In last summer’s NBA draft, the Washington Wizards used their number 32 overall pick to select Tomas Satoransky, a 6’7” point guard from the Czech Republic.  At the time, the pick was somewhat of a head-scratcher.  Satoransky was projected to be selected much lower in the second round and there were some noteworthy collegiate prospects still available, including Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, and Quincy Miller.

But taking a closer look at the Wizards’ team composition on draft night, the Satoransky pick became slightly more palatable.  A team with a surplus of wing players and a dearth of veteran leadership would almost be doing a prospect a disservice by adding him to a roster still searching for its identity and true player core.

So I've probably written this article at least three or four different times throughout the course of the last six days. Other than the fact that my schedule has been ridiculously full and included stints in NYC and Brooklyn, I really tried to do my best to make this article stand out in a way Etan Thomas would be proud of and at the same time, slightly embarrassed about.

As one of Washington's most popular players, Etan Thomas was the NBA's best mediocre player ever. For all the subpar career stats and average free throw shooting, most people will remember Thomas by two things: His long flowing dreadlocks and, yep, you guessed it, his poetry. Thomas was very open about his passion for the arts and specifically, poetry. So, I figured, what better way to write this post than to honor him with a poem.

timberwolves 87 wizards 82
3/6/2013 - Target Center, Minnesota, MN
ESPN Boxscore
NBA.com Game Highlights


Rob Carr/Getty Images

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Wednesday, March 6th, 2013
8:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 FM/1500 AM
Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor

In this week's 3-on-3, our guys Abdullah Sharif, Trevor Jackson, and Joe Glorioso focus on three burning topics revolving around our Wizards this week: Bradley Beal's injury and it's impact on the Wizards; John Wall's clutch moment in front of his #1 sh*t talker; and the testing schedule ahead for the Wizards...

Bradley Beal's ankle sprain has him listed as day-to-day. In terms of worst case scenario, how will this affect the Wizards and Beal?

Trevor: First off, thank goodness the news coming out is better than it initially looked. I was one of the people thinking worst case scenario thoughts as I thought it looked like his knee moved. Hopefully he is able to recuperate quickly and fully. At this point, his health is much more important that rushing him back to the lineup.

In terms of the impact on the team, they are definitely going to miss his scoring and efficiency.  Over the last 9 games, Beal is averaging 20 points per game while shooting 49.3% from the floor and 48.7% from long range. It is going to be tough to replace that, especially if Randy Wittman decides to get "creative" with his starters. Who honestly knows what he is going to do? I would like to see him slide Martell Webster over to the 2, and insert Trevor Ariza -- who has been playing well on both ends lately -- into the 3 spot. But of course, that would make sense. I wouldn't be surprised to see Wittman go with his go-to starter Garrett Temple or even pull more random moves and insert Cartier Martin into the lineup. The rotations really seem like a coin flip. Without Beal the team will suffer some, and ultimately I believe it will come down to how Wittman handles the lineups as to whether they can continue to compete night in and night out.

Abdullah: The Wizards obviously have a serious void to fill with the indefinite absence of Brad Beal. In the seven games that Beal has missed this season, the Wizards as a team have scored seven less points a game than their season average, dropping from 92 a game to 85. This will obviously cause for some trickery and pave the way for coach Wittman's oddball rotations and mix and matching starting lineups. The Wizards do have other measures for scoring, however. Martell Webster has proven the ability to score from inside as well as out. AJ Price gets hot sometimes. But personally I feel the front court will need to step up. Nene has been magnificent while healthy and we're all aware of Emeka Okafor's incredible emergence since the beginning of the season.

As for Beal, the man has endured pain since he entered the NBA and has bounced back each time. A right ankle sprain during training camp, a sprained wrist in January and a busted mouth during an accident in practice have all done little to slow down our surging rookie, and I expect the same turnaround this time as well.

Joe: The Wizards dodged a bullet with the news that Bradley Beal is only day to day with what looked like a far more serious injury when it happend. Had Washington been forced to play a long stretch of time without their budding superstar I suspect that opposing teams would have re-focused their efforts in stopping Wall and forcing the other Wizards scorers, i.e. Webster, Ariza to beat them with shots, something I don't believe they were willing to give Beal the luxury of.

I think they should hold out Beal for Wednesday night's game against the Timberwolves as well as Friday night's tilt vs. Nets and let him return Saturday vs. Bobcats. But, Bradley is 19, he loves the game and I fully intend to see him Friday night if not tomorrow with a monitor on his mintues.

wizards 90 76ers 87
3/3/2013 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC
ESPN Boxscore
NBA.com Game Highlights


Rob Carr/Getty Images

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Sunday, March 3rd, 2013
6:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 FM/1500 AM
Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor

knicks 96 wizards 88
3/1/2013 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC
ESPN Boxscore
NBA.com Game Highlights


Ned Dishman/Getty Images

                         AT                        

Friday, March 1st, 2013
7:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 FM/1500 AM
Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor

As Bradley Beal took the inbound on the final play of the game, it looked like the pieces were in play for a game-winning bucket. But it was the decision of who was going to take it that ultimately damned the Wizards against the Pistons for the fourth time this season.

The play seemed to break down when Beal drove to the hoop. Instead of trying to finish through some traffic, Beal instead attempted to make the pass out to the corner where both Martell Webster and Trevor Ariza were waiting (and relatively open). The pass was off, and Martell Webster had trouble receiving it, but did manage to tip it over to Ariza who then took the final shot which fell short, but appeared to fall if you were sitting in on the right side of the hoop, like Phil Chenier and Steve Buckhantz were.