Anthony Bennett Is Perfect Fit for Washington Wizards If Otto Porter Goes No. 1

It's NBA draft season, and speculation about players that will help franchises right off the bat will run rampant until all 60 selections have been turned in and announced at the 2013 NBA draft in June. 

One such speculation surrounds the fate of the league's top pick, and whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers will choose to select Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr. or trade the pick away to another team. 

One such scenario that has been bounced around quite frequently in the past few days concerns the Cavs taking Porter at No. 1—Michael Lee of The Washington Post reported on May 23 that the Washington Wizards were interested in the Georgetown star, but would have to fight off affection from the Cavs to get him. 

As a contingency plan to Porter, the Wizards would do well to scoop up UNLV freshman phenom Anthony Bennett with the No. 3 pick, should the Cavaliers choose to make Porter their newest starter for the 2013-14 season. 

Bennett is an ideal fit to the already budding Washington lineup. 

Opening up next year, the Wizards should be one of the teams to watch in the Eastern Conference. John Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene make up the big chunk of the team's starting lineup, while Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza are also around for one more season (should Ariza exercise his player option). 

Off the bench, the Wizards are developing young forwards Kevin Seraphin and Trevor Booker, while Jan Vesely is somewhat of a wild-card—Washington needs him to perform next year to avoid being considered a bust of a first-round pick. 

While Bennett isn't the ideal choice, he's one that makes the Wizards better right away. 

Other options for the pick at No. 3 include Porter, who many feel would be the unquestioned starter at small forward right away if Washington selected him, Indiana shooting guard/small forward Victor Oladipo, and Maryland center Alex Len.

Since Bennett, who is a 6'8", hybrid forward, is listed as both a small and power forward by some summations of his game, he isn't the ideal fit in the conventional point guard-to-center lineup that many NBA teams employ on a nightly basis. 

He does, however, fit the system and help the team get better right away. 

At UNLV, Bennett got off to a hot start. As a freshman, he scored 22 points in his opening game for the Runnin' Rebels and finished the season by averaging 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting over 53 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the three-point line. 

As an up-tempo, high-octane power forward, Bennett should be able to use his ability to stretch the floor and get out in transition to be a matcup problem for opposing teams. Although undersized, the talent that he brings to the floor at the position easily overshadows the two inches he might give up to traditional power forwards—even more so when you consider how many teams are using smaller guys at the four these days. 

As a small forward, Bennett would also be beneficial to the Wizards. His post-up game against small defenders would be great in isolation situations, although the team would clearly lose a step against offensive-minded forwards at the three spot. 

As noted by Lee, Bennett's mindset coming into this draft and into his tenure as an NBA player is simple—he just wants to play ball at a high level:

He could certainly do that for Washington right away. 

Although concerns about Bennett's motor and defensive mindset have left teams questioning his status as a top pick, there's only one opinion that matters on draft night—it belongs to the team that ends up drafting Bennett in June. 

If you listen to ESPN's Chad Ford talk about Bennett in his latest mock draft, the Wizards are very high on what he might bring to the table as a rookie in Washington. As a power forward paired with either Nene or Okafor, Bennett would help form an interesting big-man rotation in the Washington frontcourt. 

His offensive game as an inside-out forward would also be interesting paired with Wall and Beal in the halfcourt set. 

As we head down the stretch of the NBA draft chatter, picks and ideas for each team will change. Since this draft doesn't have a LeBron James, Dwight Howard or anyone else in the mold of a consensus No. 1 pick, one selection could change the entire outlook of the draft. 

For now, consider Porter the No. 1 option for the Wizards. But don't sleep on Bennett, who has the kind of offensive game and versatility that would help the Wizards turn from habitual lottery stayers to fringe contenders in the Eastern Conference. 

We're a long way from that conclusion, but that kind of hope is what the NBA draft is all about. 

It also helps you reexamine every pick before these teams send in the selection to NBA commissioner David Stern, starting with the No. 1 pick and the Cavaliers' franchise-changing decision. 

If the Cavs do decide to shake things up at the top, look for Bennett to be a prime candidate to move to the nation's capital once the draft is over in June. 

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