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Washington Wizards will depend on the great unknown, Tomas Satoransky, this upcoming season

Before there was #KD2DC, there was #Tomas2DC.

We’ve waited years for Tomas Satoransky to join the Washington Wizards, and the former second round pick is finally coming to the states this upcoming season.

For quite some time, it seemed like Satoransky would never put on a Wizards uniform.

After he was picked in 2012, Satoransky spent several seasons overseas developing. This past year, Satoransky helped Barcelona become one of the best teams in Europe.

After some back and forth between the two, Satoransky and Washington finally agreed to a surprisingly cheap deal. Given the rise in salary cap, most expected Satoransky to at least get $5+ million annually, which was the total he asked for two years ago.

Instead, the Wizards managed to convince Satoransky to join them for just $3 million per season. For comparison, Garrett Temple, who was a backup guard for Washington last year, got $8 million annually.

The 6-foot-7 Czech star has played point guard for most of his career and will likely carry some ball handling duties off the bench. Since the Wizards are really thin at shooting guard and small forward, Satoransky will also see some time at both of those positions too.

Washington wanted to become more versatile and allow Scott Brooks to adjust his rotations based on the match up, so they decided to let Ramon Sessions walk in free agency.

The problem is, we really don’t know what to expect from Washington’s backup guards.

Trey Burke has been relatively inconsistent throughout his career and was traded for a future second round pick.

Even with Burke, though, we at least have somewhat of an idea of what to anticipate. He’s a point guard with a scoring mentality and should improve under Brooks.

His defense will remain questionable at best, but the Wizards will depend on him more for his offense than anything else.

Satoransky, on the other hand, is completely unknown.

Per-36 minutes, Satoransky averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game last year with Barcelona.

More importantly, he made 52 percent of his total field goals and 39 percent of his 3-point attempts.

After his first five seasons as a pro in Europe, Satoransky made just 33 percent of his 3-point shots. During his last two seasons, he knocked down roughly 42 percent of his threes.

His improved jump shot, court vision and length will translate to the NBA level. If all goes according to plan, the Washington Wizards will have a legit backup guard locked up for three years under a ridiculously cheap contract.

It’s super easy to become irrationally excited about Satoransky.

On tape, the dude looks perfect. He’s going to be one of the tallest point guards in the league, and at age 24, he should be much more ready for the NBA than most rookies.

There are also plenty of questions that remain unanswered, though.

The 3-point line is deeper in the NBA than it is in the Euroleague. There’s going to be an adjustment period, for sure.

He’s not going to be able to beat players off the dribble like he did in Europe. Players in the NBA are a lot stronger, faster and physical than the ones Satoransky is accustomed to dominating against.

The speed of the game is also incredibly different.

When asked what the most difficult thing is about transitioning from college hoops to the NBA, virtually every rookie says the speed of the game. Will he be able to keep up against the competition, especially on the defensive side of the floor?

Washington won’t have much of a choice but to depend on him. Satoransky could end up being one of the best bargains in the league or he could wash out quicker than he came to the district. The optimism around Satoransky is real. But the unknowns are even realer.