Scouting Reports

John Wall has been at the center of the NBA off-season this summer so long as you didn’t pay any attention to free agency. Of course, likely nobody skipped out on those fun two weeks so you may have forgotten that Wall was the #1 pick this summer and, well, he’s kind of a big deal.

To start, let me tell you what I don’t think Wall is going to be in the NBA. I don’t think he is going to be a dominant, 30/8/8 LeBron James type of guy. It may go without saying but his athleticism and ability at that age (19 going on 20) is often compared to James’ and you can actually make a pretty good case that Wall could have a similar ceiling. That being said, that’s not going to happen and we actually may never see anything close to that again with LeBron joining forces with a couple of other players that will steal some of his numbers. I also don’t think that he is going to be the leading scorer on a championship level team. To be more specific, I think John Wall is an excellent offensive prospect but I don’t think he will ever be the top “scorer (highest PPG)” on a title team. Someone like Kevin Martin (shooter/scorer, not much else) or a big man that feeds off of him for 25 a night will have to be paired with him.

But here’s what I do think he is going to be. I think he is going to be a cross between Derrick Rose and LeBron James. A guard that will attack the rack relentlessly, draw fouls, is a freak athlete, has tremendous potential defensively and will end up putting up averages of 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Of course, everybody is different and Wall certainly has some dissimilarities with those two. For starters, he’s a better jump shooter than LeBron was when he came into the league and he has a better feel for the game when it comes to distributing the basketball than Rose does right now. But again, Wall has the athleticism of LeBron and Rose, has the ability to take over a game simply by driving to the rack, and he has a dominant personality that is required to be a leader on a team.

Wall showed some instant chemistry with his teammates in Summer League, mainly JaVale McGee, who is also a shoe-in for a roster spot on the actual Wizards. Wall found McGee many times on alley-oops and rolls to the basket and when Wall drove to the rim and missed, McGee was there most of the time to follow it up with a dunk. Wall also found whoever the corner shooter was multiple times and he would have averaged 13 or 14 helpers a game if those guys where making shots.

In one of his games, Wall finished with 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. The Wizards won and Wall had some game-clinching free throws. That may look like another day at the office but Wall actually had one of the worst shooting performances of the Summer League, going four-of-19 from the field with most of his misses coming on jumpers that were the result of a failed crossover or dribble drive move. What’s impressive is that Wall still found his corner shooters, still got to the rim which cleared space for JaVale McGee and was in complete attack mode when it mattered, resulting in 15 free throw attempts (13 makes).

Obviously, Wall will have to tighten up on his turnovers. That was a big issue for him and college and defenses aren’t getting any worse in the NBA (well, at least most of the time they don’t). Almost all young players will struggle taking care of the ball when they enter into the league and Wall is no different. He isn’t an excellent passer as of yet. He has a feel for the game but he’s young and can be tempted into making the highlight reel pass a tad too often which is another reason his turnovers were high at Kentucky.

On the defensive side of the ball, Wall has a chance to be one of the league’s best defenders. And really, look around the league right now and tell me if there is one point guard that you can consider an elite, shutdown defensive player. I think the closest thing is Russell Westbrook and he still has some room to grow. The advantage Westbrook and Wall have is their height (both are around six-foot-three or four) and their strength. Chris Paul is hard nosed but he is too short to shut down his opponent. Wall has the size and athletic ability to be an excellent defender and he’s willing to work on that end.

The one wildcard in all of this is the relationship between John Wall and Gilbert Arenas and how it may hamper his progression as an NBA superstar. From everyone I have talked to surrounding the Wizards, the plan right now seems to be to allow Wall to dominate the basketball and run the team as the true point guard. Is Arenas going to be OK with that? Hopefully he is so we can see Wall at his full potential but I still think the best option is trading Arenas for a shooting guard so that he has 100% complete control over the team.

When it comes to Wall I think I know what to expect. A dominant athlete that will take over games on dribble drives and make those LeBron-esque fancy passes to JaVale McGee and nice corner dishes to Gilbert Arenas (?) that result in efficient looks. But even though I have a good idea of what he will be, the suspense is not gone. Thousands packed into a tiny college gym in Las Vegas during Summer League to watch John Wall because you never know what you’re gonna get with him. He’s just like LeBron in that sense. He’s going to put on a show in every game he plays and every game he plays is going to be a spectacle. And again, just like LeBron was when he was drafted, Wall is nowhere near done growing as a player and he will definitely progress his game as time goes on.

Player Grade

Offense: 7 out of 10 – Wall is coming into the league as dynamic scorer. He’s one of the best athletes in the league already and his ability to get to the rim and draw a foul or finish over a contest is excellent. John’s jumpshot is also a reliable weapon, at least compared to other players the enter the league primarily as drivers. Wall loses points for his turnover issues and lack of range with that jumper but I don’t Wizards’ fans will be disappointed with this grade.

Defense: 6 out of 10 – John is already a good defender without much of an understanding of the Wizards’ schemes or much experience within an NBA environment just because of his body type and athletic ability. Once he gets acclomated to the speed of the game and gets those rotations down, he could be a special, special defender at a position that hasn’t seen a pure stopper since Gary Payton.

Overall: 13 out of 20 – This may be a high grade for a rookie but Wall is a very gifted player and should turn into one of the game’s elite point guards. He’s already got enough weapons to be a 20PPG guy in the NBA and so long as his role isn’t effected by Gilbert Arenas, Wall should put up those numbers even as a rookie.

When it comes to Wall I think I know what to expect. A dominant athlete that will take over games on dribble drives and make those LeBron-esque fancy passes to JaVale McGee and nice corner dishes to Gilbert Arenas (?) that result in efficient looks. But even though I have a good idea of what he will be, the suspense is not gone. Thousands packed into a tiny college gym on a Thursday night in Las Vegas to watch John Wall because you never know what you’re gonna get with him. He’s just like LeBron in that sense. He’s going to put on a show in every game he plays and every game he plays is going to be a spectacle. And again, just like LeBron, Wall is nowhere near done growing as a player and he will definitely progress his game as time goes on.