Through the seven years with Wall as the franchise’s leading man, a rotating cast of rentals has filled the space behind him.  The names read like answers to trivia questions.  Rookie Shelvin Mack provided backup to Wall in his second season.  A.J. Price started 22 games during Wall’s injury-plagued third year.  Then along came Eric Maynor … and Andre Miller… and Ramon Sessions. 

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Following the end of the 2016-17 season, Wall reflected on the latest names added to that carousel of backups (Trey Burke, Tomas Satoransky, Brandon Jennings) and offered his opinion on the root of the problem.  According to Wall, these backups have carried too much expectations. 

“Every point guard we had, everybody can’t compare us and expect them to do everything that I do when I get out there,” Wall said. “ Every guy that has backed me up has did a great job in my opinion.  It might not help us as much as everybody think but that’s up to the front office to make an adjustment there.  But everybody came in and understood what their role is.” 

When asked directly if his future backup was already on the Wizards’ roster, Wall did not hesitate. 

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“Oh yeah, totally do,” he said. 

However, that assurance needs asterisks. 

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Before last season, the Wizards went with a low-risk option of trading a future second-round selection for Burke, a former lottery pick who felt he never got a proper chance in his first three seasons with the Utah Jazz.  When he came to Washington, Burke had intentions of resetting his career after several dormant years on the bench, and spoke excitedly about learning from Wall. 

While both point guards prefer shooting from the midrange, at their core they are two different players.  Wall, more of a pass-first point guard, has the lightning speed to the rim and a blossoming confidence from beyond the arc.  Burke, a driver first and foremost, had difficulties setting up the second unit. 

Eventually, Burke fell out of Coach Scott Brooks’s rotation for the 25-year-old rookie Satoransky, who then took a back seat to Brandon Jennings.  However, none of the three offered a consistent outside shooting threat — the Wizards craved threes for the second unit but didn’t add that element until Bojan Bogdanovic’s arrival and Jason Smith’s surprising uptick from the arc after the all-star break.  By the end of the season, the trio of backups factored little in Washington’s Game 7 thud against the Boston Celtics in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.  Burke and Jennings will be able to test the free agent market on July 1. 

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Although the next backup point guard shouldn’t have to mirror Wall, he should be able to knock down a three-pointer.  And while it’s unlikely the Wizards will find this player with the 52nd pick in the upcoming draft, that didn’t stop them from searching on Tuesday. 

The workout featured six prospects, and each one flashed a decent touch from the three-point arc.  James Blackmon Jr., a 6-foot-4 guard who played three seasons at Indiana and finished his career 41.5 percent from three, said he understood the Wizards are looking for shooters.  Adding to his draft potential, Blackmon also received a positive reaction to his ballhandling skills. 

“They were surprised that I could also play the point guard position,” Blackmon said about Wizards’ team brass. “ It’s definitely good feedback I’ve been getting from a lot of teams and I’m just trying to show that going forward.” 

Melo Trimble, who played as a true point guard at Maryland, hypothesized on what he could bring to the Wizards.