While Ernie Grunfeld and company have masterfully traded for and signed excellent players to add to the Washington Wizards these past few years, their record in the draft has been spotty at best.

Wizards fans still cringe when Jordan Clarkson’s name is brought up as being one of the best up and coming young point guards in the league after he was drafted in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Wizards and then immediately dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for…cash considerations.

All signs were pointing to the Wizards going into the NBA Draft looking for a big man that would be able to spell Nene and be able to fit into the team’s gameplan for the upcoming season of small-ball.

Big men like Bobby Portis, the steady power forward/center out of Arkansas who showed his NBA ready jump shot in a few pre-draft workouts; Kevon Looney, a raw, versatile, and athletic big man out of UCLA who began the off season with lottery type buzz but with (valid) questions about his health or the ultra-athletic wing Justin Anderson, a local product that starred at the University of Virginia before declaring for the draft.

Grunfeld surprised Washington Wizards fans by trading up to draft another young wing prospect: Kelly Oubre, Jr.

Due to the fact of where he was predicted to go in the draft (early lottery), Oubre never even worked out for the Wizards (outside of the lottery), so most of us didn’t even bother to check out any of his highlights coming out of Kansas.

After a slow start to his freshman year at the University of Kansas, Oubre ended on a high note and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie team and was also honorable mention all-Big 12.

Many of the experts that watched Oubre play last year noted that while Oubre is a special talent, he is probably a few years away from contributing to an NBA team.

However, after watching the Oubre lead the Wizards in the NBA Summer League this past summer, I’m not so sure if he isn’t going to contribute right away.

During the summer league games, Oubre looked the part of a star player and he never shied away from wanting the ball in key situations or taking on a tough defensive assignment. Currently, Oubre’s defense is miles ahead of his offensive game and that’s probably what’s going to get him minutes early on.

Oubre has a lot going for him: he has good height/length for a wing (6’7″), never gets too up or too down on himself, and perhaps most importantly, he’s young (19).

Oubre will also benefit by being able to watch and compete with one of this upcoming NBA season’s breakout candidates, fellow wing Otto Porter. I can see similarities between the two (excellent defender, sneaky good rebounder), with Oubre even being the more athletic one between the two.

The Washington Wizards had to deal with a blow (some such as myself would argue whether it was a big blow or just a blow) when future Hall-of-Famer Paul Pierce decided to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers this summer, so they decided to offset the loss by signing and drafting wings that could help fill the void.

Oubre is a gifted, confident, young player who looks like he will fit in well with the Wizards and what they are trying to build. Oh, and it also helps that a certain star player in the NBA from DC considers him a good friend…