The Washington Wizards stink. You know that already, but the rookie revolution strikes a bit of intrigue going forward. John Wall, Trevor Booker and Jordan Crawford would provide a nice mix of skills for any team but they’re foundational building blocks for the Wizards—and that’s not a bad start. Wall’s skills as a lead man are obvious; Crawford can score with ease at times and Booker’s toughness underneath the boards could provide Washington with a new “big three” similar to the Arenas-Butler-Jamison days.
With nothing else to play for, Crawford and Booker have been playing for jobs and their workload has been impressive. Both have dropped career-highs in past weeks and both have displayed an attack attitude that’s been lacking for most of the season from the team’s other notable players. Wall brings the fight every night but now he has some partners in crime he can trust. When nothing else is going your way you have to look to the future and this new rookie trio is obviously the next step.
Adding Crawford through a trade with Atlanta in late February secures a nice duo of scorers between him and Nick Young. Young can be erratic but Crawford’s offensive ability can easily supplement a bad game from the starter. Wall’s young but is expected to grow into his role as team leader. That duo, combined with Wall, puts Washington atop of the league list for talented backcourts and locks down one area on the team.
The frontcourt is still a work in progress but one inside scoring piece (maybe Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger) could do wonders for the unit. It’s hard to even stomach watching the team play at times but if you look closely, you can see sprinkles of talent and hope comes back around again. Washington doesn’t have elite players but they do have some very good ones. We’re still not sure if there will even be an NBA season next year but if there is, Washington could be a force to be reckoned with if the offseason plays out correctly.
