The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[SiCkSoULjA]

I don't think people gave credit to just how raw Vesely is. The expectations around him are unrealistic. He's not like Beal or Wall who came in with lots of developed skills and are able to go to them and produce on their own even with the rest of the organization struggling. Ves is almost totally raw. He has no dribbles and he can't spot up and shoot right now. For him to be able to do anything on offense, he needs a good system and he needs the ball to moving crisply around the floor. Really he needs the team to be playing up tempo to get the most out of him. People saw all that and thought "= useless, get rid of him." It's not true though. A player like Ves can definitely be useful when, like you said, you instill a culture of success and you run a system where he can fit right away. He does have some skills you can use immediately. He's a good finisher with some creativity and good touch around the basket. As a prospect in Europe I think I remember reading he converted something like 71% of his attempts around the rim which is very good. He's an excellent athlete and he was already a good passer when we drafted him.

And again, I think fan expectation of Ves was off. Fans thought, ah he's played in Europe professionally, he's 22, he should be fully developed. Well he's not. He was completely raw. His body still has lots of development left and he's got a long ways to go developing defensively and offensively. He's probably going to take that full four to six years to become the player he can eventually be. He's got some tools to project to him having a workable offensive game down the line--very good first step suggests to me that he'll be able to use to it get by bigs once he gets a few dribbles, solid shooting mechanics suggest he can eventually spot up and knock down mid range jumpers off those pick and pops we use to get Okafor looks.

Bottom line, Ves is a big project but the end result could yield a very useful and valuable player. I don't think Ves is untouchable and I would trade him if including him in a package could help get me someone good who is ready to go today but still has long term value. I'm just not in a rush to get rid of him and I'm not going to write him off as a stiff unless it's been several more seasons and he still hasn't developed. I think we're going to have other pieces emerging in the meantime like Wall and Beal, Nene, Okafor, etc. We won't need Ves to develop rapidly in order to compete. I think we can afford to take our time with him.

---------- Post added January-15th-2013 at 09:49 AM ----------



Not many players in the NBA have the kind of talent Ves does. 7 feet tall with quickness, good hands, and great bounce. That's just really rare. A big man with those qualities is worth being patient for because the potential payoff can be very good.

Look at what the Thunder have now in Serge Ibaka and what the Bulls have in Joakim Noah. Those guys are extremely valuable. And those guys weren't nearly as raw as Ves when they came into the league. Noah had four years on great teams at Florida that helped him grow. Ibaka's development got fast tracked playing for a great organization with two superstars who have been amazingly healthy. Durant's only missed four games since Ibaka was drafted and Westbrook has never missed a game. Ves is not going to develop as quickly as them but he has the potential to eventually take on a similar role to those two.

Also don't undersell how effective Ves looked last night. He demonstrated the range of his skill set. And it was his second good game in the past three. He's starting to come out of his shell now that Wall is back. I said before he's probably going to get better with Wall back, now I think he will probably look like a totally different player. I realize you've got to walk before you can run and I think the whole team is going to get a bucket of cold water over the head on this brutal 5 game west coast trip. But by the end of the season I think Ves will have made strides and started to carve out his role in the rotation.

Noah and Ibaka are nothing like Vesley nothing other than tall, I am done talking about him, I hope he does well, go Wizards.

[stevemcqueen1]

Noah and Ibaka are nothing like Vesley nothing other than tall, I am done talking about him, I hope he does well, go Wizards.

There are a lot of similarities between them. Just like there are similarities between Ves and Noel. You've just got a terrible read on Vesely.

[endzone_dave]

Jan had a nice game but he won't be worth much unless he learns to create his own shot. Teams can easily adjust to what he did last night. Getting 8-10 points per night off dishes isn't worth someone in his draft position.

Beal and Wall looks like an awesome backcourt. There is hope.

[Fight4RGIII]

I'm starting to feel really good in the make up of this team. Did y'all feel better when the make up of the team was Wall/Young/McGee/Blatche or Wall/Beal/Nene/Okafor/Jan/Crawford?

[mboyd784]

Jan had a nice game but he won't be worth much unless he learns to create his own shot. Teams can easily adjust to what he did last night. Getting 8-10 points per night off dishes isn't worth someone in his draft position.

Beal and Wall looks like an awesome backcourt. There is hope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NBA_Draft

It was not a strong draft for big men. Look at the other bigs left from the 6 pick down and find one that has more talent than Vesely. Faried has had a better run up to this point, but he doesn't have the talent of Vesely.

[Rocky21]

When Jan Veseley pulls a 10/7 you know it's your night! 6 players in double figures too. This one wasn't even close. Let's hope the 3 in a row gives the Wiz some kind of life because they are going to need it on this LONG 5 game road trip.

Nice ankle breaking video Patrick.

[StillUnknown]

On D he was rebounding and contesting all kinds of shots and again, he just takes up a lot of space. And he's comfortable operating in space. Great length and quickness. Good job getting into passing lanes. These are the kinds of performances he's capable of.

If the performances only happen once every 15 games, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

[stevemcqueen1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NBA_Draft

It was not a strong draft for big men. Look at the other bigs left from the 6 pick down and find one that has more talent than Vesely. Faried has had a better run up to this point, but he doesn't have the talent of Vesely.

I'd trade Jan for Faried. Faried outperformed his draft position and in hindsight, I think his value was undeservedly depressed for going to a small school and being on the shorter side. Faried had an NBA body day one and has good athleticism. He is a better player than Vesely today no doubt and he still has pretty good potential. But most importantly, Faried would have filled a gigantic need for rebounding that we've got. He is an outstanding rebounder. Okafor is really the only good rebounder in our front court.

---------- Post added January-15th-2013 at 12:22 PM ----------

If the performances only happen once every 15 games, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

I think he'll be able to do it consistently down the line. The skill set is there and he seems like a worker. He's just a project. My take is that we can afford to be patient with his development for now.

[Skin'emAlive]

I cant believe we are still talking about Ves. Dudes best game of his career in 2 years is a 10/7 and we are here talking about him like he is untouchable. Yea, he had a decent game last night. I guess. He still cant make any free throws ( about less than 23% now). Still cant take a shot that isnt halfway in the basket already. And still almost fouled out in limited minutes. Id much rather spend the time developing Singleton over Ves, if they are our only options. Singleton must have said something stupid in the locker room to get this far in the dog house.

[stevemcqueen1]

I'm starting to feel really good in the make up of this team. Did y'all feel better when the make up of the team was Wall/Young/McGee/Blatche or Wall/Beal/Nene/Okafor/Jan/Crawford?

Definitely feel better about the team today than before the Nene trade.

It feels like some of the puzzle pieces are starting to fit into place. But I still think there are several pieces missing. I think the two biggest questions we have moving forward are:

- Long term starting big man when Okafor's contract is expiring. We need size and rebounding.
- Long term starting SF, ideally a scorer that defends multiple positions, but definitely not a black hole.

I think Martell is a good enough starting SF for now but he's a FA after this year. We need to make a decision with him and if we don't keep him, we absolutely need to have a better plan at SF for next year than we did the first two seasons of Wall's career.

And we are going to have to make a tough decision about Okafor by next year. I honestly don't know what to do about him. Part of me says we can't afford to lose him if we're trying to build a successful team now. Another part of me says he's aging and he is only an above average starting center anyway and his huge expiring contract is too valuable not to leverage for all we can. Plus I'm not sure we could successfully resign Oak once he hits the market. We may not have the money and even if we did, would he want to stay?

I don't think Seraphin is ready to be the starting center for a good team. Too many lapses and not a good enough rebounder.

Jan certainly isn't ready by next season.

A street FA isn't going to cut it. I doubt we're going to be capable of luring a quality big man that would be a long term solution in UFA. And the FA market for centers is horrible after the top 5 or 6 guys this summer.

Nene can be the center but then you just create the same need at PF. Booker is not reliable enough to pencil in for any significant role at this point.

It's a big question. I'm thinking we're going to have to trade Okafor for another big man or we're going to have to try and get one in the draft and make do with journeymen until he is ready. This is a big part of why I think it would be so crucial to get Boogie Cousins. He actually wants to be here and he's a potential impact big. Failing that, I think we're going to have to get lucky and draft someone like Nerlens, Len, or Zeller or maybe even Bennett to get a high quality long term big man.

Seems like we're aggressively pursuing solutions to get a scoring SF with all of the Rudy Gay talk. If we don't get him we could potentially draft Shabazz or Bennett. If we cant draft them, we could probably find one in FA.

The other big question I have is in how to consolidate our roster into a quality 8-10 man rotation. We seem to have a lot of decent chips and prospects like Price, Ariza, Booker, Jan, Singleton, Seraphin, Crawford, and Temple. How do we contract that group down to 4 or 5 key role players? Who do we keep and who do we trade or let go? Have to answer those questions soon.

[mboyd784]

I cant believe we are still talking about Ves. Dudes best game of his career in 2 years is a 10/7 and we are here talking about him like he is untouchable. Yea, he had a decent game last night. I guess. He still cant make any free throws ( about less than 23% now). Still cant take a shot that isnt halfway in the basket already. And still almost fouled out in limited minutes. Id much rather spend the time developing Singleton over Ves, if they are our only options. Singleton must have said something stupid in the locker room to get this far in the dog house.

He had a 16 point, 4 steal game on 8/8 shooting last year during our strong finish....and we all had this conversation then which led us in a circle right back to the same hopeful optimism. I'm just trying to find some light in the darkness and I think I saw a little last night...maybe.

[Fight4RGIII]

A future big man is a huge concern for me. We're gonna need to find one soon. I'd rather draft a big man and explore trade/FA options to fill the SF role

[nuposse87]

If the Spurs end up needing a big to make one last push we might be able to clear some cap space by unloading Okafor for Jackson. We could also entertain the idea of Seraphin for Leonard...but if Seraphin shows improved effectiveness with Wall back I'd rather hold onto him.

[Destino]

A future big man is a huge concern for me. We're gonna need to find one soon. I'd rather draft a big man and explore trade/FA options to fill the SF role

This team still needs a primary scorer more than anything else. A big that is actually big and rebounds would be great though.

[stevemcqueen1]

If the Spurs end up needing a big to make one last push we might be able to clear some cap space by unloading Okafor for Jackson. We could also entertain the idea of Seraphin for Leonard...but if Seraphin shows improved effectiveness with Wall back I'd rather hold onto him.

I don't really want to trade our bigs for small unless the SF is really good and has long term value. That'd open up an even bigger need for a PF/C IMO.

---------- Post added January-15th-2013 at 04:03 PM ----------

This team still needs a primary scorer more than anything else. A big that is actually big and rebounds would be great though.

I think there is a better chance that Wall or Beal emerges as a quality first option than Seraphin or Ves emerges as a true banger that can grab boards and hold deep position. It's so hard to get good big men. If we don't draft one, I think we would have to take a chance on an unproven player like Tiago Splitter in the vein of Omer Asik and overpay him and hope they end up being worth it. Maybe we could deal for someone like Marcin Gortat? Maybe sign Nikola Pekovic?

This summer we have no shot at Josh Smith, Howard, Bynum, or Jefferson. Probably no shot at Paul Millsap. Probably little chance for guys like Kaman, Brand, and David West, although I think David West could be a really nice short term option. I wonder if we would have a chance at JJ Hickson?

After those names, it gets really, really barren in the FA market this summer. You'll start talking yourself into the likes of Desanga Diop.

That coupled with the top of this draft class looking pretty good for bigs suggests to me that's going to be our best long term option. Five of DX's top six players right now are big men if you count Anthony Bennett as a PF. Then again, it could be years before any big we draft becomes a capable starter meaning we're still left searching for short term solutions.

It would be really nice to get Cousins. He'd fill the need for a big and a primary scorer. In this year's draft the only players I see maybe being able to do that are Zeller and Bennett, but Bennett is short and Zeller doesn't rebound well.

---------- Post added January-15th-2013 at 04:11 PM ----------

A future big man is a huge concern for me. We're gonna need to find one soon. I'd rather draft a big man and explore trade/FA options to fill the SF role

I think you're probably right but if the draft breaks a certain way for us, I think drafting Bennett to be a SF/PF combo forward and then going out and getting a 7 foot banger like Pekovic or Splitter could be a decent option.

---------- Post added January-15th-2013 at 04:40 PM ----------

1.) Shabazz Muhammad - BPA, fills need for scoring SF

2.) Nerlens Noel - best potential among the bigs, fills need for a big man that rebounds and defends

3.) Anthony Bennett - Future 20/10 combo forward IMO. Aggressive go to scorer.

4.) Cody Zeller - seven footer that can score. Instant low post offense out of the PF spot.

5.) Alex Len - true center

6.) Ben McLemore - draft him and trade him for a vet piece that fits.

7.) Isaiah Austin - 7 footer that can run pick and pop, ridiculous length, but very long term project.

8.) Poythress - decent option at SF, can definitely score but looks like he can't shoot. At this point I'm just trying to trade the pick.

Hopefully we'll still get a top three pick although we're playing so strong right now I doubt it'll happen unless the other bad teams start winning again.