sfam wrote:I agree the Wizards have done a horrible job on improving Vesely's game, but I'm thinking a bigger problem exists - this kid doesn't currently have the drive to be better. He clearly didn't do anything in the offseason to improve his game. Yeah, I'm sure he made it to the gym every day, but this isn't what was needed. If the Wizards are making it clear to their players that player development is just that - "their" development, Vesely should have taken it upon himself to hire a trainer and work on what was needed.
This is the core issue with all of the guys who failed to "develop" in Washington. And the core issue goes back to player SELECTION, even more than what the team actually does to help players develop. The problem comes from picking guys who could be good, "If only..."
The trouble is that "if only" guys (he'd be great if only he developed a jumper/ball handling/defense/got stronger, etc.) haven't put in the work already. The only way to develop a skill like shooting a jump shot is to go in the gym and practice. It doesn't hurt to have a coach, but I guarantee that when Ray Allen was learning to shoot, he didn't have Dave Hopla holding his hand. A coach showed him how, and he went in the gym and took tens of thousands of shots. He thought about how he held the ball, how he set his feet, how he got into his shooting motion, how he raised the ball, how he released it, how he followed through...
When Magic Johnson decided to improve his jump shot, he went in the gym and worked on it. Same when he added the hook. Same when he decided to improve his FT shooting.
The best way to see if a guy is likely to get better once he reaches the NBA -- to add skills once he reaches the NBA -- is to see if he's skilled already; to see if he's productive already. If a player is a great athlete but is unskilled and unproductive -- that's a red flag. He isn't as likely to make a big jump in basketball skills because he hasn't demonstrated the willingness to work on those skills already.
Now, maybe you pick a guy like that anyway now and then -- especially if in personal interviews and psychological tests you can find things that suggest you might be able to teach him how to work. That there's a willingness, just not the knowledge. But you can't build a team around "if only" guys.