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Not only is John Wall the best player on the Washington Wizards’ roster, but he’s a franchise-type playmaker who has the tools to be a perennial All-Star.

Yet Wall’s name is often omitted whenever there’s a debate as to who the best young point guards in the NBA are—an odd circumstance for a man who put up 47 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against one of the best teams in the league.

Wall’s Player Efficiency Rating this season (20.20) ranks sixth among all point guards, and he has been nothing short of phenomenal so far during the month of March (21.8 PPG, 8.0 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 52.3 FG%), earning Player of the Week honors for the period ending March 17.

As the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, great things will be expected of Wall until the day he walks away from the game of basketball. The problem is that nearly three years into his career, we still don’t have any idea of how great he can be.

Wall has missed significant portions of two seasons due to various foot and knee injuries, and when the former Kentucky star has been on the court, he hasn’t always been surrounded by a talented supporting cast.

Things are different these days: Rookie shooting guard Bradley Beal is the perfect complement for Wall’s ability to blow past opposing defenders. Emeka Okafor is a consistent force in the middle who handles most of the Wizards’ dirty work, and Martell Webster has blossomed into a consistent long-range threat.

The playoffs are out of the question for Washington this season, but there’s more hope in the nation’s capital these days than there has been in years. And Wall is the main reason for the increased sense of optimism. In turn, he’s likely to receive more than just a pat on the back for his services.

“I feel like I’m a max guy, just on how I am as a person. I feel like I make my teammates better,” said Wall when asked about his contract status during a recent interview with J. Michael of CSN Washington.

Wall’s impact on the rest of his team is undeniable: Since the 22-year-old point guard returned to the lineup back on January 12, the Wizards have been playing at a .568 clip.

When Wall is on the court, Washington is 8.8 points per 100 possessions better than their opponents. Conversely, when their star point guard is on the bench, the Wizards shoot less than 42 percent from the field and average just 88.4 points per 48 minutes.

While Wall was recovering from a stress injury to his left patella earlier this season, Beal averaged just 13.1 points per game and shot a paltry 36.7 percent from the floor. Since Wall’s return, Beal is averaging 14.9 points per game and is shooting 45.6 percent from beyond the arc.

But while Wall excels at making his teammates better, there are still some notable deficiencies that are hard to ignore. Detractors will point out that Wall doesn’t have much of a long-range game to speak of, but despite a much improved jump shot, the third-year point guard is shooting a mildly respectable 45.5 percent from the floor since his return.

Furthermore, Wall’s career turnover rate of 18.7 percent doesn’t exactly scream “ball security”, and according to 82games.com, opposing point guards have typically outperformed him this year.

From a purely statistical point of view, one can in fact make a case against Wall receiving a max deal. Denver’s Ty Lawson and Golden State’s Stephen Curry have had comparable careers to Wall, and neither of them signed a max contract this past offseason.

Philadelphia’s Jrue Holiday made the Eastern Conference All-Star team earlier this year, and his four-year, $41 million deal appears to be in line with both his abilities and future potential.

But Wall’s value to the Wizards goes far beyond mere numbers in a box score. He isn’t just the cornerstone of Washington’s foundation—he’s the kind of player who can convince free agents to come play for the Wizards.

Allowing Wall to walk would mean starting over from scratch, and a franchise that has won just one playoff series in the past 30 years simply isn’t in a position to begin the rebuilding process yet again.

“If they believe I’m their franchise guy, that I’m the max player that I feel that I am, [the Wizards’ front office will] do what’s best for them,” said Wall.

Washington isn’t foolish enough to let their star point guard walk without offering him a contract that’s commensurate with his true value to the team. But it remains to be seen if Wall will ultimately get the respect that he deserves from NBA fans.

According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, league sources have stated that Washington Wizards’ point guard John Wall is expected to make his 2012-13 debut at some point within the next two weeks.

Wall, who has been sidelined all season with a stress injury to his left patella, was originally scheduled to miss eight weeks after he was initially diagnosed at the end of September. More than three months later, the 22-year-old point guard has just started practicing with the Wizards on a limited basis.

“This is Christmas all over for him, I’m sure, to finally reach this point,” said Wizards head coach Randy Wittman on Thursday when asked about Wall by the Washington Post. “So we just got to be patient.”

The eventual return of Wall—who averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 assists last season—will be a much-needed boost for a team that is last in the NBA in scoring (89.5 PPG). However, in terms of wins and losses, it really won’t matter all that much.

The Wizards are a lowly 4-27 (their worst start in franchise history), and it would take an army of healthy John Walls to return the team to respectability. Washington has endured two losing streaks this year of eight games or more and has yet to string together back-to-back victories.

Don’t tell the Wizards that they have their work cut out for them, however: A number of players believe that the return of Wall will be a catalyst for greater things to come.

“It’s a great feeling, because we know what kind of team we’re capable of being and we’re short now, but were still competing with teams with what we have,” said rookie shooting guard Bradley Beal in an interview with the Washington Post. “So I’m really looking forward to it.”

The Wizards are on pace for about 11 wins this season, and even with their franchise player back at 100 percent for the stretch run, it would be hard to see them finish with anything more than 20-22 victories.

And while that may be enough for Washington to pitch a spirited battle with the Charlotte Bobcats for fourth place in the Southeast Division, the smart money says that the Wizards will have the best odds in May’s draft lottery.

The 2011-12 campaign is shaping up to be one for the ages for the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, it appears as though it may be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

The start of this season has been anything but magical for the Wizards. Entering the week, Washington is on pace to finish the year 6-60. Only four other teams in the history of the NBA have had worse records after the first 12 games of a season.

On a somewhat positive note, since Washington only has 54 games left on the schedule (thanks to the NBA lockout), they won’t be able to threaten the NBA’s all-time record for futility set by the Philadelphia 76ers, who finished the 1972-73 season with a 9-73 record.

But wins and losses only begin to tell the story of how bad the Wizards have been this season. And as a result of their struggles, none of us still has any idea exactly how good second-year point guard John Wall can be.

Wall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, has the potential to be one of the top-10 guards in the NBA. But potential doesn’t count for anything when most of your teammates aren’t committed to a team concept.

Eighty-one games into his NBA career, Wall is fully aware of his current situation. And despite his relative inexperience, he hasn’t been shy about making his feelings known.

“You see everybody being selfish on the offensive end and on the defensive end, we’re not trusting each other,” said Wall after an 18-point loss to the Magic on January 4. “If we don’t find a way to play together and win games, it could get ugly this whole season.”

Less than two weeks after he made those statements, it’s already well past ugly in the nation’s capital. And there’s no signs of things getting prettier any time soon, much to the chagrin of head coach Flip Saunders.

Washington is last in the NBA in scoring at 84.6 points per game. Three weeks into their schedule, the Wizards are one of only three teams that hasn’t scored 100 points in any game so far this season.

No team in the league allows opponents to grab more rebounds per game than the Wizards, who give up an average of 47.2 boards per contest. And Wall’s gripes about his teammates being “selfish” are clearly evident in the box scores: Washington is 29th in the NBA in assists per game (15.9).

Wall himself isn’t completely absolved from any blame. His own numbers have taken a hit as he’s adjusted his game in response to his teammates — forcing ill-advised shots instead of initiating the offense from the point.

Not only are Wall’s assist totals down this year (7.1 per game this season vs. 8.3 APG in 2010-11), but his shot selection — which wasn’t a strength to begin with — has left much to be desired. Through 12 games, Wall is shooting an abysmal 34.8 percent from the field.

We all know how this is likely to play out. At some point in the near future, the hammer — and the blame — will inevitably fall on Saunders. And perhaps rightly so, especially since Wizards players have already begun tuning out their head coach.

“Flip is definitely doing his job,” said Wizards forward Andray Blatche after a 21-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 8th. “I just don’t feel like guys are listening and following behind what he says and what he wants us to do.”

The Wizards’ performance this season has been somewhat disconcerting, considering that after trading Gilbert Arenas to the Orlando Magic last December, the team appeared to be headed in the right direction. However, in return for Arenas, Washington received forward Rashard Lewis — a player whose production (9.1 PPG, 2.5 APG) is in stark contrast to what the Wizards are actually committed to paying him (two years, $45.94 million).

The fact that Lewis doesn’t even start for Washington means that his presence represents little more than an albatross around the neck of the Wizards’ salary cap. Next season, Lewis (who is slated to earn $23.79 million in the final year of his deal) is scheduled to make more than the seven other Wizards currently under contract for the 2012-13 season combined.

Making matters worse, Lewis allegedly clashed with Wizards assistant coach Sam Cassell prior to the team’s January 8th game against the Timberwolves — a game Lewis reportedly missed because of a sore right knee. All parties involved deny any sort of disagreement, but the drama surrounding the incident is nothing more than white noise for a team trying to focus on winning basketball games.

In an effort to develop some team chemistry, Lewis was one of three Wizards who organized a team dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Philadelphia last Thursday. The next night, Washington promptly lost to the 76ers by 31 points.

The result, while disappointing, is understandable. Something as intricate as chemistry takes quite a bit of time to develop. But with nearly a quarter of the season already in the books, time is not a luxury that the Wizards currently have.