The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[Renegade7]

I'm not a huge fan of ernie or flip, but my gut tells me that if the plan is to replace them you have to get a better gm and better hc. The list of quailty candidates to fill those positions is not very large in the nba, and list of avaliable ones that'd want to try and save this franchise is even smaller. Id be willing to part ways with both if we can replace them with someone better, otherwise, live on the fact both were at least semi-succesful elsewhere.

[RonArtest15]

Maybe one day we can get a "2011 Comprehensive NBA Draft Database" LOL...I know a lot of us have talked about who the Wizards should draft..here's a scout's take of some prospects thus far (rest of article in link)

You think you watch a lot of games? Finch watches games in his sleep. No, really -- his DirecTV feed is piped into his eyelids.

You think you travel a lot? Puh-leeze. Finch's frequent flyer miles have frequent flyer miles. When he walks into any hotel, the bellhops shout his name, like the bartenders used to do when Norm walked into Cheers.

Finch, you see, is an NBA scout. Only, he's not just one scout, he's several scouts rolled into one, an amalgam of conversations I've had with five NBA scouts over the last week to get their assessments of 56 college players who could be available in this year's NBA draft. Since NBA scouts are not permitted to be quoted talking about underclassmen, I granted my scouts anonymity so they could be candid. Then I combined their quotes together to sound like it came from one person, an invented character named Finch.

The name Finch is the creation of my highbrow colleague Alex Wolff, who affixed it to an anonymous NBA scout whom Alex followed several years ago for a story he wrote in SI. Alex called his scout Finch because that was Scout's surname in To Kill A Mockingbird. Like I said, Alex is a lot more sophisticated than you and me. Or Finch, for that matter.

I've done this exercise for several years now, but this year it was easier to develop a consensus. That reflects Finch's general opinion that this is a weak draft with respect to both the collegians and the European imports. Most of Finch's opinions boiled down to, "Yeah, I like him OK, but he's not gonna be our franchise player." So keep that in mind as you read through these reports.

(Incidentally, my weekly AP ballot plus follows the quotes from my scouts.)

Allow me, then, to present the Book of Finch (in alphabetical order). He really, really knows what he's talking about. Just ask him.

Harrison Barnes, 6-foot-8 freshman forward, North Carolina
I finally figured him out. People have been trying to say he's Marvin Williams, but I think he's Sean Elliott. He's not a star, but he's an all-around good player. If you're expecting a franchise player, you're going to be sadly mistaken, but he can definitely help. If he came out, I'm not sure he'd be a top-five pick, but if he slipped to eight or nine people would come up with reasons why they should take him instead of why they shouldn't.

Keith Benson, 6-11 senior center, Oakland
I like him. He's good, he's skilled, he has had numbers against good teams. He's almost a 10-rebounds-a-night guy but can face up and shoot, too. He reminds me of Horace Grant because he's a pretty good offensive rebounder and can step out a little.

Alec Burks, 6-6 sophomore guard, Colorado
Whoa, can he really score. If that guy gets stronger, it's over. He's a big-time talent. Not a great shooter, but a good shooter. He has a great skill set and I love his decision making. He tries to do too much and part of that is he doesn't have a good team. He gets to the foul line a ton, and NBA guys like that. He's first round for sure, maybe even in the lottery.

Norris Cole, 6-2 senior guard, Cleveland State
He's a pretty good player. I like his command of the team, command of the game. He really tries to play the game the right way.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...html?eref=sihp

[Backpack3r]

I'm not a huge fan of ernie or flip, but my gut tells me that if the plan is to replace them you have to get a better gm and better hc. The list of quailty candidates to fill those positions is not very large in the nba, and list of avaliable ones that'd want to try and save this franchise is even smaller. Id be willing to part ways with both if we can replace them with someone better, otherwise, live on the fact both were at least semi-succesful elsewhere.

Yeah we need to get rid of both of them after this season

And has anyone bought the student discount tickets?

[No Excuses]

Yeah we need to get rid of both of them after this season

And has anyone bought the student discount tickets?

Yeah,on wednesdays and fridays.

[JetSkins]

Andray Blatche Air Balls Dunk, Travels In One Spectacular Blooper

http://dc.sbnation.com/washington-wi...ll-dunk-travel

[StillUnknown]

Wall broke Chris Paul's assist record for the rookie game

he has 18 with around 5min to go

edit: he finished with 13pts, 22assists

---------- Post added February-18th-2011 at 10:58 PM ----------

wall wins MVP

[Patrick86L]

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Wall broke Chris Paul's assist record for the rookie game

he has 18 with around 5min to go

edit: he finished with 13pts, 22assists

---------- Post added February-18th-2011 at 10:58 PM ----------

wall wins MVP

So happy he represented well. The Sports Reporters had a segment this week where Czaben declared that he didn't think Wall was special like a Rose/Paul/Williams and the Wizards shouldn't feature him as their centerpiece and build around him. He went on and on about it. Like that ****er even watches Wizards games. There aren't many times I've been that pissed over something in the media. If I hadn't had to go to work I was going to call in. So suck on it Czabe.

Unfortunately I still think Javale embarrasses himself tomorrow night. Expect a failed attempt at a freethrow line dunk.

---------- Post added February-19th-2011 at 01:56 AM ----------

Lol, just saw highlights from the celebrity game. I'm not gonna lie, Justin Beiber's got handles.

[StillUnknown]

Unfortunately I still think Javale embarrasses himself tomorrow night. Expect a failed attempt at a freethrow line dunk.

Chris Miller said on CSN that JaVale might get them to raise the court to 12ft and then try to dunk it flat-footed

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Chris Miller said on CSN that JaVale might get them to raise the court to 12ft and then try to dunk it flat-footed

That sounds cool. Unique, which is needed.

I hope I'm wrong about him. How awesome would it be if Wall won rookie/soph MVP and the skills competition and Javale won the dunk contest?

[MonkFan8]

I have no doubt Javale is going to embarrass himself. Maybe he uses some of Walls mojo.

Regardless it'll be fun seeing a Wiz player in the dunk contest, actually will get me to watch it this year.

[stevemcqueen1]

Chris Miller said on CSN that JaVale might get them to raise the court to 12ft and then try to dunk it flat-footed

Didn't Dwight Howard try and get them to do that years ago and they wouldn't? He ended up sticking a sticker on the backboard like 15" up or something instead.

---------- Post added February-19th-2011 at 04:12 AM ----------

Watching Wall throw alley oops to Griffin was mesmerizing. What if we had actually gotten the number one pick two years in a row like Orlando did instead of getting shafted with the fifth overall pick in 2009?

Here's hoping that the Clippers continue to suck and Blake Griffin can't wait to LeBron them and take his talents to D.C. once his rookie deal is up.

---------- Post added February-19th-2011 at 04:17 AM ----------

Wait a second. Holy crap could you imagine that? Take that scenario seriously for a moment. What if we got Blake Griffin? What if we drafted Perry Jones to be our 3 with our high pick this season? What if we swung another pick to get Josh Selby late in the first to be the 2.

Would that not be the SICKEST NBA Jam team ever? The alley-oop would be the only play we'd need to draw up!

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I think about a Wall/Griffin combo all the time. There's no chance Griffin stays with the Clippers so it's possible. Please God...

[No Excuses]

I hope people still don't have doubts about Wall being a super star. The guy has the mentality of a star. He looks comfortable around other great players. You surround him with talent instead of garbage like Blatche. He will be averaging 20/12/5 by his third year.

His court vision is just ridiculous. You don't think other big men who were played last night were wondering how awesome it would be to play with a PG like him every game? Blake Griffin or DeMarcus Cousins, bet you one of them pair up with Wall in the future.

[StillUnknown]

I hope people still don't have doubts about Wall being a super star. The guy has the mentality of a star. He looks comfortable around other great players. You surround him with talent instead of garbage like Blatche. He will be averaging 20/12/5 by his third year.

His court vision is just ridiculous. You don't think other big men who were played last night were wondering how awesome it would be to play with a PG like him every game? Blake Griffin or DeMarcus Cousins, bet you one of them pair up with Wall in the future.

i agree completely. I cannot stress enough that he is averaging 9 assists on a team that starts two of the lowest basketball IQ's in the league (and neither of which has a post game)

once we get him a big man with actual lost post skills, his assist totals will only go higher. once his jumpshot gets to a respectable level, he'll average 20pts no problem