Wizard Nation
By Matthew Laux
Georgetown’s Otto Porter Jr. after his selection by the Washington Wizards
Ugly. Dismal. Horrendous. Unintelligent. All four adjectives could be used to describe the Washington Wizards play over the last three seasons. Entering the 2013 NBA draft, the Wizards hoped to solve some of these problems after unexpectedly landing the third overall pick. For the first time in years, Washington had three picks in the draft and looked to add to their young nucleus of players. The Zards went right to work selecting Georgetown University product Otto Porter Jr. third. The multifaceted Porter Jr. will be used in a variety of ways as he hopes to find his role on the young Wizards squad. Many saw Porter Jr. as one of the more safe picks and is a fan favorite after playing collegiately at Georgetown University.
The more questionable selection came in the second round as Washington traded its 38th and 54th overall selections for the Philadelphia 76ers choice Glenn Rice Jr. For those of you who recognize the name, he’s the son of former NBA All-Star Glen Rice. The problem with the selection is that Rice Jr. has character issues. The Wizards goal in rebuilding had been to rid themselves of all players with character flaws. After the poor play of Nick Young, Andray Blatche, and Javale McGee, my question to the organization is: why? Rice Jr.’s upside is great but the side effects may be steeper for Washington. Rice Jr. will be a hit or miss selection. Like his father, he has the potential to be an all-star but at the other end of the spectrum he could be detrimental to the team, like he was while attending Georgia Tech.
Porter and Rice will now be playing for the Washington Wizards summer league team as they state their cases to crack the Zards lineup come November. One thing is for sure, however, the Wizards can’t play much worse than they have in recent memory.