- 12 hours ago
The 2026 NBA Draft is finally here and the Washington Wizards are on the clock at first overall! Kevin Sheehan gives you his prediction on who the Wizards will draft with their first overall pick, who he wants the Wizards to draft and other players in the class who he thinks will be good players.
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00:00Who do you think the Wizards will take?
00:03Who do you want the Wizards to take tonight at number one overall?
00:06And then give me a player that, maybe two, you can give me up to two,
00:11players that you really have a strong feeling about
00:15that are kind of outside the top four.
00:18Right now the top four are A.J. DeBonsa, Darren Peterson, Cam Boozer, and Caleb Wilson.
00:24Those four players seem to be givens to go one through four in some order tonight.
00:33Probably DeBonsa, Peterson, Boozer, and then Caleb Wilson.
00:38But give me somebody starting at number five and going back even into the second round.
00:42Just players that you've, in your conversations with your boys, have said,
00:48man, I think that dude's going to be a really good NBA player for whatever reason.
00:52Because I've got three or four of those guys.
00:55So let me start with this.
00:57I do think the Wizards are going to take DeBonsa.
00:59And I think that's a high ceiling, high floor pick,
01:04and clearly very few intangible boxes to check or to decide on
01:13because they've already been checked versus the Darren Peterson story,
01:17which now I think everybody knows you've got to get really comfortable.
01:21As I've said before, DeBonsa is a really good player.
01:24I think he's going to be a big-time NBA scorer.
01:26I love his strokes, so I don't think that he's going to be somebody that struggles from behind the arc.
01:34I kind of like the alpha mentality.
01:37I think there are a lot of guys that look like DeBonsa at the NBA level,
01:40but I certainly see a guy that is eventually going to average 23, 24, 25,
01:45maybe even more than that, a game as a true scorer.
01:48And I really like the player, and I think he's going to be really good.
01:53I don't think he's a future MVP, and that's what you're looking for at number one,
01:57but I certainly think that A.J. DeBonsa has NBA all-star potential.
02:04I personally, just from a basketball standpoint, been talking about it the last two days,
02:09I really like Darren Peterson.
02:11I just think this is one of the most effortless scorers I've ever seen at the college level,
02:17but you've got to make sure that everything else is fine.
02:20You've got to make sure that this guy isn't suffering from panic attack syndrome
02:25or anxiety issues or, you know, true medical or, you know, physical medical issues.
02:32There's a lot going on.
02:34You've got to make sure, as John Fanta told us, you know, three or four weeks ago,
02:39that the people around him that have a lot of say are understanding that as an NBA player,
02:46they don't have a say anymore.
02:47This is the team that's employing him that has the final say.
02:51So there's a lot there.
02:53I get it, and if they back off that, I understand it.
02:56I just, from a basketball standpoint, believe that Peterson does have that sort of future MVP potential talent.
03:07By the way, I really like Caleb Wilson, too, and I would take Wilson over DeBonsa.
03:12That's just me.
03:14Again, love DeBonsa, too, but I think Peterson and Wilson and even Acuff Jr.
03:20are the players that I think are destined to be stars in the NBA.
03:25Peterson, of course, with all of the, you know, personal stuff, if you just excluded that, you can't,
03:30but just from a basketball standpoint.
03:32Because in terms of the other players not in the top four, I love Darius Acuff Jr.
03:38I think he's Dane Lillard.
03:41I think there's a little bit of Jalen Brunson in him.
03:43I think there's a little bit of Jamal Murray in him.
03:45But I think this dude is just a flat-out scorer and playmaker, and I don't care about his size.
03:52We've already seen it with Brunson.
03:53I don't care.
03:54I do care that he seems to be a conscientious objector to playing defense.
03:58I do care about that.
04:01But, you know, he is going to be a big-time scorer at the NBA level as a scoring point
04:09guard.
04:10I love Acuff Jr.
04:11There are other players, and I'll kind of, you know, sprinkle them in through the rest of the show.
04:17But let me just tell you, I love Mara from Michigan.
04:19I think it's 7'2", 7'3".
04:21He's got great feet, great hands, really good feel for the game.
04:26He's an excellent passer.
04:28And I think, actually, his stroke is a decent one.
04:33And he could develop into a guy that could knock down, you know, jump shots.
04:38So I like Mara, and I like Isaiah Evans from Duke.
04:42He's just a flat-out shooter.
04:44He's a catch-and-shoot guy.
04:46He's a shoot-off-the-dribble guy.
04:47He's in traffic.
04:48He can shoot it and score.
04:50He's a scorer, too.
04:51I like Isaiah Evans from Duke as well.
04:54There are a couple of other players that I really like.
04:56I'll sprinkle them in during the course of the rest of the show.
05:00But I think it's going to be DeBonsa.
05:02My preference, if you checked all of the medical and psychological boxes, would be Peterson.
05:10I absolutely love Darius Acuff Jr.
05:13301-230-0980.
05:16301-230-0980.
05:19We've got a couple of lines open if you want to jump on and weigh in on the Wizards having
05:24the number one pick
05:26for the first time since 2010 when they selected John Wall overall.
05:34Let me get you on record, Max.
05:36On record, who do you think they'll take?
05:39Who do you want them to take?
05:40And give me a player that you're just enamored with outside the top four.
05:43All right.
05:44So I think that they will take A.J. DeBonsa tonight.
05:47The more we talk about Darren Peterson and his ceiling and his scoring ability,
05:51the more I'm convinced that he's probably going to be the best player in this draft
05:57because we see it all the time with guys with a bunch of question marks
06:00and then they hit NBA and all of those go away
06:03because they're being so well taken care of by these teams.
06:06So I think Darren's going to be A-OK.
06:08He'll be just fine.
06:09But a guy I am kind of enamored with, especially after the news about Dusty May yesterday,
06:16Yaxel Lindenborg.
06:17Yeah, he's ready to go, too, at 24.
06:19Yeah, he's ready to go.
06:20He's NBA ready.
06:22Mavs are sitting there at nine.
06:24But this whole draft season, people have been talking about him going to the Thunder.
06:29But now with this little wrinkle, Thunder might be a little antsy.
06:34I'm very interested to see what happens there late in the lottery tonight.
06:38All right.
06:39301-230-0980.
06:41If you want to jump on, we've got a couple of lines open.
06:44Who do you think the Wizards will take?
06:46Who do you want them to take at number one?
06:48And then give me a player kind of outside those top four, DeBonsa, Peterson, Boozer, and Wilson,
06:55who you are absolutely sure is going to be a big-time NBA player.
07:01Let's start with our guy, Mark Inlargo.
07:04Mark, go ahead.
07:06A.J. DeBonsa is, as a lot of comps have got him at, as the next Tracy McGrady.
07:13I'll take that over anything for Darren Peterson.
07:16Let me say this about Darren Peterson.
07:18You know, this is the difference between the NFL and the NBA.
07:21If Darren Peterson was an NFL player, he would be sliding right down to the 20s because of his attitude.
07:28The Washington Wizards, Kevin, and you know this better than anybody because you're a lot older than me,
07:33and they haven't won a title since 1978.
07:36They can't afford to take someone like that.
07:38You're the absolute best.
07:41I look forward to these calls more than any other.
07:44All right, go ahead.
07:46Because I'm so much older than you, what is it that I should know more than you?
07:50Okay, yeah, okay.
07:51Let me get to the point.
07:53Darren Peterson is, in my opinion, could be another John.
07:57Yeah, he could be a great player, but then he could be another John Morant.
08:01He could be another Zion Williamson.
08:03See, all of y'all sitting up here talking about, look at his talent.
08:06He's just nuts.
08:07He's no different than Trey Johnson.
08:08If you look at his game and you look at Trey Johnson's game, I would take Trey Johnson.
08:12And I guarantee you on a one-on-one game, Trey Johnson would bust his behind on the court
08:18because he's not bigger than Trey.
08:20Well, I mean, we can get to the one-on-one games after the season because that really doesn't matter.
08:26By the way, I love Trey Johnson.
08:28I loved him last year, as you know, and I still love him after watching him this year.
08:31I think he is a really good player.
08:33They're different players, though.
08:36They're different players.
08:37Well, here's the problem with the league, and this is why I say the league has an image problem.
08:41This is why the league can't find an American face.
08:44You have an American face with Devontia that you can make the face of the league.
08:50Darren Peterson, I agree with Stephen A.
08:52I'm tired of the conversation that we're having about Darren Peterson.
08:55Yeah, he can do this.
08:56He can do that.
08:57But what about his attitude off the court?
08:59Look, I'm worried about it, too.
09:01I was talking about it all season long.
09:03I'm like, this guy is costing himself.
09:06But there could be, you know, there could be reason.
09:09I'm not – I don't want to take him, Mark, if he's got issues.
09:12I don't want to take him.
09:14But when I watched him play, when he did play – Mark does this thing, by the way,
09:18when after he's talked for a while, he just continues to talk when the host is talking.
09:24Who am I talking right now?
09:25Trey Johnson – I don't think I've ever seen a player that scored in the way that he scored
09:32at the college level.
09:34It was so smooth and effortless.
09:38Trey Johnson, to me, is much more of just a pure shooter.
09:42And, by the way, a stone-cold, deep, deep shooter.
09:45I love Trey Johnson.
09:47I like his game a lot.
09:49Darren Peterson's different.
09:51He's a little bit bigger.
09:53I'm not saying taller, but a little bit bigger, stronger, and I think is more of a scorer than Trey
10:01Johnson.
10:02But I like Trey Johnson.
10:03And if they picked a Bonsa, I'm not going to be unhappy about it because if I were the guy,
10:08you know, calling his doctors and calling his – you know, doing all the due diligence,
10:13he might be off my board.
10:15I've acknowledged that.
10:17I completely agree with that.
10:20Well, let me say this, Kevin.
10:21The Wizards haven't done anything since the 70s.
10:24They can't take Darren Peterson.
10:26You can't.
10:27Because they haven't done anything in the 70s.
10:30And remember, you know, it didn't go well with Gilbert Arenas 16 years ago.
10:34I get that.
10:36But there's just too many red flags with Darren Peterson, man.
10:39Too many red flags.
10:40Well, look, I mean, you remember, you know, the 60s teams when they were in Baltimore
10:46with, you know, all of those great players.
10:48And so I appreciate the call.
10:52Thanks, Mark and Largo.
10:53We've got to move on now to our next caller.
10:55But I hope that Winger and Dawkins aren't making decisions based on the fact that they haven't been
11:02in the NBA Finals since 1979.
11:04None of that should factor in to their decision making.
11:08They should be trying to draft the player that they think has the best chance to be a superstar,
11:17an elite-level player, you know, as a 24-, 25-, and 26-year-old and beyond.
11:2425-, 26-, 27-year-old.
11:26That's what they should be trying to do.
11:28And by the way, if that player doesn't exist in their mind, they should try to trade the pick.
11:34Or if they can't trade the pick because everybody feels the same way, you just take the best player available.
11:40That's what you do in an NBA draft when you're at number one.
11:43You don't care what you have on your roster.
11:46You don't care what you might have on your roster.
11:49You're trying to draft the next, you know, true superstar that can lead you to an NBA title.
11:58That's what you're trying to do.
12:00I think that in this draft, Darren Peterson, Caleb Wilson are those kinds of players that could potentially get their
12:09way down the road.
12:10But, of course, I'm concerned about Darren Peterson's, you know, other issues.
12:16They're obviously real issues.
12:18You can't, if you're not, you know, I've heard these comps to Kobe Bryant.
12:24I'm like, Kobe Bryant, Kobe Bryant would have had to been, he would have wheeled himself out if he had
12:31one limb left to play against Arizona at Fog Allen.
12:35This guy said, no, thank you, 30 minutes before tip.
12:39Now, again, there could be some real reasons.
12:41And those reasons could be scary reasons in terms of, you know, steering clear of it.
12:45Even if they're issues that the young man's been dealing with that are physical or mental.
12:51And you just, you'd want him to get them taken care of.
12:55But, yeah, I just like him as a player.
13:00I don't know the rest of it.
13:02But the rest of it is concerning from afar.
13:04No doubt about it.
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