John Wall happy to be playing with 'guys who all want to win'

It's been well-established that John Wall hasn't quite lived up to the surreal and perhaps unfair expectations heaped upon him the moment the Washington Wizards selected him No. 1 overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, but a major point of contention between Wall's detractors and those who still believe him to be a franchise player is how much of his stagnant development was due to playing alongside a series of so-called knuckleheads who didn't complement his skill set.

Wall alludes to as much in some quotes tucked away deep inside Jason Reid's latest column for The Washington Post on the improvement the third-year guard has shown since his return to the court 10 games ago.

"When you have guys who all want to win, who all work hard, yeah, it motivates you even more," Wall said. "Everybody is just working to build something and keep it going. It's good. It's what you want."

...

"No disrespect to anyone, but it's a more serious locker room now," he said. "Guys understand the game of basketball and they want to play. It's a big difference."

Wall isn't calling any former teammates out by name, but it doesn't take much imagination to figure out who he's referring to.

Somewhat related, we are all Kyle O'Quinn.