Rui Hachimura, Wizards Beat Pelicans in NBA Summer League with Zion out Injured
The Washington Wizards defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 84-79 on Saturday night in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League.
Fans were unable to get a second look at No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson in a Pelicans uniform. The team announced Williamson will miss the remainder of summer league with a bruised left knee.
Despite his absence, New Orleans cut the deficit to one point with a finger roll from Trevon Bluiett with less than a minute to go. But Troy Brown Jr. successfully completed a three-point play on the other end to give the Wizards enough breathing room to secure the win.
Bluiett missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds.
Brown had a double-double (18 points, 15 rebounds), while first-round draft pick Rui Hachimura chipped in with 14 points and five boards.
The Wizards selected Brown 15th overall in the 2018 draft, and he had a generally nondescript rookie season. For the most part, his development took a back seat as Washington unsuccessfully attempted to reach the playoffs.
With John Wall out for most or all of the 2019-20 season due to a ruptured Achilles, the Wizards are in a position to focus more energy on turning Brown into a valuable role player.
Summer league performances should always be taken with a grain of salt, but Brown did exactly what one would expect of a second-year player who has an experience edge on many of his opponents.
Hachimura showed flashes, particularly on this block of Zylan Cheatham in the second quarter:
But the former Gonzaga star clearly has a lot to work on.
In general, Washington has struggled to build homegrown stars. Former general manager Ernie Grunfeld traded away numerous draft picks in return for aging veterans. In the cases of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Otto Porter Jr., the team failed to maximize their potential before shipping them out of town.
Now, the Wizards have little choice but to build through the draft. In addition to Wall's injury, his four-year, $171 million extension will make it difficult for Grunfeld's replacement—whomever that will be—to significantly strengthen the roster through outside additions.
Both Brown and Hachimura should see the floor quite a bit in 2019-20, which will allow Washington ample time to gauge where they fit into the franchise's long-term outlook.
