Washington Wizards Find Gem In Jarell Eddie

When you think of teams that are terrific at finding gems late in the second round or in the NBA Developmental League, the Washington Wizards certainly don’t come to mind.

The Wizards, particularly Ernie Grunfeld, have squandered chances to land big-time names in the NBA Draft and free agency. Instead, they’ve opted for obscure players that only die-hard fans are familiar with.

Recently, Grunfeld signed Jarell Eddie from the Austin Toros after Bradley Beal became sidelined for weeks with another stress reaction. Otto Porter and Gary Neal have also been in-and-out of the lineup with numerous ailments, leaving Randy Wittman with no options at the guard and forward positions.

Rookie Kelly Oubre and Garrett Temple have done a fantastic job at filling roles on both ends of the floor, but they can’t play 48 minutes per game. Eddie, who was considered the best 3-point shooter not in the NBA prior to signing with the Wizards, was supposed to give Wittman a lift.

On Saturday night against the Brooklyn Nets, Eddie made his NBA regular season debut.

Eddie, who had a cup of coffee with the Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors before landing in the nation’s capital, was eventually going to make it back to the big leagues — it was merely a matter of time. When he got the chance on Saturday, he certainly made the most of it.

In under 15 minutes of action, Eddie drilled four three point shots and closed the game for Wittman’s Wizards.

For someone who’s never played a single second of regular season NBA ball, Eddie looked incredibly comfortable out on the floor. He moved extremely well without the ball and found open shots against Brooklyn’s poor defense.

Washington has been playing unselfish ball and it’s swinging around to everyone on the perimeter.

Eddie didn’t force shots and looked for clean attempts.

He executed perfectly and showed everyone why he was considered a sharpshooter at the lower level.

The Wizards have now won four games in a row and have been tremendous offensively.

The ball movement has been magnificent.

Not only has John Wall been fantastic at distributing the ball, but the rest of the guards are moving it effortlessly and players are getting open looks.

Eddie benefited from the ball movement and knocked down a number of key threes to put Brooklyn away on Saturday.

There’s no reason why Eddie can’t become a regular in Washington’s rotation.

While I wouldn’t expect him to hit four 3-point shots per game, he’s still effective from deep. He made over half of his three point shots in the D-League and the confidence has carried over. He’s going to get open shots in Washington, it’s just a matter of hitting them, which he obviously did on Saturday.

At 6’7″, Eddie is capable of playing both the shooting guard and small forward positions. Alan Anderson won’t return for quite some time, so the playing time will be there. If Gary Neal or Temple are having an off night, Eddie is more than capable of stepping in and giving Wittman a spark.

Eddie could potentially become a Danny Green type of player for Wittman, but it’s still too early to tell. At the very least, there’s no reason why Eddie can’t become an Anthony Morrow clone at the next level. He’s competent defensively and he’s deadly from deep.

We haven’t seen this in a very, very long time, but the Washington Wizards might’ve found themselves an unexpected gem.

Welcome to Washington, Jarell Eddie. It’s so nice to have you around. Now, just keep drilling them from deep.