2019 NBA Mock Draft: Re-evaluating the top prospects
Kentucky. P.J. Washington. 14. player. 18. . F/C
Boston has its pick of options this summer, as they have every summer for what feels like two decades since trading for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. They can go all in (assuming a few dominoes fall their way), they can jump-start a rebuild, they can tread water with some smaller moves — everything is on the table.
That makes a safer draft pick like Washington an appealing option. You could see Washington getting playing time in a variety of scenarios for the Celtics. Of course, if they choose to go all in by keeping Kyrie Irving and trading for Anthony Davis, Washington probably doesn’t make it to opening day in green and white. Instead, he’s probably backing up Zion Williamson next season.
What makes Washington so appealing is that he’s the rare big man you could see staying on the floor in big games because of his skill level and shooting ability. Kentucky runs a fairly straightforward drive-and-kick system, meaning Washington played a role this season similar to how he will operate in the NBA. You can already trust him to make corner 3s and create good shots out of the post for himself and (more importantly) his teammates.
Defensively, he ought to be able to play either the 4 or 5 and overpower bench units. His most likely path in the NBA may be as a third big, which is why he’s not a top-five prospect, but if he reaches a little higher than that and can start for a good team, we may look back and see Washington as a steal in the late-lottery.