Washington Wizards take French 7-footer Alex Sarr with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Sarr will obviously face some pressure as the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft.

He's also joining a Washington team that can afford to be patient.

“We're not going to put a specific timeline on the rebuild here,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said. “We're going to just continue to take every night like this as an opportunity.”

The Wizards drafted Sarr with the second pick Wednesday night, using their highest selection in 14 years to add some much-needed size to a team that won only 15 games last season.

Sarr, a French 7-footer, played last season for the Perth Wildcats of the NBL in Australia. He also spent two years in the U.S. with Overtime Elite, a developmental league.

“I think Alex is a special, special young man. He has a humility to him but also a confidence,” Dawkins said. “He left home at 14, went to Madrid, played there for a few years, went to America, tried something new with OTE, wanted another challenge, went to play with grown men in Australia. So he's someone that's always looking for more.”

The Wizards are a year removed from a front office overhaul and an offseason in which they traded Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis. Their struggles last season — they set a franchise record for losses — were fairly predictable, and it's not clear how much anyone in this draft can accelerate their rebuild.

Washington hasn't advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 1979, and this is only the third time since then the franchise has picked in the top two of the draft. The Wizards used an ill-fated No. 1 overall pick on Kwame Brown in 2001. In 2010, they used the top pick on John Wall, ushering in an era of mild success that eventually ran its course.

The last time the team picked No. 2 it worked out beautifully — Wes Unseld, taken second in 1968, eventually led the organization to a championship.

Not only did the Wizards trade Porzingis, but they also dealt Daniel Gafford during the 2023-24 season, leaving a significant need for size. But more than that, Washington just needs any young star it can potentially build around.

Twenty years to the day after Washington's NHL team drafted another Alex — Russian star Ovechkin — the Wizards can only hope Sarr will have a similar impact. Sarr's mobility and defensive impact are highly regarded — he had 26 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and three assists against NBA G League Ignite in the 2023 G League Fall Invitational.

In 27 games with Perth, he averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 17.3 minutes per game.

“I think the NBL is a really physical league,” the 19-year-old Sarr said. “I feel like I already went through a rookie year in the NBA just because of the level of competition in the NBL.”

Atlanta had the No. 1 pick Wednesday and took French teen Zaccharie Risacher. It wasn't a surprise that Risacher and Sarr went 1-2, but the order was in doubt in the weeks leading up to the draft.

This was the second straight year the Wizards ended up with a French lottery pick — Bilal Coulibaly went to Washington last year.

“We never crossed paths in our careers, but I've definitely been following his rookie year,” Sarr said.

Washington also agreed to trade 23-year-old forward Deni Avdija to Portland for Malcolm Brogdon, the 14th pick Wednesday and a first-round pick in 2029, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.

The Wizards took Pittsburgh guard Bub Carrington at No. 14 and Miami forward Kyshawn George at No. 24.

AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Alex Sarr waits for the start of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Alex Sarr walks the red carpet before the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Alex Sarr, right, poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the second pick in the NBA basketball draft during the first round by the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Alex Sarr, right, greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the second pick in the NBA basketball draft during the first round by the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The wind at Newport Country Club hasn’t been able to slow down Hiroyuki Fujita in the U.S. Senior Open.

Maybe the rain will stop him.

The Japanese Tour veteran shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to improve to 14 under in pursuit of a wire-to-wire win and his first victory on American soil. He’ll have to withstand thunderstorms forecast for the final round as well as a charge from 2019 champion Steve Stricker, who made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to shoot his third straight 66 and cut a four-stroke deficit in half.

“The conditions are supposed to be pretty bad, from what I hear, tomorrow,” Fujita said. “I don’t have a lot of distance on my club, so I’m definitely going to be in some tough spots. I’m just going to focus on the fact that I’m playing on the last day in the last group and focus on the fact that I’m lucky to be here.”

Richard Green shot 69 to sit at minus-11, with Richard Bland (69) at 9 under and Bob Estes (66) at 8 under.

Players teed off early and in threesomes from both nines on Saturday in an attempt to finish before the fog rolled in on the 7,024-yard, par-70 course on the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Tee times were moved up again for the final round on Sunday, when rain and lightning were forecast for the afternoon.

“This place is meant to be kind of firm and fast and kind of linksy in feel. If it stayed this way, a little breezy, and firmed up a little bit, it would be a really tough test tomorrow,” 2021 winner Jim Furyk said.

“If it rains quite a bit, I think you’ll see some guys who are able to score, where it’s easier to keep it on the fairway, easier to get the balls on the greens, and maybe a little less difficult,” he said. “If it’s wet, if it rains, someone will go out there and fire it.”

Fujita, who had never broken 70 on the 50-and-over tour, did it for the third day in a row while posting the only bogey-free round on Saturday. He has just one bogey in the first 54 holes and has missed just one fairway in the tournament.

“He didn’t really miss a shot all the way around. He’s very consistent,” said Stricker, who was the tournament’s runner-up in each of the last two years. “We’re going to have to go out and have a good round to try to catch him. It looks like he’s in control of what’s going on with his game and emotion.”

Fujita had three birdies on the front on Saturday to open a big lead at 14 under before making nine straight pars on the back nine.

“He just didn’t make any mistakes,” Green said. “If he plays like that tomorrow, it’s going to take a good round from the guys coming from behind to catch him. You never know in the pressure of a U.S. Open at the end of the week what might happen. But I’ll just play my game and see where it ends up.”

Stricker fell four strokes back with a bogey on the par-3 13th but then got the stroke back on No. 16. He drained a 40-foot putt on the 17th right before Fujita missed his birdie putt from about 12 feet.

Stricker, who was second by two strokes to Padraig Harrington in 2022 and one shot behind Bernhard Langer last year, has posted a 33 on all six nine-hole sides of the tournament.

“You’ve got Greenie, obviously, who’s playing great at the minute. Steve Stricker’s been there, done it," Bland said. "I don’t know too much about the guy that’s in front, but he’s pretty much had the lead all week.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The clubhouse at the Newport Country Club is visible Friday, June 28, 2024, behind a sign for the U.S. Senior Open which is being played June 27-30 in Newport, R.I. (AP Photo/Jimmy Golen)