Wizards Select Beal In First Round

 

As expected, the Washington Wizards have selected Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal with the third pick of the first round in the NBA draft.

Beal was on the radar of several other teams with as many as five clubs making offers to Charlotte in efforts to leap frog the Wizards and select Beal. In the end the Bobcats kept their selection and selected Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilcrhist, clearing the way for the Wizards to select Beal.

Beal will be an ideal back court mate for point guard John Wall, complimenting him with his excellent shooting range. The acquisition of Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza earlier this month addressed rebounding and defense, but left the Wizards still desperately needing a shooting guard with range.

Hailing from St.Louis, Beal was the Gatorade National Player of the year in 2011, which help land him a scholarship offer at the University of Florida. Beal spent only one season with the Gators, averaging nearly 15 points per game this season, good enough to make first team Freshman All-SEC.

Often compared to Boston's Ray Allen, Beal will immediately compete with Jordan Crawford for the Wizards starting shooting guard position. Beal is still very young, celebrating his 19th birthday at the draft.

The Wizards selected Tomas Satoransky in the second round. The combo guard is from the Czech Republic and plays pro ball in Spain.