New Wizard John Lucas III Returns to Birthplace in the District (VIDEO)

John Lucas III has long been on Washington’s radar. “I’ve been trying to get here for two years, with the Wizards,” he said on Tuesday afternoon. “My wife went to Howard, I was born here, my dad went to Maryland—it’s just somewhere I always wanted to be. After I left Chicago, I really always wanted to come here.”

However, as mentioned in a prior post, the Wizards have previously found themselves chasing different options—whether they were cheaper or considered to be a better fit. None of them worked out in terms of point guard depth behind John Wall, aside from Andre Miller.

Lucas was officially signed to fill the Wizards’ 15th roster spot on Tuesday and was also on hand in D.C. to speak with the media. He took part in a noon practice before the team left for New York for their final preseason game against the Knicks, where Lucas figures to get all the court time he can handle. Wall, who sat out Monday’s game in Baltimore to get a reprieve from tendinitis in his left knee, practiced on Tuesday and was said to be pain free. Wittman, however, was not sure if he’d put his star point guard on the court of the final meaningless game. Per CSN’s Chris Miller and the Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo, Wall indicated today that he’s good to go against the Knicks and that he will play. Perhaps a final opportunity to knock off the rust he’s shown thus far in the preseason. When Wall only played 12 minutes (the entire first quarter) against Maccabi Haifa, Wittman said it was hard to keep him off the court … that Wall was begging to play. Probably the case any time there’s an opportunity to lace them up, but it’s still on the coach to make the best decision.

And on the signing of Lucas, Wittman said:

“We just needed another body in here with all our injuries. I don’t want to get in a situation where we’re over-using guys just to get through practice. I haven’t had John [Lucas] before. I’ve coached against John and the like. It gives me an opportunity to take a look at him, because he’s going to have opportunities in practice to be on the floor a lot. Then you never know down the road what the situation calls upon.”

Lucas will mostly fill the role of third point guard, solidifying Garrett Temple as more of a 2 guard. Wittman was also asked about the possibility of Lucas and Wall playing next to each other.

“Right now we’re using [Garrett Temple] back there with John [Wall]. When we get a feel for [Lucas], we’ll see. He can play off the ball as well as [backup point],” Wittman said.

In the video below Lucas discusses several topics surrounding his arrival in the District—the process of being traded from Utah to Cleveland to Boston and then waived during this offseason; the difference between the offensive systems he experienced in Chicago and Toronto versus Utah (and how that affected his role); and his level of familiarity with the current players and coaching staff in Washington. Let’s watch…

 

[NOTE: Lucas is slated to wear jersey No. 15 for the Wizards, a number previously sported by Jordan Crawford, Randy Foye, Alonzo Gee, Kenny “Sky” Walker, and even Mark Price when he was with the franchise.]