The Washington Wizards got lucky with the ping-pong balls Tuesday night and landed the first pick of the NBA Draft, leading to immediate excitement that they would have John Wall in the backcourt next season.
I won't pretend to be a basketball expert, but I will note that just about every pundit believes Wall will give them the best chance to win games. How he will fit in with Gilbert Arena on the court is a mystery, but the feeling is that he's a great player and that Wizards fans should be excited about him coming to D.C.
The good news, too, is that Wall is probably the most marketable of any of the players coming out this year. Aside from maybe local hero Greivis Vasquez, he is the most recognizable name, came from a top program and, as far as we know, doesn't come with any obvious baggage.
As a guard, he'll have the ball a lot, which will make him more visible. And that means he can easily become a focal point of marketing and advertising campaigns. This is not an unimportant consideration for a team that jettisoned many of its most popular players and saw its current most recognizable star spend time in jail.
Already, you hear the suggestions: "Great Wall of Chinatown." Not bad, actually.
The best part of all this is that by the time next season starts, Ted Leonsis will be comfortably in as the Wizards' majority owner, and the team can truly boast of ushering in a new era of excitement. The results on the floor may take a while, but the likely arrival of Wall and Leonsis buys the franchise some time in the eyes of fans.
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