Flip Saunders says the Wizards considered drafting Klay Thompson over Jan ...

Last year around this time, Wizards fans wondered how things mightve turned out differently for the franchise had Washington drafted 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard with the sixth pick of the 2011 NBA draft instead of Jan Vesely. John Wall, Bradley Beal and Leonard would be a formidable trio in the Eastern Conference.

This year, couldve-been-Wizards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have the Golden State Warriors eying their first title since 1975. (As Bullets Forever points out, the Wizards couldve drafted 11 of the 15 players on Golden States roster.)

Instead of selecting Curry (or Ricky Rubio, or DeMar DeRozan, or Jeff Teague) in 2009, the Wizards traded the fifth pick to Minnesota for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Coach Flip Saunders called the deal a no-brainer.

After taking Wall No. 1 in 2010, Washington had the sixth pick in 2011. According to the first footnote in Zach Lowes Grantland story on Kevin Loves future, the Wizards seriously considered taking Thompson out of Washington State:

Thompson had blown Saunders away during a pre-draft workout in 2011, when Saunders coached the Wizards. The Washington brain trust considered reaching for Thompson with the no. 6 pick before going the safe route with a big man Jan Vesely,who ranked higher on most draft boards but is now out of the league. We toyed with it, Saunders says, but heaven forbid you go out of the box and pick someone youre higher on than anyone else.

Ernie Grunfeld and Wall watched Saunders and his staff put Klay Thompson, Alec Burks, Tristan Thompson and a few other players through several hours of drills at Verizon Center before the 2011 draft. Tristan Thompson was selected fourth by Cleveland. Klay Thompson and Burks went 11th and 12th to Golden State and Utah, respectively.

In a 2013 story, colleague Michael Lee wrote that the Wizards opted not to take a shooting guard in the 2011 draft because they were still developing Jordan Crawford and Nick Young was about to become a restricted free agent.

Maybe next year itll be Cavs fans lamenting Clevelands decision to draft Anthony Bennett over Otto Porter in the 2013 draft after Porter helps Washington to a win over LeBron James and Co. in the Eastern Conference finals.

Scott Allen writes about all things D.C. sports. Follow him on Twitter @ScottSAllen or e-mail him if youve got a tip to share.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/06/09/flip-saunders-says-the-wizards-considered-drafting-klay-thompson-over-jan-vesely-in-2011/