Cameron Boozer is not giving up on the No. 1 pick without a fight.
The Duke forward made a public pitch to the Wizards this week. “I think I’d fit well there with their vision and their plan for the future,” Boozer said. Translation: please pick me over AJ Dybantsa. The problem is that the Wizards have apparently already decided. Multiple reports indicate Washington’s most likely scenario is staying at the first pick and selecting Dybantsa, with Boozer expected to go second to the Pacers.
This is the kind of pre draft maneuvering that defines the final week before a draft. Boozer has spent the entire spring trying to position himself as the safer pick. His agent has been working the back channels. His college coaches have been calling NBA executives to advocate. The pitch this week is the public version of a private conversation that has been happening since the lottery results came out.
And the case is real. Boozer had one of the best freshman seasons at Duke since Zion Williamson. He scored at every level. He shot 39 percent from three. He rebounded. He defended. He took Duke to the Final Four. He carried the Blue Devils through stretches when the rest of the rotation could not produce. The advanced numbers are absurd, and the combination of size, skill, and motor is exactly what NBA teams pay to develop.
The Dybantsa case is just slightly better.
Dybantsa is a slightly better athlete. He has slightly more two way upside. He projects a hair better on the perimeter, which matters more in the modern NBA. The Wizards roster needs a versatile wing more than they need a power forward. Bilal Coulibaly is already a defensive piece, and Boozer would create a positional question that Dybantsa would not.
The Pacers landing spot is actually great for Boozer. Indiana already has Tyrese Haliburton running the offense. They have Pascal Siakam at the four. Adding Boozer gives them a long term answer at the five with the kind of skill set that fits modern basketball. He can play the high post, run dribble handoffs, stretch the floor as a shooter, and switch defensively. The fit is cleaner than people realize.
If Boozer goes second, his rookie year impact might actually be higher than Dybantsa’s. The Pacers are a competitive team. They are going to give Boozer immediate minutes. They are going to need him to contribute. The Wizards are rebuilding and will be patient with Dybantsa as he learns. Boozer might put up better numbers as a rookie. He will not be the higher pick.
The Wizards have to think about the long term ceiling. That is the part of the evaluation that always tilts toward Dybantsa. Boozer is going to be a really good NBA player for a long time. He is probably an All-Star in his second contract. He is probably not the centerpiece of a championship team. Dybantsa has that ceiling.
Cameron Boozer is the son of Carlos Boozer, who had a long NBA career and won an Olympic gold medal. The family knows the league. The family knows how the draft works. Cam knows he is going second. The public pitch is partly about wanting it badly. It is also about putting pressure on the Wizards just in case they get cold feet.
They are not going to get cold feet. Dybantsa is the pick. Boozer will get his moment 30 seconds later. The Pacers will be thrilled.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
