The Washington Wizards have filled their hole at shooting guard, drafting Bradley Beal out of the University of Florida with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. The Wizards traded for Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okefor in the week before the draft, leading to speculation that the Wizards would select Beal to occupy their obvious missing two-guard spot.
Beal was picked after Kentucky stars Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and his selection made history. This is the first time in the history of the NBA Draft that the first three picks have all been college freshmen. Beal is a great athlete and a very good outside shooter for his age, but will have to work on his finishing at the rim and his defense to become an elite player at the NBA level.
Here's what Bullets Forever had to say about Beal before the draft.
[He will] immediately become the best three-point shooter on a long-term deal. Currently, Cartier Martin is the only Wizard with an above average three point shot, and the organization has shown no signs of making him a part of its long-term plans yet. With athletic finishers like Nene, Jan Vesely, Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin rolling to the basket and Wall constantly slashing to the hoop, the Wizards' spacing is very poor and they lack anyone who can regularly make teams pay for playing a zone or sagging into the paint.
For more on the Washington Wizards and their draft pick, be sure to check out SB Nation's Wizards blog Bullets Forever. For lots more on the 2012 NBA draft, please stay tuned toSB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.