{"id":5055,"date":"2026-06-25T07:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T07:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5055"},"modified":"2026-06-25T07:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T07:37:12","slug":"wizards-acquire-tennessee-forward-in-second-round-of-nba-draft-after-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5055","title":{"rendered":"Wizards acquire Tennessee forward in second round of NBA draft after trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a three-team deal and a long-term play, Washington deals two picks to move up for Felix Okpara.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Switzerland wraps up first place in Group B at the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Tennessee’s Felix Okpara, third from left, challenges Houston’s Milos Uzan in an NCAA tournament game in March. (Andy Lyons\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

After the first round of the NBA draft Tuesday night, Washington Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins recuperated.<\/p>\n

The night before, he was awake at 3 a.m., poring through years of notes, desperate for assurance that selecting AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick<\/a> was, in fact, the right choice. But once NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took the stage, announcing Washington\u2019s decision, Dawkins described the evening as \u201crefreshing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was more calming,\u201d he said. \u201cA fun experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the draft itself was far from over, and in a lightly eventful second round Wednesday night, the Wizards ended up with Tennessee forward Felix Okpara.<\/p>\n

The evening commenced with the Wizards holding two picks: No. 51 and No. 60. It took mere minutes for Dawkins to get up to the trading activity that\u2019s defined recent Washington drafts. In a reported three-team deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic, the Wizards received the No. 46 pick while sending away their other two. No other assets were reported in the deal.<\/p>\n

After two seasons at Ohio State, Okpara transferred down south and blossomed in the Volunteers\u2019 system. He provides a notable rim presence, averaging over six rebounds in each of the last three seasons.<\/p>\n

What makes him a bit of a gamble is, essentially, the rest of his skill set. The 6-foot-10 big man doesn\u2019t spread the court, as he attempted only 27 three-pointers in four college years,<\/p>

Read more A thunderous World Cup farewell as Guillermo Ochoa enters late in Mexico\u2019s 3-0 win<\/a><\/p>\n

Many second-round picks end up in the G League, but in the modern NBA, any selection can make an impact. The last three Finals winners featured deeper-than-usual benches with an average draft slot no higher than 37.<\/p>\n

The Oklahoma City Thunder, specifically, has been defined by its draft philosophy: Every pick counts. In turn, the 2025 championship squad proved the extent to which a team can win via talent evaluation.<\/p>\n

Dawkins is from the Oklahoma City management tree and has made clear he still holds the beliefs from his Thunder days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for guys who can continue to make decisions with the ball, without the ball,\u201d he said. \u201cBut also be dual impact players on both ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wizards\u2019 front office likely chose Okpara because of his upside and physical tools. His athleticism is among the best in the draft, and if developed well, he could find a rotational role.<\/p>

Read more The NBA draft brings more paint presence to the Southwest Division with a plethora of big men<\/a><\/p>\n

For now, though, he projects as a long-term selection.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a three-team deal during the second night of the NBA draft, Washington deals two picks to move up for Felix Okpara.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWizards acquire Tennessee forward in second round of NBA draft after trade - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5055\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wizards acquire Tennessee forward in second round of NBA draft after trade - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a three-team deal during the second night of the NBA draft, Washington deals two picks to move up for Felix Okpara.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5055\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-25T07:37:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6ee6201ce11d661059b83eb733b51fe2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5055#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5055\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Wizards acquire Tennessee forward in second round of NBA draft after trade\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-25T07:37:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5055\"},\"wordCount\":500,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5055#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3c727ce3a53c96fac6f084c25d978ae4-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5055#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5055\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5055\",\"name\":\"Wizards acquire Tennessee forward in second round of NBA draft after trade - 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