Where have you gone Jeff Malone? Mitch Kupchak, Kevin Grevey or — gasp — Wes Unseld?
When was the last time the Washington Wizards truly excited everyone with their first-round pick? Malone was 24 years ago. Unseld was 1968 when the team was still the Baltimore Bullets and Richard Nixon was first elected to the White House.
The Wizards have taken a few fair players in recent years, but tonight’s 16th overall selection in the NBA draft promises to be just another nice college player that everyone hopes develops into a nice pro player. Not the next Gilbert Arenas, but a piece that builds towards a title contender.
A big man is needed most, but all the good ones will be long gone by the mid-round pick. Maybe Georgia Tech forward Thaddeus Young will be the choice.
It would be great to find someone who doesn’t need to spend a year in Europe first like Olesksiy Pecherov, last season’s 18th overall selection whom many fans may have forgotten after remaining abroad.
The Wizards’ recent drafts have been a lot of nothing. Kwame Brown as the overall No. 1 in 2001 makes Heath Shuler look like Tom Brady. The worst No. 1 pick ever and naturally the Wizards are involved. Michael Jordan’s brief rule resonates for a decade.
Jarvis Hayes, Jarred Jeffries, Juan Dixon did little locally. Richard Hamilton was misused before going on to a nice career. Same goes for Rasheed Wallace. Juwan Howard was a decent player whom the fans unfairly blamed for taking a big contract. The Wizards would be very happy to get someone like him tonight.
Bring in someone like past first-rounders Tom Gugliotta or Tom Hammonds or even Harvey Grant or John Williams. Remember when Greg Ballard arrived in 1977 and everyone looked at him like he was some nice reserve? Today, he would be a star.
Oh, what will it take to recapture the 1970s when the roster included Elvin Hayes, Phil Chenier, Bobby Dandridge, Kevin Porter, Grevey and Unseld? Now that was a dynasty despite only one championship. That’s when following the Bullets was a lot of fun. Sure has been a long time. I had a ’68 Pontiac, hair down to my shoulders and an eight-track blaring Peter Frampton at intersections. That’s how long it has been since the pro basketball team in town really interested me. Local college teams are much more fun.
The Wizards aren’t far away from contending. A healthy roster led the East at the All-Star break in January before three injuries sent it limping home with a first-round playoff sweep. You figure Agent Zero will be aiming for 30 points per game in a contract year. All the Wizards largely need is some underneath presence, sustained health and a little luck.
And maybe the second coming of Truck Robinson.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
