Wizards host NBA Draft prospects Cason Wallace and Nick Smith Jr.
Wizards host NBA Draft prospects Wallace and Smith Jr. originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON -- The pre-draft process can be quite chaotic for young prospects chasing their NBA dreams, but on Monday there was a sense of familiarity between Cason Wallace and Nick Smith Jr., two projected lottery picks on the shortlist of players the Wizards will be considering at eighth overall.
Wallace and Smith Jr. were among six prospects to work out for the Wizards in Southeast D.C. They have known each other since elementary school.
Wallace grew up in Texas, while Smith Jr. hails from Arkansas. As they rose the ranks as young players, they kept crossing paths.
"It was at a camp, I believe, in Dallas," Wallace said of the first time he met Smith Jr. "He was going off. I was like ‘oh, he’s tough.’ Then, you just keep seeing him, every tournament you see him. Then on social media he started popping. Ever since then, in the basketball community we stay together, especially players that you see a lot. You stay in touch."
"Me and Cason have been going against each other since like fourth grade," Smith Jr. added. "It’s been competing against him pretty much every year. It’s been fun. He pretty much knows what I’m going to do, I know what he’s going to do. So, it’s been fun competing against him over the years and hopefully we can compete more [in the NBA]."
Wallace and Smith Jr. both played in the SEC in college with Wallace at the University of Kentucky and Smith Jr. at Arkansas. At Monday's workout in Washington, they guarded each other during drills and were grouped together after sprints to shoot from 3-point range.
Wallace is a 6-foot-4 point guard known for his physical defense. He averaged 11.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game last season for the Wildcats.
If the Wizards draft Wallace eighth overall, the goal would be to develop him as their long-term starter at point guard alongside Bradley Beal.
"Being one of the ball-handlers," Wallace said of his potential role with the Wizards. "They have a lot of great players, but coming in and making an impact immediately. And just being one of the energy guys, the dogs on the team."
Speaking of Beal, Smith Jr. played for the Wizards' star's AAU program, Brad Beal Elite. Like Beal, Smith Jr. is primarily a shooting guard and stands about the same size at 6-foot-5. Also like Beal, he has a smooth offensive game and draws a lot of praise for his scoring.
Smith Jr., though, says he can also play some point guard.
"I feel like I bring everything to the team, whatever the coach needs me to do. Point guard, I feel like my point guard abilities, I didn’t get a chance to show a lot of that in my college year. [Also,] my scoring ability, being able to play defense, make the different reads,' he said.
Smith Jr. averaged 12.5 points for the Razorbacks while shooting 37.6% from the field and 33.8% from long range. He only played 15 games due to injuries, which may also help explain his shooting percentages.
Smith Jr. was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school and is aiming to prove to NBA teams his college numbers do not accurately reflect his potential as a player. That is not a new mindset for him or Wallace, for that matter.
As Smith Jr. explained, the two bonded over being overlooked as young high school prospects.
"It's really funny because when you’re young you’ve got the little rankings and stuff like that. Me and Cason, we were nowhere near the top-100 list. We just grinded and worked our way up to this point," Smith Jr. said.
"All we can really do is just thank God. We lean on each other just to go out there and compete. We have a good time doing it, just competing with an NBA team or in high school. It’s really no different."
Wallace and Smith Jr. will likely be seeing each other plenty at the next level. It's very possible one of them will be wearing a Wizards uniform.
