2018 NBA Mock Draft: The standings are set

Here are the Wizards’ meaningful bench players this season, for perspective on how badly they need these mid first-rounders to pan out: first it’s Kelly Oubre, Tomas Satoransky and Mike Scott. Fine, those are all useful players. Maybe not members 6-8 of your rotation level good, but useful.

Then, it gets dicey. Ian Mahinmi, Jodie Meeks and Tim Frazier round out the list, becoming the latest class of inductees into the Wizards Bench Hall of Shame. It’s an annual tradition to watch Washington struggle to build a full rotation. If not for Oubre and starter Otto Porter, the roster would be in shambles. The team has nailed a pick in this range before, it’s just a matter of the cursed treadmill of mediocrity striking down their best team-building plans.

Melton could ideally soak up the majority of those Meeks and Frazier minutes, providing better defense than either. He is big enough to play in lineups with both Bradley Beal and John Wall, potentially shifting Porter to the four in those cases. Finally, his play-making upside could allow Washington a return to their Wall-less style when the star was out injured this season.

The big question is where Washington is going, and whether they want to do that?