game, but he’s likely a couple years away from playing in the NBA…..if he ever does.

The Washington Wizards took 19-year old shooting guard Bradley Beal out of Florida with the 3rd overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. Beal is 6′3″, 207 pounds and he likes to drive to the rack. He played in 37 games for Florida last year (his only year in college) in which he averaged 34.2 minutes, 14.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Beal only shot 44.5% from the floor and 33.9% from three point range last year, so he has some things to work on. He did shoot better as the season went on. Beal will have a really good shot of starting right away for the Wizards.

The Wizards took 21-year old, 6′3″, 215 pound guard Shelvin Mack out of Butler with the 34th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. Mack played in 38 games for Butler last year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Mack played in 108 games in his three years in college and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. This was another solid pick for the Wizards as Mack can play either guard slot.

The Wizards took 21-year old, 6′9″, 220 pound forward Chris Singleton with the 18th overall pick in the NBA Draft last night. Singleton played in 28 games for Florida State last year and he averaged 29.1 minutes, 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Singleton played in 95 games in his three years in college and he averaged 29.1 minutes, 10.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Singleton is a outstanding defensive player and he plays with a high motor. This was another very solid pick for the Wizards.

The Wizards picked 21-year old, 6′11″, 239 pound power forward Jan Vesely out of the Czech Republic with the 6th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. Vesely played in 52 games with three teams in Europe last year and he averaged 23.9 minutes, 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He played in 221 games in four years in Europe and he averaged 19.2 minutes, 7.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 0.8 steals per game. Vesely called Blake Griffin the American version of himself last night. It will be interesting to see if he can live up to what he said. The Wizards are very excited about him.

The Washington Wizards currently own the #6, #18 and #34 picks in the NBA Draft coming up this Thursday Night. I think the #6 pick comes down to 2 players for the Wizards. If SF Kawhi Leonard is available, I think he will be the pick. If Leonard is not around, I think the Wizards will roll the dice and take center Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas might not be able to get out of his European contract for a couple of years, so it’s risky business to take a chance on him despite his upside. The Wizards will likely take the best available player at #20 and that could be shooting guard Josh Selby out of Kansas. With the #34 overall pick, I look for the Wizards to take the best player on the board regardless of position. I think the Wizards are going to be a much better basketball team by this Friday.

The Wizards have acquired forward Trevor Booker (#23 overall) and center Hamady Ndiaye (#56 overall) from the Timberwolves for 23-year old forward Lazar Hayward (#30 overall) and 22-year old forward Nemanja Bjelica (#35 overall). 22-year old Trevor Booker is a 6′7″, 240 pound dynamo as he fills up the stat sheet. Booker played in 32 games (all starts) for Clemson last season and he averaged 15.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He played in 134 games (all starts) in his four years in college and he averaged 12.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocked shots per game. 23-year old center Hamady Ndiaye is a defensive force in the middle. He is 7′0″, 235 pounds and he plays a big man’s game. Ndiaye played in 32 games (25 starts) for Rutgers last season and he averaged 9.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 4.5 blocked shots per game. He played in 124 games (85 starts) in college and he averaged 5.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.9 blocked shots per game. The Wizards got a lot of size in this trade and it was needed.

The Wizards have acquired 20-year old power forward Kevin Seraphin from the Bulls to complete the Kirk Hinrich trade. Seraphin is a big guy at 6′9″, 264 pounds and he has a nice upside. He played in 97 games (47 starts) in his three years in France and he averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 blocked shots per game. Getting the #17 overall pick (Seraphin) and Kirk Hinrich for a future 2nd round pick was a outstanding move for the Wizards.

The Washington Wizards have used the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft on 19-year old point guard John Wall out of Kentucky. Wall played in 37 games (all starts) at Kentucky last season and he averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Wall is not a great shooter and he’s a fast break up tempo type of point guard. He should fit right in with the Wizards who like to play that style of basketball. Wall only played one year in college but he’s still likely going to be the starting point guard from day #1. It will be interesting to see how well he plays with Gilbert Arenas if the Wizards keep him for 2010-11.

It appears as if the Wizards will acquire 29-year old SG/PG Kirk Hinrich and the #17 overall pick in the draft from the Bulls for a future 2nd round pick. The trade can’t be announced until July 8th because the Wizards won’t have the cap space until then. Hinrich played in 74 games (53 starts) last season for the Bulls and he averaged 33.5 minutes, 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Hinrich has now played in 514 games (433 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 34.0 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Hinrich can swing between the point or shooting guard which really gives the Wizards a nice bunch of players at guard. This was a great trade for the Wizards.

UPDATE: (7/8/2010) - The Wizards have traded the rights to 25-year old power forward Vladimir Veremeenko to the Bulls to complete this trade. He was a draft pick of the Wizards in 2006 who has been playing in Russia.