Does John Wall To the Wizards Open the Door For LeBron James Too?
Now that the Wizards have landed the No. 1 overall pick despite only having a 10.3 percent chance to do so, they've won the right to draft John Wall if they so choose.
If you listen to Wizards forward Andray Blatche, the Wizards "have no choice but to" draft Wall with the No. 1 pick. That's despite the fact they have their incumbent point guard, Gilbert Arenas, returning from his year-long suspension.
Fellow B/R writer Alex McVeigh believes Wall actually allows Arenas to return to his natural position of shooting guard , and could give the Wizards "the most dangerous backcourt since Isaiah/Dumars."
In that case...has Washington suddenly become the dark horse in the LeBron James Summer of 2010 sweepstakes?
The Wizards only have five players with guaranteed contracts for next season (Arenas, Andray Blatche, Al Thornton, Nick Young, and Javale McGee), and a sixth in Quinton Ross who will likely opt into his player option.
Washington also has the option to pick up a $4.8 million qualifying offer for backup guard Randy Foye. Meanwhile, the contracts of Josh Howard ($11.8 million) and Mike Miller ($9.75 million) just expired, and it's hard to see the Wizards bringing both of them back with the free agent extravaganza that's about to unfold.
The Wiz also hold the No. 30 and No. 34 draft picks this year. While these guys won't be expected to come in and start right away, teams have found some second-round gems in recent history (in fact, Arenas was a second round pick).
With all of that said, assuming the Wizards pick up Foye's option, they'd be committing approximately $32.9 million to seven players. Add Wall, and you're looking at about $19 million million in cap space if the NBA's approximated cap figure of $56.1 million holds true.
The maximum LeBron, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh can sign for in 2010-11 will be around $16.8 million. The Wiz would still have a few million left over after signing a max contract player to get to the NBA's minimum of 12 players.
Once the Wizards land a guy like LeBron or Bosh, veteran free agents would come falling over themselves to sign for low-level contracts in return for a real chance at an NBA title.
Assuming Wall and Arenas can form a productive duo in the backcourt, any free agent should be salivating at the chance to run the fastbreak with either one of those guards. Imagine a 3-on-2 break with Wall, Arenas, and LeBron...is there any chance that play doesn't end in points for the Wizards?
If the Wizards signed Mike Miller to the mid-level exception to be their sixth man and three-point specialist off the bench, the Wizards suddenly have one of the most attractive supporting casts to any of the marquee free agents.
Wall and Arenas have the talent to be NBA superstars, as both can create their own shot and will destroy teams in transition to their heart's content.
McGee and Blatche showed some real strides in the frontcourt after the All-Star break once the Wizards traded Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Brendan Haywood away. Blatche averaged around 20 points, eight rebounds, and three assists per game for the Wiz starting in February, looking like a 10-years-younger version of Kevin Garnett.
With Wall and Arenas starting in the backcourt, the Wizards would be wise to bring back Foye as a backup point guard. A backcourt of Foye and Miller in the Wizards' second unit would give the Wiz a strong guard rotation of four guards that could legitimately start on most NBA teams.
Throw in a few rookie big men with the No. 30 and No. 34 picks (Gani Lawal, perhaps?), and you've got a team that can jump from the Eastern Conference basement to the thick of the playoff race.
The Wizards may have just gotten their new face of the franchise in Wall ...temporarily, at least.
But Wall's presence in Washington suddenly gives the Wizards a free agent sway they weren't expecting three months ago.
And the worst irony of all? If the Wizards manage to land James...the Cavaliers will have facilitated the deal, having taken Antawn Jamison from Washington at the trade deadline.
