Saunders seems to hint point guard is the pick
If his first news conference following Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery was any indication, Flip Saunders is going to spend a lot of time over the next month talking about how Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall might fit in with the Washington Wizards.
“A lot of times, you get players at our level that you’re having to turn maybe a scorer into a two guard or a point guard, and that mentality sometimes is tough,” the Wizards coach said. “That’s why the great ones, you don’t have to do those type of things.”
Saunders described Ohio State guard Evan Turner as the most versatile player in the draft and called Wall its most dynamic — and then used the word “dynamic” two more times while never saying “versatile” again.
“The thing is we don’t have to worry about who anybody else takes,” Saunders said. “We can control where we go. We’re excited about the opportunity. We’re excited about what it will do to our franchise, and I think we’re going to get a player that is going to be dynamic but is also going to make other players on our team better.”
Saunders said he quit playing the ESPN.com draft lottery game a couple days ago after landing Wall with the top pick on his first attempt, and he said, “Let’s be greedy,” as it became clear Tuesday that Washington would move up from fifth to win the lottery.
It would come as a major surprise if Washington, which won’t trade the pick, turned down the chance to let Saunders do what he enjoys most as a coach: mold a prodigious, young point guard.
But in the wake of last season, which left the Wizards’ locker room image tarnished, Saunders knows that Wall’s character also will be as important as his skills.
“He talks a lot about an image, the responsibility he feels he has to young players that look up to him,” Saunders said. “When you have a player that understands and looks at things that type of way, there’s no question he’s going to have a great impact, whatever team, whatever city he’s in.”
