Considering how much ink gets spilled on NBA personnel moves, it seems difficult to imagine that building an elite team can be simple. Amazingly enough, all of the bluster and hang-wringing comes down to exactly one thing: the presence of an MVP-caliber player. My absolute favorite stat in the NBA is that the last non-Pistons championship team without a player who had already won a regular season Most Valuable Player award was the 1981 Celtics who had Larry Bird. Look at that again- it does not include any players who got a bump in notoriety after winning their first title. Considering the fact that there are only two players in the NBA under the age of 34 with an MVP under their belt, this figure will either be tested or confirmed in a big way over the next few seasons.

This statistic dovetails with another pivotal point when analyzing teams: acquiring and securing elite talent trumps all other concerns. One of the ways I think about this question is to pick out the clear-cut “10’s” in the NBA at any given time. Not all of these players are created equal and the amount of transcendent players has never been consistent over time. As I see it now, the league only has three inarguable 10’s: LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul. Other players are close but that stands as the full and complete list at this moment in time.

Since these players hold such disproportionate value in a league with both a team salary cap and individual max salaries, they hold the cards to championships moving forward. Their current teams must focus on retaining them while every other organization who possesses winning a championship as their goal must try to either acquire one of the current 10’s or look to identify and develop a new one. This is where John Wall fits in.

Many people, including myself, have written on the point guard renaissance currently afoot in the NBA. A new breed of athletic point guards have come into the league quickly and made a major impact even as they adjust to the higher level of competition. This group also stands out because each potentially elite point brings his own strengths and weaknesses to the table. For example, Russell Westbrook has the athleticism but often gets in his own way while Derrick Rose has put it together but we still wonder about how his injury will affect him beyond this season. The same applies to other young primary ballhandlers like Kyrie Irving, Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry.

Since he was in high school, draftniks have wondered whether John Wall could put it together enough to make the biggest leap of all. His Achilles’ heel has been perimeter shooting, which plays an even larger role now due to the league’s emphasis on spacing. We have seen what happens to creators who cannot shoot and the results have not been particularly pretty. After battling back from his left knee injury, Wall has exploded onto the national scene the last few weeks averaging 23.8 points and 9 assists in his last ten games. More important than the front-line statistics has been the reasons why they have improved. In his nineteen games after the All-Star break, Wall has shot 47.8 percent from the field, 50 percent from three, and 85 percent from the free throw line. More remarkably, he has not dramatically shifted his attempts per game in any of those three categories since the break- only the amount of made shots has changed. Keeping that scoring efficiency up would put him in rarified air among perimeter players in the league: only LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant have put up numbers similar to that this year while carrying a meaningful level of the scoring load for their teams.

On top of that, Wall would become the first of the elite athletic point guards to correct his most glaring weakness. After Monday’s exhibition with a depleted roster (Nene, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster and Trevor Ariza all missed the game), both Wall and coach Randy Wittman talked about the time John had taken over the summer to work on his shot before getting sidetracked by his injury. In fact, Wittman noted that Wall was just now getting into “game shape” because the knee injury forced Wall to basically sit for three and a half months. He has the vision and ability as a passer to be both a “pure point guard” and more of a scorer’s game, making him a potential best of both worlds primary ballhandler. That combination of skills also makes a ton of sense next to Bradley Beal and we have already seen how Wall’s presence has helped both Beal and Emeka Okafor on the offensive end.

Over the same period of time, media members have started to discuss whether John Wall is worthy of a max extension.

The main question here has to be whether John is worthy of the “Eric Gordon max” meaning the highest amount a new team can offer a Restricted Free Agent coming off his rookie deal. It seems like an inevitability now that as long as Wall stays on the court someone will offer him this contract, so the Wizards might as well decide if they would match it.  To me, Wall has already shown enough to make him worth that kind of contract. However, he needs to continue his remarkable play for longer than this in order to become the “designated player” (allowing Washington to offer him a fifth year) or necessitate taking the risk of signing him now rather than waiting to match like the Hornets did with Gordon. I had similar concerns about Stephen Curry but we will have to see if Wall would be willing to take a similar contract rather than waiting for 2014.  Unless the Wizards are scared their best player will take the qualifying offer and then become unrestricted in 2015, they can negotiate from a position of strength now coupled with the knowledge that they need to be ready to make the right move in 2014 if Wall will not take less now for the security. Either way, it would be catastrophic for a franchise that has not wooed a ton of high-level talent to lose someone like John Wall. He is remarkable right now and has so much room to grow as a player and force in the league. As has become blatantly clear now, any team, particularly an organization like the Wizards, cannot afford to let a potential 10 slip through their grasp.

The Washington Wizards' ability to develop into a winner by building around John Wall has unquestionably progressed slowly.

The Wizards have struggled with a 63-146 record since Wall joined the franchise as the top pick of the 2010 NBA Draft. Despite an awful winning percentage (.301), Wall has shown this season that he can be a true difference maker for the Wizards when healthy

The Wizards' 20-41 record appears woeful on paper, but it is also misleading. Washington has had very little success without Wall (5-28). Conversely, Washington has performed like a fringe playoff team in the Eastern Conference with Wall in the lineup (15-13). The record differential displays a stark contrast and verifies Wall’s value to the franchise.

With that in mind, nobody was happier to see Wall return than Randy Wittman.

“He puts pace into the game for us,” Wittman told RealGM. “He has the ability to see the floor very well, has the ability to get to the rim, and for us it’s important to have pace. We’re not a team that wants to walk the ball up and down the floor. Those are the things that he gives us that we didn’t have with him missing.”

P.J. Carlesimo also recently had high praise for Wall. According to Carlesimo, slowing down Wall is a difficult task.

“Wall is probably the fastest guy in the league with the ball,” said Carlesimo. “You can talk about Kyrie (Irving), Rajon (Rondo), and Russell (Westbrook), but I really think foul line to foul line with the ball, John Wall is the fastest guy in the league so that changes their dimension.”

In an interview with RealGM, Wall ranked himself among the top guards in the game.

“Well, it’s me, I put myself on the top. I mean that’s just how competitive I am,” Wall told RealGM. “I put myself somewhere in the top five, top 10. I mean there’s a lot of talented point guards out there. I feel like when I’m at my best is when I’m playing freely with confidence, not worrying about anything, and just going out there and playing basketball. It’s kind of tough because I’ve missed most of the season this year, but I think we’ve been doing a great job this year since I’ve been back and just trying to see how many wins we can get as a team.”

While Wall’s unique combination of size and speed allows him to get to the rim effectively, he believes he has only scratched the surface of his potential and wants to see improvement in three areas.

“Just keep improving on my jump shot,” Wall told RealGM. “Turning the ball over, careless turnovers. I think I have one or two a game, but try not to have any. But it’ll be like the ones you try to force the issue on that are not really there. So it’s just turning those down, keep improving on my jump shot, and just leading my team.” 

As Wall strives to perfect his game and bring back a winning culture to Washington, he feels at ease knowing he’ll have backcourt teammate Bradley Beal by his side. 

“He’s a great knockdown shooter and he’s very talented and mature for a 19-year-old kid coming into his first season,” Wall told RealGM. “He’s having a great season so far and I think we have a great backcourt tandem. I think we’ve got a great team that could have been in the playoffs if we were healthy all season, but we just look forward to keep trying to finish the season on a positive note and just prepare ourselves for next season.” 

We pulled our Team Transactions Data over the previous 10 Trade Deadline periods to examine the levels of activity in period leading up to the deadline.

The below is an annual average of the number of players acquired by each team (click on any of the below links to see a year-by-year infographic).

Sacramento Kings: 2.7
New York Knicks: 2.3
Houston Rockets: 2.2
Oklahoma City Thunder: 1.8
Cleveland Cavaliers: 1.7
New Orleans Hornets: 1.7
Denver Nuggets: 1.6
Memphis Grizzlies: 1.6
Charlotte Bobcats: 1.6
Atlanta Hawks: 1.5
Brooklyn Nets: 1.5
Milwaukee Bucks: 1.5
Portland Trail Blazers: 1.5
Chicago Bulls: 1.4
Golden State Warriors: 1.3
Boston Celtics: 1.2
Orlando Magic: 1.2
Los Angeles Clippers: 1.1
Phoenix Suns: 1.1
Washington Wizards: 1.1
Dallas Mavericks: 1.0
Minnesota Timberwolves: 1.0
Toronto Raptors: 0.9
Philadelphia 76ers: 0.8
Utah Jazz: 0.7
Indiana Pacers: 0.6
Los Angeles Lakers: 0.6
Miami Heat: 0.6
Detroit Pistons: 0.5
San Antonio Spurs: 0.5

The following are the collective breakdowns by year:
2003: 14
2004: 36
2005: 48
2006: 44
2007: 22
2008: 45
2009: 45
2010: 51
2011: 51
2012: 29