He A Bust?

With the new year on us and tv shows ramping up for their new season, thought it would be a good time to start my new column. Without further ado, I bring you:

"He A Bust?"

What constitutes a bust in professional sports? Well to me, it's 2 possibilities:

1) A guy drafted at the top of the draft, paid an inordinate amount of money, high expectations to help turn the franchise around, then, for whatever reason, doesn't pan out.

2) A free agent, paid a lot of money, to help an organization compete for a championship and doesn't come close to helping them compete, nor help raise interest in team and bringing other players with him.

Obviously the money factor has the most to do with it. A guy taken at the top of the draft, paid an extreme amount of money, taking up a high percentage of the cap, needs to produce for the organization. Win games, put fans in the seats and help increase television revenue. Lets face it, a guy taken in the 5th round, if he doesn't work out, no big deal, but a Sam Bradford, Cam Newton (to use two recent football examples), better work out. The organization needs them to be successful on a few different levels.

The first person I want to discuss here is John Wall from the Washington Wizards. To me he has all the makings of a BUST (side note - when I went to look up his stats, I discovered that Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio actually talked about John Wall today and basically said the same thing I'm saying. A write up of it can be found HERE).

First pick in the draft last year, signed a 3yr/16.5 million contract (NBA is slotted, most he could sign for). High expectations to turn the team around. He did "ok" for his rookie season. 16.5 points a game, 8.3 assists, 1.8 steals. Not bad, but not "Super Star" talent that'll move the Wizards to the next level. He had "buzz" coming in and some people outside DC wanted to see him initially, but now? Who's paying to go see John Wall play? Compare that to the first pick in the draft 2 years ago, Blake Griffin. You think people are paying to go to the arena to watch Griffin, or turning on their tv when the Clippers are on? Ah, yeah.

So far this year Washington is 0-5 and Wall is averaging 13.8 points per game, 6.8 assists per game and 4.8 turnovers a game. Not good. Still early, but he's regressing.

I just think he's got the potential to go down as a bust when it's all said and done. No marquee free agents are lining up to play with him (curse of death for a point guard by the way) and I think by this point it's obvious he doesn't have the game of a Kobe, LeBron, Dwayne Wade, where he can carry the team on his back and take them to the championship.

Now I'm not saying he's horrible or a bad person, I'm sure he's a great kid and it's not his fault he was the first pick in the draft, but he's not a player that is going to turn your franchise around (Like LeBron did when he went to Cleveland), he's more a complimentary piece, fringe all star, who'll be an ideal player to add to a team looking to make a championship run. Too bad he's going to be paid like the superstar and heighten the expectations. For my money, what does that make John Wall?

He A Bust!

Bill