Shabazz Muhammad is the perfect fit for the Washington Wizards roster, just as we believed he would be last winter. The Wizards and Muhammad have seemed to come full circle to meet again in the 2013 NBA Draft. In the beginning of 2012-2013 season the Washington Wizards started off with one of the worst records in NBA history without John Wall, and for the most part Nene. At that time, the college basketball season had just began, and Shabazz Muhammad was projected to be the number one pick in the 2013 NBA Draft as he was expected to be the best scorer in college basketball. Every Wizards fan, every scout and every mock draft expert pegged Shabazz Muhammad to the Wizards with the first pick of the 2013 NBA Draft. Two things have happened since then. When John Wall returned and Nene got healthy enough to play consistently the Wizards were able to play near .500 basketball the second half of the season to finish with a 29-53 record. Also, Shabazz Muhammad’s stock fell in the draft, but it didn’t fall because Muhammad wasn’t the great scorer he was expected to be. He is still the best scorer in the 2013 NBA Draft, but fell for several other reasons. It came out that his father had been misleading people about Shabazz’s age for a long time. Shabazz is actually 20 years old, not 19 as everyone thought he was. Their lies hurt Shabazz’s stock just a bit and questions arose about his character. Shabazz’s inability to average one assist per game is a also a red flag for scouts and teams. Muhammad is a great scorer but he isn’t a great creator for others, nor is he a great defender at this point. The good things for the Wizards is those deficiencies can be improved once he matures as a basketball player and gets some NBA coaching. But you can’t teach his versatility as a scorer, and Muhammad can defiantly put points on the board which is something this Wizards team is in dire need of. Shabazz Muhammad reminds me of James Harden sans the play-making ability. Muhammad is a silky smooth left handed wing player who posses elite speed, athleticism, skills and strength for a 20 year old young man. He is intelligent, has a mature offensive game from both on the block and on the perimeter and is highly motivated to be a great scorer. He already has an NBA body at the age of 20 and has great length for a 6’6 player as his wingspan is near that of a seven footer. Shabazz has a quick first step and is very athletic and explosive. He truly lived up to his hype of being the most prolific scorer in the country, scoring 17.9 points a game and grabbing 5.2 rebounds during his first and only year in college. It surely seems that Shabazz Muhammad and the Washington Wizards are headed on a crash course with each other. With the Wizards probably picking in the 8-11 range in the NBA Draft and Muhammad falling from the projected number one pick down to the 7-12th pick range, both sides seems to be a match made in Heaven. We all know about Washington’s defensive prowess all year long (8th in points allowed), but when one of their “big three” were injured (Wall, Beal or Nene) they struggled to score the basketball consistently. In fact, last year the Wizards were 28th out of 30 teams in Points Per Game. If they re-sign Martell Webster, stay healthy, and insert a great young scorer like Shabazz Muhammad as their 6th man, the Wizards should be playing for a top seed in the Playoffs instead of for a top pick in the 2014 Draft. Related posts: Is Shabazz Muhammad The Prize at the End of All These Wizards Losses? What Will 2013 Bring For The Washington Wizards? Who Would You Take #1 Overall If The Wizards Won The Lottery?
Original Story:
http://blogsohardsports.com/wizards-2...
