Olympics May Force John to Hit a "Wall"

I get it, The Wizards are pushing for their star point guard and #1 overall pick John Wall to replace Derrick Rose on the Olympic Roster in this summer's games that are taking place in London.  It makes sense if you're Ted Leonsis and the Wizards Brain trust. Getting any kind of national exposure is great, but if you can market your superstar in an international competition, even better. However, let's all come down to earth for just a little.

I understand all the positives that can come out of this. I know Team USA are the odds on favorite to win the gold, I know the importance and significance of playing for a gold medal, I know the importance of how this can also help John potentially develop in to more of a leader by gaining more leadership experience. Any time you have the chance to be on the same team with guys like, Kobe, Lebron, Carmelo, and Durant, you can only gain more experience and leadership.

With that said, I understand the Wizards position on this, but as a Wizards fan, I don't want this. I don't think it's worth it to put your franchise player in a position where he can be injured and lose valuable playing time for his NBA team. John has a lot to work on right now in DC with his team and I just don't think playing abroad in the olympics is going to benefit the Washington Wizards as far as wins and losses are concerned for next season. I'd rather have John in D.C. for an entire full length NBA off season to work on a lot of very NOTICEABLE flaws in his game. His defense was shaky and inconsistent throughout the course of the season, he needs to work on controlling his speed as he penetrates the basket, and probably the most glaring flaw in his game was his inability to hit the mid-long range jump shot. I lost track over the amount of times I saw John get wide open looks at the basket and come up short.  We have a young team here in DC and if John doesn't stick around to work on improving himself and the rest of the roster, I fear that we may lose him after next season.

He's a young guy. John will be 22 in September. He will have the chance to play in 3 or 4 more olympics before his career is over. There's no doubt that he's a world class player and should be recognized as such. I don't blame the Wizards for their lobbying efforts towards USA Basketball to have him on the roster. In fact, If I was Leonsis, I would probably do the exact same thing. But as a fan and as someone who's followed this team all year, there are other priorities that need to be established first.