JaVale McGee

[fishercob]

Agreed, Nate. And given who was there at 18, the pick makes sense.

He's certainly a high-upside prospect who would be attractive in a potential Big Trade next summer.

[W. Unseld]

Loved that McGee uses the Tim Duncan off the glass mid-range turn around. It didn't go down for him but it looks like it will with regularity. When I watched him I couldn't help but notice similarities to Blatche. McGee appears to already have a better shot and to be a bit more athletic, Blatche has/had a better handle coming out and could finish better.

[MF23]

O.K. I saw some things in the first SL game that were better than I thought. He gets off the floor and has good body control for someone so long. Shoots way too much and bites on a lot of fakes. Needs to gain at least 10-15lbs. Saw some of his teammates rolling their eyes on him and that kind of makes me wonder how he's perceived. EJ said he's working hard so far so I'll just believe Eddie. With a player like this it's all up to how much he works and how good he wants to be. He's not even close to being a ready product and thats not a surprise seeing who drafted him. I just don't trust something about this guy yet. Meaning, I see some talents but I don't know if he'll come in every day and do what he needs to in order to eventually become an average NBA player. We'll see.

[WizarDynasty]

Javale is going to be a huge let down because he doesn't fight for defensive rebounds.

You don't see him hustling, pushing shoving to get a defensive rebound on each play like his life depended on it.
That's something that all great rebounders naturally do and we see Javale doesn't do this. Very very bad and I think its way to late in his career for him to develop this attribute and exponentially increasing his bust potential. We love to compare him to chandler but chandler would have pulled 15 boards this game. It will be very unwise for us to think that Javale is going to develop into a Chandler.
Javale has no explosive when moving laterally meaning he is going to have trouble guarding the pick and roll.
The wiz need an elusive big man that apply pressure to a point guard in that situation in order to counter an offense using their big to create dribble path for the point guard. Closest thing we have is blatche. Javale has horrible burst in his legs when he makes movements. AS soon as he lunges to left or right to play defense, its like his legs need 2 seconds to recover in order for him to make another movement they just freeze. that's one thing that made kwame special, He is able to accelerate and deaccelerate his body better than alot of point guards which was a result of his massive calves. No one on this roster has it or probably ever will. That's probably what jordan identify in kwame and why Eddie liked playing Michael Ruffin -ruffin pushed and shoved every single play to get position for a defensive rebounder and was explosive for a bigman when sliding his feet laterally. .M. JOrdan but failed to see Kwame's small hands and their effect on a 7fter. But the prototypical center in NBA has gigantic calves and would have short recovery burst meaning he can make a second burst movement almost instantaneously after his first burst movement.


Dee Brown does not have full control of the ball when weaving through traffic like Deron Williams or earl boykins and that's a real problem. He pushes the ball but doesn't appear force an opposing point guard to foul him due to his superior agility. Not only is he short, but he also has short arms. And on he doesn't have a low center of gravity defense position when guarding the dribble which is also another sign that he another tyron Lue clone. A good defensive point guard has long arms and when he is in defensive stance, his are literally touch the ground because that where he makes teh steal. defensive point guar steal a dribble as the ball is hitting the ground and returning back to the opposing guards hand and his agility is superior in that he always in a position to force the opposing point guard to commit a charge making life extermely difficult and forcing the opposing team to use their big in order to create dribble path for point guard. When blazers did this, it is the defensive centers responsibility to attack point guard taking away the advantage created by center clearing a path for his offensive point guard. We don't have centers athletic enough to do this nor do they have the stamina and footspeed to do it which shows why the nba is very slow at evolving and why the pistons fell tremendously when ben wallace fell off.

He was one of the few nba centers with this ability and joe dumars used him for that purpose because joe dumars played point guard and understood the entire dynamic. That's probably the real reason DEE he didn't play point guard. It was really pathetic seeing him struggle with his dribble or even crossing it over at full speed, a point guard is suppose to be real low to ground with his dribble making it easy for him to change direction because of his low center of gravity. the only a player wants to have a high center of gravity is when he is going to whole. We already know Gil has a high center of gravity on the perimeter but we were hoping we could get a point guard with a low center of gravity defensive stance as lateral explosiveness. It appears we are still searching for that player.

Javale also seems to have a high center of gravity when he was defending point guard on the pick and roll and was able to get really low which is why he was called fouls he time he tried to guard the point guard on a switch off. It appears that Randy Ayers doesn't work to force his players to maintain the lowest center of gravity on perimeter in terms of their defensive stance which is probably why we have such a porous defense. We knew eddie didn't do it, but now we know that Ayes doesn't do it either because Nick young is in his second years and still has a center of gravity defensive stance like Gilberts which is extremely bad.He also doesn't have that Jerk hesistation movement with the ball which only happens when your dribbling skills are phenomenal.

[kumquat]

Portland fan here, I watched the game a couple of times, I think McGee will have a bynum type growth in terms of his game and size. There were afew plays he made which made me stand up. He has a very nice frame to add weight onto, compare that to a guy like Blatche who is always going to be wiry like a KG.

[Dat2U]

O.K. I saw some things in the first SL game that were better than I thought. He gets off the floor and has good body control for someone so long. Shoots way too much and bites on a lot of fakes. Needs to gain at least 10-15lbs. Saw some of his teammates rolling their eyes on him and that kind of makes me wonder how he's perceived. EJ said he's working hard so far so I'll just believe Eddie. With a player like this it's all up to how much he works and how good he wants to be. He's not even close to being a ready product and thats not a surprise seeing who drafted him. I just don't trust something about this guy yet. Meaning, I see some talents but I don't know if he'll come in every day and do what he needs to in order to eventually become an average NBA player. We'll see.

Yeah I saw that too. And I saw the coaches, especially O'Koren behind the bench shake their heads in disgust a couple of times at the things he did. I give Wes Unseld Jr. some credit for trying to be positive with the kid. He was pointing certain things out to Javale but did it in a positive way. When he pulled out Javale in the 4th quarter he told him why & said he was going back in shortly. Unseld Jr. seemed like a good communicator to me. A good coach for the young guys who need a bit more attention like Javale.

He's got a world of talent, but much like Nick last year, I didn't like the body language. With Nick, it was like he didn't even want to be there and he saw summer league as a chore. With Javale, its more of a toughness & intensity issue. On a couple occasions he didn't block out and he avoided battling for the rebound. He doesn't like contact, that's obvious. I think the reason he's a pretty good shooter was because he wanted to find a way to be productive without being physical.

That said, if he ever put his mind to it he'd be a force on both ends of the court. EG definitely drafted the guy with the highest upside. Problem is, he's also has the highest probability of any prospect of not reaching his full potential. It's going to take a helluva development job to get this kid to become the best he can be.

I think the optimal goal for the Wizards should be to develop him as much as they can. Get him to the point where he'll tease and tantalize with his skillset and potential and then trade him before he gets that 2nd contract. Let the other GMs see his potential and get enamored enough to bite the bullet and give up alot for him.

[AgentOvechkin08]

For all the ppl who said he is gonna be a bust and all, WHY are you basing ONE SUMMER LEAGUE GAME, a game in which it is the first for most of the players this year and with all those traveling issues that they had to deal with on top of that. COME ON!! McGee is gonna be a solid if not great player for the wiz. Don't base how good he is and how good he can be on the 1st summer league game, not to mention his first.
I bet next game he puts up like 30 points and 15 boards and then most of you will annoint him the next dwight howard for us.

[sfam]

For all the ppl who said he is gonna be a bust and all, WHY are you basing ONE SUMMER LEAGUE GAME, a game in which it is the first for most of the players this year and with all those traveling issues that they had to deal with on top of that. COME ON!! McGee is gonna be a solid if not great player for the wiz. Don't base how good he is and how good he can be on the 1st summer league game, not to mention his first.
I bet next game he puts up like 30 points and 15 boards and then most of you will annoint him the next dwight howard for us.

That's where I'm coming from as well. Heck, I'll even go so far as to say I probably can't assess McGee's entire career potential on TWO games. Perhaps not even on the entire summer league. If that were the case, Marco Belinelli would have been voted an all-star after his first summer game last year. Am I worried for all the reasons Dat2U correctly states a post or two above this one? Absolutely. But we just aren't anywhere near actual pronouncement territory. Perhaps by this Sunday...

[MJG]

For all the ppl who said he is gonna be a bust and all, WHY are you basing ONE SUMMER LEAGUE GAME, a game in which it is the first for most of the players this year and with all those traveling issues that they had to deal with on top of that. COME ON!! McGee is gonna be a solid if not great player for the wiz. Don't base how good he is and how good he can be on the 1st summer league game, not to mention his first.
I bet next game he puts up like 30 points and 15 boards and then most of you will annoint him the next dwight howard for us.

Lots of people declared him to be a bust long before he played his first summer league game.

Now, if someone was happy about the pick, but is now against McGee after that game, then that's another story. But I don't know if anybody here fits that criteria.

[80sballboy]

David Thorpe's Analysis
July 15, 2008

His first shot was a foot-on-the-line 3-pointer that was way short. Not a good sign for an athletic, 7-foot rookie. McGee has talent, but reminds me of Patrick O'Bryant -- they have similar bodies and irregular heartbeats on the court.

[JRYCRL]

Agreed, Nate. And given who was there at 18, the pick makes sense.

He's certainly a high-upside prospect who would be attractive in a potential Big Trade next summer.

JJ Hickson, Darrell Arthur, DJ White, Donte Green, Batum, Walter Sharpe, Chalmers, and even Sean Singletary are better/will be better than him for the next 3-5 years if not forever. I understand taking a guy like McGee if you're the Celtics and just won the title, but even they were smart enough to know that a Billy Walker can help them NEXT year, not 3-5 years down the road. And THAT is what pizzes me off!

In Ernie we HATE!

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

Agreed, Nate. And given who was there at 18, the pick makes sense.

He's certainly a high-upside prospect who would be attractive in a potential Big Trade next summer.

JJ Hickson, Darrell Arthur, DJ White, Donte Green, Batum, Walter Sharpe, Chalmers, and even Sean Singletary are better/will be better than him for the next 3-5 years if not forever. I understand taking a guy like McGee if you're the Celtics and just won the title, but even they were smart enough to know that a Billy Walker can help them NEXT year, not 3-5 years down the road. And THAT is what pizzes me off!

In Ernie we HATE!

I'd be suprised if he sees much more than the NBDL and the bench (where he can 'pizz off' into a towel [true story ] or eat popcorn [also true]). His game is based on his out of the gym athleticism and he's now injured his ACL twice, which doesn't bode well for him. What he SHOULD have done was stayed in school one more year so for the first time he could've proven himself as a #1 option rather than second fiddle to OJ Mayo (HS) and Beasley (KState).

But none of that has to do with McGee, of whom you seem to have done a ton of study on to know for certain that he's worse than the likes of Sean Singletary or Walter Sharpe. Bottom line is EG went upside at #18 since at that point of the draft any pick is far from a guaranteed prospect. And fisher made a real good point that even if he only plays NBDL all year and abuses them, other GMs still see an athletic 7 footer which always carries value (please see: Kwame Brown).

[closg00]

Agreed, Nate. And given who was there at 18, the pick makes sense.

He's certainly a high-upside prospect who would be attractive in a potential Big Trade next summer.

JJ Hickson, Darrell Arthur, DJ White, Donte Green, Batum, Walter Sharpe, Chalmers, and even Sean Singletary are better/will be better than him for the next 3-5 years if not forever. I understand taking a guy like McGee if you're the Celtics and just won the title, but even they were smart enough to know that a Billy Walker can help them NEXT year, not 3-5 years down the road. And THAT is what pizzes me off!

In Ernie we HATE!

Well-said, and I agree. Arthur, Greene & Hickson, are solid "projects" as-well, but projects that could be helping us this year as-opposed to 2010??

[Wizardspride]

Well-said, and I agree. Arthur, Greene & Hickson, are solid "projects" as-well, but projects that could be helping us this year as-opposed to 2010??

They may have more of an immediate impact but I'd rather go with the prospect that has the star potential.

And if I have to wait for a bit..so be it.

PS:I'm blown away how some of you guys immediately have McGee pegged as a bust after one game.
I'm glad you are guys aren't running a franchise because if you were...everyone would be traded at some point.

[80sballboy]

McGee is not an NBA player right now. It helps to be 7-feet with good athletic ability, but he needs help in every part of his game. Not sure Eddie can use him at all. Has no clue on defense and that's supposed to be his strength. Has a long way to go offensively but does have a nice touch. But he will get better. He has to.

[yungal07]

O.K. I saw some things in the first SL game that were better than I thought. He gets off the floor and has good body control for someone so long. Shoots way too much and bites on a lot of fakes. Needs to gain at least 10-15lbs. Saw some of his teammates rolling their eyes on him and that kind of makes me wonder how he's perceived. EJ said he's working hard so far so I'll just believe Eddie. With a player like this it's all up to how much he works and how good he wants to be. He's not even close to being a ready product and thats not a surprise seeing who drafted him. I just don't trust something about this guy yet. Meaning, I see some talents but I don't know if he'll come in every day and do what he needs to in order to eventually become an average NBA player. We'll see.

Yeah I saw that too. And I saw the coaches, especially O'Koren behind the bench shake their heads in disgust a couple of times at the things he did. I give Wes Unseld Jr. some credit for trying to be positive with the kid. He was pointing certain things out to Javale but did it in a positive way. When he pulled out Javale in the 4th quarter he told him why & said he was going back in shortly. Unseld Jr. seemed like a good communicator to me. A good coach for the young guys who need a bit more attention like Javale.

He's got a world of talent, but much like Nick last year, I didn't like the body language. With Nick, it was like he didn't even want to be there and he saw summer league as a chore. With Javale, its more of a toughness & intensity issue. On a couple occasions he didn't block out and he avoided battling for the rebound. He doesn't like contact, that's obvious. I think the reason he's a pretty good shooter was because he wanted to find a way to be productive without being physical.

That said, if he ever put his mind to it he'd be a force on both ends of the court. EG definitely drafted the guy with the highest upside. Problem is, he's also has the highest probability of any prospect of not reaching his full potential. It's going to take a helluva development job to get this kid to become the best he can be.

I think the optimal goal for the Wizards should be to develop him as much as they can. Get him to the point where he'll tease and tantalize with his skillset and potential and then trade him before he gets that 2nd contract. Let the other GMs see his potential and get enamored enough to bite the bullet and give up alot for him.

I agree with this post 100%. Nice job.

[RickRoll_inDC]

actually saw some promise from Javale in game 2. Nearly a double-double. Consistent through the night, and out jumping everyone for most of his rebounds

got torched defensively by Speights and Smith. Looked lost a lot on defense. He seems to 'gallop' on defense instead of actually sliding his feet. He's obviously athletic enough and long enough to play great defense, but doesn't have the right training. Give Randy Ayers a while with him and JV will be a great defender.

Also, some more good offensive moves on the block. He has a go to move of a turn around J at about 8 feet that usually works. He also uses his pivot foot really well with his low post moves. He still needs to bulk up if he's going to compete against a higher level of competition, imo.

but hey, the kid's only 20, so you can't rip on him too much, right?

[closg00]

Well-said, and I agree. Arthur, Greene & Hickson, are solid "projects" as-well, but projects that could be helping us this year as-opposed to 2010??

They may have more of an immediate impact but I'd rather go with the prospect that has the star potential.

And if I have to wait for a bit..so be it.

PS:I'm blown away how some of you guys immediately have McGee pegged as a bust after one game.
I'm glad you are guys aren't running a franchise because if you were...everyone would be traded at some point.

No, not a bust ....yet, but a loooong-term project.

[MJG]

Loved his second game. Yes, he still had me rolling my eyes on more than one occasion, but the cringe:smile ration was miles better than his first outing.

[sashae]

Yeah, you can definitely see what EG saw in him. There were a couple of 'wow' occasions -- really athletic moves off of rebounds to put the ball back up, etc, but he's got a long way to go. It's somewhat disheartening to realize the sheer amount of projects we have on the team now, in so many ways. Outside of the fully fledged Gil/AJ/Caron core, along with the "they-are-what-they-are" group of Etan, Brendan, Songaila and DeShawn, we have a lot of mystery... JaVale, Andray, Dee Brown, Pech, NY1, DMac. I sometimes wish we had some more reliable/dependable bench players rather than all the mystery.