Reading the ESPN timeline ticker made me remember former Wizards superstar Gilbert Arenas.

And who would ever think that we would need help to remember Arenas?

He was Ochocinco before Ochocinco, one of the first athletes to make a complete mockery of himself (and others) in cyberspace. His NBA.com-sponsored blog garnered him a cult-like following, and gave us a sense of what we could expect from him: the unexpected.

And, indeed, we did not expect him to suffer a freakish knee injury that derailed his explosiveness, and then follow that with a gun-brandishing incident in his place of work, the Verizon Center.

And just like that, the Wizards were left with no return on its $100 million plus investment.

The player formerly known as Agent Zero then became an insignificant roster addition after being traded to Orlando, then faded quietly into the NBA free agent atmosphere.

Then, that ever-so-informative bottom-of-the-screen ticker indicated that Arenas held a private workout for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Of course, his personality is ready-made for L.A., but he seems to be an odd fit with Kobe Bryant.

But the unexpected nature of Arenas’ demise and departure left Washington with some serious holes, and very little patchwork.

Fast forward to 2012, and Washington remains in an abyss. But as last night’s shocking win against a playoff-contending Portland team showed us, there’s enough to be hopeful about in the nation’s capital:

John Wall – Contrary to what many may have led you to believe, John Wall has not been a disappointment for the Wizards. He is a point guard – not necessarily a scoring guard – who was drafted by a team with very little offensive talent. In fact, Wall came to the team as, perhaps, the most accomplished scorer on the roster. J-Dub’s sights on an NBA Rookie of the Year Award were heavily hampered by the return of Blake Griffin (who should have been a rookie the year prior), so he got a bit overshadowed by a highlight reel of alleyoops and dunks emanating from the Staples Center. But Wall’s ability to penetrate almost any defense, make something happen when player movement is stagnant, and nail enough perimeter jumpers to keep the opposition honestis clearly a move in the right direction for Washington.

The Wizards have an intimidating, athletic centerpiece in the seven-foot JaVale McGee.

Nick Young / Jordan Crawford – Scoring, shooting and more scoring and shooting. That’s what you get from these guys. Young is smooth, and has legit two-guard size. But Young will take bad shots (you can count on two or three per night) that he will hit when his little star is blinking. And Young will yield as many (if not more) points than he produces, as his defense leaves much to be desired. Crawford’s creative offensive abilities enable him to create his shot at any time. Like Young, he has good three-point range. But unlike Young, he has demonstrated the occasional burst of aggressive on-ball defense that indicates his potential to play consistently on both ends of the floor.

JaVale McGee – He brings what GMs hope for from their big men these days: unlimited athleticism and the ability to rebound the basketball and intimidate the opposition with the threat of the shot block. McGee is extremely raw, but is valuable in the sense that he is a defensive impact player who doesn’t demand offensive touches. The seven-footer is almost averaging a double-double, and is a shade under 3 blocks per night. He dunks, rebound and block shots…much like that center down in Orlando, right?

Jan Vesely – The lanky forward from the Czech Republic isn’t contributing much of anything statistically at the moment, but one look at him on the court screams “AK47.” Vesely is very athletic, and supposedly highly skilled, although none of that has translated well into the NBA. Vesely is a hard worker and battles on the glass, but desperately needs to add some strength to compete with the physical wars in the paint.

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