Washington Wizards: With Loss of Wall, Wizards Are in Big Trouble by Ben Palmer

The Washington Wizards remain a playoff team without their point guard John Wall thanks to the up-and-coming Tomas Satoransky.

After the Washington Wizards‘ many failed attempts to find a suitable player to backup John Wall like Eric Maynor, Trey Burke, Ramon Sessions and Brandon Jennings, they seem to have found their guy in the sharp-witted Tomas Satoransky.

Satoransky, 26, is just in his second NBA season despite the Washington Wizards drafting him No. 32 in the 2012 NBA draft. Before his NBA days, the Czech Republic native spent several seasons playing internationally in the Euroleague.

After participating in the 2012 Las Vegas Summer League with the Wizards, Satoranksy returned to play internationally in Spain for Sevilla for two seasons to polish his NBA skills.

At 6-foot-7, Satoransky is one of the more bigger NBA point guards (maybe that’s why ESPN has him as a small forward) with raw athleticism who has a good grasp of the game.

It wasn’t as simple as it looks for Satoransky, who entered the 2017-18 season as the third-string point guard behind third-year player Tim Frazier and Wall. The efficient point guard only made 11 appearances in the first 20 games.

By the end of Nov., Satoransky earned more playing time after Wall began to experience soreness and swelling in his left knee, forcing him to miss nine straight games. Despite not starting over Frazier, yet, Satoransky took full advantage of his uptick in minutes. In the nine-game stretch, he averaged 8.4 points, 4.4 assists and shot a healthy 53 percent.

As a result, he earned a promotion as he moved ahead of Frazier on the Wizards depth chart and establishing himself as the team’s backup to Wall.

Satoransky now, in his second NBA season, has a chance to take his game to the next level with full control of the starting point guard position for at least six weeks.

Swiftly orchestrating the Wizards offense the last two games, Satoransky has a combined 13 assists, eight rebounds and just two turnovers in two of the more impressive performances by the Wizards this season.

He doesn’t back down to his competition either, not even reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook.

GET SOME. Tomas Satoransky just caught Russell Westbrook with a sick block. LIVE STREAM: https://t.co/Uvk3ibqA3C pic.twitter.com/H8KTXydDko — NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) January 31, 2018

Satoransky held to just 13 points (5-of-18 field goals) to help the Wizards get revenge over Oklahoma City Thunder after Westbrook literally did whatever he pleased and punched in a season-high 46 points in the first meeting between the two teams.

Satoransky is in the second year of a three-year, $9 million contract he signed in the summer of 2016, giving him one more season before becoming a restricted free agent in 2019. If he keeps producing as he is now, Satoransky could be looking at a prominent payday as he continues to evolve.