Washington (Reuters) - A backcourt duo of John Wall and Gilbert Arenas could create problems for the Washington Wizards, but the team's general manager said on Tuesday he is confident the two will elevate each other's game. Arenas has a career average of 22.7 points, and many believe the nine-year NBA veteran will have issues sharing the ball and the spotlight with the much-hyped rookie. But Wizards General Manager Ernie Grunfeld said he believes the two dynamic guards will complement each other and provide a breath of fresh air for the success-starved franchise.
"Of course we think about it," Grunfeld told Reuters when asked if the two guards would be able to coexist on the court. "But we believe they can play together." They are both 6-foot-4 and can handle the ball. Gilbert is more of a scoring point guard, while John is a bit more of a distributing point guard.
The Washington Wizards, a dismal 26-56 in 2009-10, were looking toward the future when they traded veterans Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler at the end of the season. Despite finishing tied with Golden State for the fourth-worst record, the traditionally hard-luck franchise secured the first pick in the NBA draft during a lottery in May. Grunfeld used that luck to select Wall, a gifted guard from Kentucky who runs the floor with the speed of the Spurs' Tony Parker and the vision of the Suns' Steve Nash. On the other side of the floor is 28-year-old Arenas, a three-time All-Star who likes to have the ball in his hands to create opportunities for himself. Arenas has been the go-to player for most of his career with Golden State and Washington and always demanded the ball in the waning seconds of a close game.
Flip Saunders, a 14-year NBA head coach in his second year on the Wizards' bench, does not see an issue with having two floor leaders on the court at the same time. "They are two different players," Saunders told Reuters. "John Wall is a pass-first point guard. When you have a guy who can score like Gilbert, it gives Wall the ability to do a lot of things."
The Wizards hope Arenas, hindered by a knee injury in recent seasons and suspended for most of the 2009-10 campaign for bringing guns into the locker room, can return to his All-Star form. During his suspension, the Wizards removed a huge banner of Arenas outside the Verizon Center and purged all mentions of him around the arena. Some fans welcomed him back; others did not. The Wizards, however, are clearly euphoric about having Wall, who has jump-started a franchise that advanced to the second round of the playoffs only once since 1983. "We never thought about how many wins we would like to see this season," Grunfeld said, "Every time you have a lot of young players, we know it’s going to be a process to put everything together." But there is no doubt it is an exciting moment.
(Writing by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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