Steve Dykes – USA TODAY Sports
One of the smartest things a team can do is sign quality backup players. While having a strong core that gets the majority of the minutes is extremely important, being able to keep the quality of play at that level when one or more of those players is off the court is even more important.
Yesterday, the Washington Wizards made a great move and signed backup point guard Eric Maynor. After being the star point guard for VCU, Maynor was then a first-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz. He was then traded from the Jazz to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a rookie. In 2013, he was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers were he finished this past season.
Throughout his four-year NBA career, Maynor has averaged 4.5 points per game and three assists per game. Everywhere that’s played, he’s been able to step in and step up to fill his role and help the team. One thing to note is that Maynor has torn his ACL in the past, but his level of play hasn’t really dropped off from that injury.
Like I said at the beginning, having a quality backup is just as important as having a superstar starter. Maynor will back up point guard John Wall for the Wizards this season; both players have similar playing styles with Wall obviously being the better of the two.
The Wizards have done a great job this offseason at filling needs. In the 2013 NBA Draft, they selected Otto Porter Jr., who will certainly fill the small forward need that they have. On top of that, they also got a young guard by the name of Glen Rice Jr. Many draft experts have given the Wizards an “A” rating for their 2013 draft decisions.
The addition of Maynor will greatly benefit the Wizards this season. Whenever Wall was on the bench, the point guard play drastically fell off, and the Wizards had a tough time keeping their momentum last season. With Maynor, expect the level of play when Wall is taking a breather to stay consistent.
The rest of the NBA should look out. The Wizards are making all the right moves to make themselves serious contenders in the upcoming season.
Brian Skinnell is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
