Winning the Lottery

On Tuesday night the Washington Wizards won the lottery.  The NBA draft lottery that is, meaning they have won the rights to the first pick in this summer's draft.  The last time Washington had the top pick was when they drafted Kwame Brown back in 2001.  I think they'll have better luck this time, as John Wall will most certainly be picked first.  He's been called the best PG prospect to be drafted since Chris Paul and seems like a can't miss future superstar.  Any team that landed the top pick would likely have taken Wall.  He would be a good fit anywhere as a building block to help turn around a struggling franchise.  But is Washington a good fit for Wall?

You may have heard of another Point Guard the Wizards currently have employed - Gilbert Arenas.  After serving a suspension for bringing guns into the locker room this season, Arenas will return next year.  Arenas has always been more of a scorer, which has many scouts thinking he and Wall can play alongside each other by sliding Arenas over to the two spot.  While it would form a dynamic backcourt, it's more likely that the Wizards continue to try to trade Arenas.  The 4 year, $80 million contract may make him difficult to trade, but if he proves that he's recovered from his previous knee injuries then his scoring ability may entice a team to take a chance on him.  The Knicks are rumored to be interested, and can unload Eddie Curry's expiring corpse (umm, I mean contract), but that plan hinges on what happens in free agency.  It may be a plan B (or C or D) if they can't lure Lebron to New York.  It's clear that Arenas needs a change of scenery after the embarrassing suspension last year, and the Wizards would be glad to wash their hands of him rather than deal with the headaches he's caused them and risk letting him have a negative impact on Wall.  If you draft a franchise saving superstar to build your team around, do you want to keep a guy that's known to bring guns into the locker room around?  No thanks.

Even with bringing in John Wall, it's unlikely that Washington will be able to lure in a top free agent despite the cap room they will have to spend.  After shipping off Caron Butler and Antawn Jameson at this year's trade deadline, trading away Arenas would leave their roster without much talent.  The rebuilding will take some time, but building around Wall, as well as some of the other young talent they have, such as Andray Blatche, is a step in the right direction.