John Wall says it's on him to fill leadership void left by Paul Pierce's exit
After a memorable campaign with the Washington Wizards, veteran forward Paul Pierce decided to leave the Eastern Conference for the comforts of home in Los Angeles.
Pierce's exit spells more than just the departure of a legendary shot-maker and expert troll. Pierce served as the veteran voice of the Wizards, supplying brash bravado to a team headed up by two youngsters in John Wall and Bradley Beal.
With him gone, someone will have to step up and lead the team. Wall says he's ready to take the wheel.
From Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post:
It’s all on me now. I feel like it is. Going into my sixth year and having three great veterans in Trevor Ariza and Al Harrington and definitely Paul Pierce, those guys taught me to be a leader the best way you can be.
And now I have to go in there from Day 1 and try to do what I got to do and do what those guys did in the past and lead my team.
When I came in young I didn’t want to do it because everybody always was like, 'Well, he’s the No. 1 pick. He thinks he’s all that.' That’s how I felt.
And just getting the respect. When I get the respect from a Hall of Famer in Paul Pierce, who tells me, 'You got to be our leader, you’re our best player. We want you to do these types of things.' Now I feel like I can say anything to anybody in a respectful way.
Not trying to disrespect anybody and do it in a professional manner to make sure that our team is going to be the best it can be.
Wall is coming off a second consecutive All-Star appearance with the Wizards. He stepped up his playmaking, dishing out a career-best 10 assists per game with an assist percentage of 46.3 percent, despite operating within Randy Wittman's outdated offense.
When the playoffs rolled around, Wall easily outplayed fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry, helping his Wizards to a sweep over the Toronto Raptors. Wall later played through a fractured left wrist (which is now fully healed) in the Wizards' eventual loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Wall is in the second year of a dirt-cheap maximum contract that carries through until 2019. The 24-year-old is entering his prime and has already cemented his status as one of the league's best point guards.