The Top-Five Reasons Why the No. 1 Pick Is So Important for Washington

If you know anything about the history of the Washington Wizards, or if you happen to be a cheerless fan such as myself, you know how much this 2010 first overall selection means to the city, the team, and the fans.

With only a 10.3 percent chance of receiving the number-one overall selection, in addition to the dreadful luck experienced by the Washington Wizards' franchise as a whole, we have no choice but to be ecstatic.

Here’s the Top-Five reasons why this 2010 Draft is THAT important...

New Owner Gets No. 1

Current Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is just a few signatures away from becoming the majority owner of the Washington Wizards, and he happens to be the real motor behind the future of this franchise.

Leonsis is a loyal and passionate competitor that will undoubtedly look to bring in “his guy” in his first ever NBA Draft. Receiving the number-one selection was obviously unpredictable, but Leonsis was looking to grab a franchise-favorite in this draft, regardless of his position.

Fortunately for us fans, Ted Leonsis is a guy that prefers to build an organization rather than buy it.

With that, look for Leonsis to influence the selection of a player that will serve the franchise very well for years to come, ala Alex Ovechkin.

Suddenly Up Beat

It’s obvious that the Wizards' franchise has struggled as of late. Whether the problems involve injuries, attitudes, or guns—the ultimate result is taking a toll on the entire D.C. fan-base.

Bringing in a new player—a lottery player—would immediately give the fans a little something to look forward to. But with the top-overall selection, Wizards’ fans will have no choice but to be excited.

We as fans are already thrilled with the arrival of new owner Ted Leonsis. Then you add in John Wall or Evan Turner and suddenly the District has high hopes for the franchise.

And that’s just the way fans work—all of sudden we believe that our 26 wins in 2009-10 can be turned around to 62 wins in 2010-11.

Whether or not the team actually makes an astounding turnaround, the fans and the city are overly excited for the upcoming season—and this is always a good thing.

Building a Leader

Not to sound dramatic (even though I am), but this draft selection could change the Wizards franchise for the next 10-15 years.

Touching back on Ted Leonsis’ philosophy and the mentality of the fans, the Washington Wizards are in dire need of a true leader. But rather than acquiring one via free agency (which is so typical), we now have the opportunity to build one.

Honestly, whether the Wizards select John Wall or Evan Turner, I think both are players that can come in and become the leader of a franchise for at least the next decade.

And let’s please not forget the importance of the "leader" position, on and off the court.

Note: the man pictured should not be mistaken as a "leader"...

Bust-A-Move

Other than the money-sucking Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards have a ton of cap-room to play with this summer. And although it usually goes unsaid, the Wizards actually have the money to be a part of the "King James Sweepstakes".

Will the Wizards land LeBron James? No, highly unlikely.

However, they do have a chance of landing a guy like Amar'e Stoudemire or Chris Bosh.

Don’t get me wrong, this would not be an easy task— but it’s certainly possible. The only question remaining is whether or not a max-deal free agent (Bosh, Stoudemire, Boozer, etc.) would be attracted to a team because of a rookie like Wall or Turner.

Kind of a stretch, I know. But the league as a whole seems to be really excited about this John Wall kid and all of the Derrick Rose comparisons.

Save Face, Show Intelligence

Take a brief look at the draft history of the Washington Wizards franchise. Disgusting isn’t it? Let’s make it a little easier on ourselves and just take a look at the draft history since 1997, the year that the team actually became the Wizards.

Now I don’t need to list the names of all nine first-round picks that the team has selected over the past 13 years—because only two are actually relevant.

The Wizards selected Rip Hamilton out of UConn in 1999, but they foolishly traded him after just three years for a bum named Jerry Stackhouse. And in 2004, the Wizards selected Devin Harris out of Wisconsin, but immediately traded him to the Dallas Mavericks as part of the Antawn Jamison deal.

Other than that, the draft history of the Washington Wizards is absolutely atrocious. This is a prime opportunity for the team to show a little intelligence—to negate the 13 years worth of mistakes.

With the feeling of a fresh-start in D.C., the front office needs to prove to the fans that they can evaluate, select, and coach a great player(s).

Why not save some face and compensate us for the Kwame Brown selection in 2001?

Go Wizards!