John Wall Discusses Team USA, Bradley Beal And More

LAS VEGAS -- The third game of the Washington Wizards' 2012 NBA Summer League schedule finally brought star John Wall out to the Thomas and Mack Center. Wall was sitting courtside with new teammate Emeka Okafor throughout the Wizards' loss to the D-League Select Team, and afterwards, he spent time catching up with head coach Randy Wittman and assistant coach Sam Cassell.

Before that, though, Wall caught up with media members to discuss his Team USA Select Team experience, new teammate Bradley Beal, his expectations for the season and Chris Singleton's pink shoes. Here's a transcript:

How would you assess your Team USA experience?

JOHN WALL: "It was good. The first few days, it was kind of tough getting adjusted to how they play, the European style of game. But after that, we just competed. Sometimes, it felt like we were on the JV team, but we was just helping those guys get better and also helping ourselves develop, get better and prepare ourselves for the season."

What are your thoughts on the move the Wizards have made so far to change the team? I know you've said you wanted them to add more veterans.

JOHN WALL: "I think it's great, especially to add Emeka [Okafor] and Trevor [Ariza]. Both of those guys have played in the playoffs, and Trevor has the NBA championship. That's something that we need, and that's something that can really help me out. They can teach me to do a lot of new things that I need to learn. Just having Nene for the last 20-something games helped me out a whole lot, so to add more veterans is big for our younger guys to help us get better."

What are your impressions of Brad from watching him?

JOHN WALL: "He don't play like he's 19. He plays like he's been in the league a couple [years]. He's a very smart young player that won't force anything, very calm, can make plays off the ball and can make shots. He's going to help us out a whole lot. It's great to have him, it's great to have all these guys out here. I'm excited to see them play."

How does he help make your life easier?

JOHN WALL: "Like I was saying, if you have a consistent knockdown shooter, it's great. Jordan [Crawford] makes shots, but he's more of a scorer, a lead scorer. Bradley's more of a three-point shooter that can do other things for us. But you can have those two guys on the court at the same time together, or you can bring one off the bench. Either way, they'll be a fighter for us."

Speaking of shooters, you got Jan Vesely now...

JOHN WALL: "Yeah, a guy like Jan, he always plays hard, but to see him take a few more of those mid-range jump shots and make them makes me more excited, because last time, we had to yell at him so many times to shoot it."

Is there anything else you think the team needs to do to get ready for a playoff run?

JOHN WALL: "I think it's on all of us to work out over the summer and get better, and it's up to us to be on the court and play better."

One last thing: what's your take on Chris Singleton's shoes?

JOHN WALL: "Those are cancer shoes. (Laughs). They're like pink and red. I don't know about those."