Washington Wizards 2008 Draft Preview
(Sports Network) - The Washington Wizards will pick 18th overall in the draft. However, their most important activity will come in the offseason as they will try and re-sign All-Stars Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison.Arenas and Jamison are both unrestricted free agents. It is very likely that both will remain in Washington, which has qualified for the playoffs four straight years. The 32-year-old Jamison played in 79 games this past season and led the Wizards in scoring (21.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.2 rpg), while Arenas averaged 19.4 points and 5.1 assists in just 19 contests during the regular season. The 26-year-old Arenas was sidelined for a good portion of the campaign with a knee injury. Caron Butler registered 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 58 games for the Wizards, while guards Deshawn Stevenson Antonio Daniels and center Brendan Haywood were solid. Guard Roger Mason showed a lot of improvement and should get more minutes in 2008-09. Washington would like to keep its nucleus of Arenas, Butler and Jamison together. The Wizards will try and add a piece that fits into that mix. A big man who can rebound and score in the low post would work, but will be very tough to find. Nevada's JaVale McGee, Florida's Marreese Speights and Jason Thompson of Rider are all in the mix for the Wizards at No. 18. 2007-08 Results: 43-39, lost to Cleveland in first round of playoffs. Key Player(s): Gilbert Arenas (Guard), Andray Blatche (Forward), Caron Butler (Forward), Antonio Daniels (Guard), Brendan Haywood (Center), Antawn Jamison (Forward), Roger Mason (Guard), Darius Songaila (Forward), DeShawn Stevenson (Guard), Etan Thomas (Center), Nick Young (Guard). Team Needs: Frontcourt help and another threat from the perimeter. Draft picks: 1st round (18th overall).
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.








