Nothing Thread--only one opinion counts-LOCK ME

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

I think both Singleton and Faried have better careers than half the guys selected in front of them (Vesley may end up in that group...). But there's plenty of HoopsMixtape footage of Chris Singleton dunking on and blocking the snot out of scrubs much like that Faried video, I'll wait until they're both out playing against legit ballers before I start gnashing my teeth about what we should have done in terms of Singleton vs. Faried. That said, a lot of people will be mad they passed on them...

That trade down scenario of Singleton+Faried+and then some looks pretty dreamy, but I hate talking about trade 'options' of the past as if they were actually ever in the realm of possibility.

[closg00]

Yeah, I think CCJ and Doc hit it with Faried. I'm still amazed the Knicks passed on both Singleton and Faried to take Shumpert. And I know Singleton's the popular pick in DC, but Faried should have been Washington's pick. He's even better defensively than Singleton, and he's a crazy good rebounder, and he's a PF who would could play with Vesely. He's got the James Gist vibe that Vesely fed off - except his arms are twice as big as Gist's (and 3 times the size of Vesely's).

+1 I didn't "get" Faried until almost draft day when I reviewed some of his workouts. Before, I thought he was a great college rebounder who's game may not translate in the NBA. Watching his workouts I finally realized that he was "That good" because the guy is lightening quick, I've never seen that kind of reaction time. Faried should be a good rebounder in the NBA.

The Singleton pick is still a good pick though. In the slowed-down grind of a playoff series, Singleton's defensive talents combined with his under-rated long-distance shooting, should give him the edge over Faried long-term.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

Who can resist...

When both teams score well into the 100s in a matchup at Washington, D.C.’s streetball Goodman League, some NBA players must have joined in on the action.

That was the case July 2, when Washington Wizards star John Wall teamed up with the Baltimore’s Finest squad to take out the Sweat Mob, 133-118, in the headliner game held at Spingarn High School in Northeast, D.C.

Wall, 20, showed off the freak athleticism that made him the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft, speeding up and down the court to score a game-high 41 points. He even showed off a long-range jumper that he’s been working on this offseason, one of his weaker areas that needed improvement. A few three-pointers in the first half helped Baltimore’s Finest leap out to a 74-56 lead at halftime.

“I’ve been working on it, so I’m getting more comfortable [shooting from range],” Wall told the AFRO. “I just have to keep working and working.”

vs.

He was followed by NBA player DeMarcus Cousins with 29 points. Cousins, the 5th overall pick in the 2010 draft, had a tough game, picking up a technical foul in the first half after tossing the ball outside the gym door in frustration after being called for traveling.

here.

This article highlights the same incident, and still comes to the conclusion that "by 2013 he'll be one
of the best bigs in the league"...

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2011/07/05/cousins-gets-td-up-in-a-streetball-game/?sct=hp_wr_a4&eref=sihp

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

And Cousins was outscored by And1's big man "Baby Shaq". They were on the same team.

But again, I don't put a whole lot of stock in these games, whether its Wall, Cousins, Faried, or Singleton.

(However, its encouraging hearing Wall's been putting in work on the J!)

[closg00]

Just throwing another log on the fire
http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2011/07 ... nba_bf1_a3

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

But on the flipside, to balance out the CCJ 'toldja-so' tally:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV-nDD5CLCE[/youtube]

Pretty sure John Wall could use a guy like this to run with... I'm just a little bit sick inside, again. Man. Singleton will have a lotta work to do to surmount this one. Not to mention Vesely.

Note: Before this guy has ever played I said (a long time ago already) that Faried will score in double figures, right away in the NBA. Scouts who ignored 20/20 games and NCAA-leading double doubles just ignored points, stupidly.

Also, I think Faried will end up a HOF player if he is not injured. Simply because of his motor and that he's like Rodman on steroids and a better offensive player by far than Rodman. He's also a very good defender and one who can defend SF well IMO.

Faried will be a great player.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Just throwing another log on the fire
http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2011/07 ... nba_bf1_a3

Bottom line is that this is how the article ends:

Not every 20-year-old rookie makes so many selfish, bone-headed plays, but this is what happens sometimes when really good 20-year-olds land on bad teams. The Kings won’t be bad forever (right?), and Cousins won’t be 20 forever. He has issues, obviously, and the Goodman League incident is a reminder that he has serious work to do on his temper.

But mock him now, because chances are pretty good that by 2013 or so, this will be one of the best big men in the league.

[Induveca]

There are 3 guys I'm sick that the Wiz didn't get when they had a chance with a late pick.

Millsap
Blair
Faried

So obvious all three will be great players for years to come........Faried quite frankly is the guy I like the most out of all of them. He will be a star in the league.

[Dat2U]

In theory I agree. Where I have an issue is people proposing we trade Wall for non-franchise players. We can get those in other ways. We cannot get someone as talented as Wall by ordinary means - so if we're giving him up, we HAVE to be getting back a true cornerstone.

If you said New Orleans would do a Wall + Lewis for Chris Paul + filler swap, I'd say yes.

But when people propose Demarcus Cousins and Andre Iguodala for J-Wall, I just start getting a headache.

I never said Cousins and Iguodala for Wall. Add an unprotected draft pick, plus the other team takes Lewis while also giving the Wizards more future cap room--then it is something to consider IMO.

Sorry CCJ, this isn't questioning popular thinking, it's just outright nonsense. Unless your talking a legit star for Wall it's simply thinking different, because well, you want to be different. That's fine and all but that line of thinking isn't the direction we need to go in. You'd basically be turning us in the Milwaukee Bucks or the Philadephia 76ers. A team without a star with no real hope of long term success. Just treading water in an never ending abyss. Maybe I'm being harsh because I absolutely abhor the idea of mediocrity. I hated the Antawn Jamison years b/c I knew what our ceiling was. With Wall we have potentially the greatest Wizards/Bullets player in over 30 years.

You wanna talk trade? Throw out some legit stars. Chris Paul? Reasonable. A bunch of 2nd tier players and cap relief? You've got to be kidding. Igoudala couldn't throw the ball in the ocean during the playoffs. For all the love Cousins gets around realgm the guy had a miserable rookie season. Nothing but empty numbers. The Kings were better when he wasn't on the floor and his inefficiency sinks well below Andray Blatche levels. You want to see us trade Blatche but acquire Cousins? Huh? Based on what we've seen thus far from Cousins, that's taking a step back. As bad as Blatche was last year, he was clearly better than Cousins. On and off the floor.

[Dat2U]

Going to Faried, I will agree with CCJ for the most part. I'm not ready to call him a HOF'er, that's an incredibly high standard however I can see him averaging a double/double if given the opportunity.

One thing I don't understand is when scouts or folks on here call Faried undersized. What exactly are you referring to? The guy has a standing reach of 9-0. There's nothing undersized about that. Same standing reach of Derrick Williams. An inch taller than Al Horford & Patrick Patterson (who everyone seemed to love on here). An inch & a half taller than Joakim Noah! 2 inches taller than Kevin Love for goodness sakes!

Personally I see a lot of Joakim Noah in his game, especially when it comes to the activity level and willingness to do the dirty work. Looking back, if we took Singleton/Faried at 6 & 18 it probably would have ended up a better draft for us IMO. I understand Singleton over Faried b/c I had them both in the same tier and Singleton is a bigger need at the moment but Vesely over Faried is one we'll probably regret in time.

[dangermouse]

Wall for CP3? Nope. Not unless Lewis is outgoing and Paul is re-signed for maximum number of years.

Probably just rather keep Wall and make good financial decisions until Lewis expires and then make a big splash, which is what im sure we will do anyway.

[DCZards]

There are 3 guys I'm sick that the Wiz didn't get when they had a chance with a late pick.

Millsap
Blair
Faried

So obvious all three will be great players for years to come........Faried quite frankly is the guy I like the most out of all of them. He will be a star in the league.

Blair and Millsap are good players (the verdit is out on Faried)....but "great players." I don't think so. I doubt that any of the three will ever even make an all-star team. I personally reserve the "great" distinction for players like Kareem, Wes Unseld, Magic, MJ, and Kobe.

[montestewart]

I personally reserve the "great" distinction for players like Kareem, Wes Unseld, Magic, MJ, and Kobe.

Likewise

[Illuminaire]

Sorry CCJ, this isn't questioning popular thinking, it's just outright nonsense. Unless your talking a legit star for Wall it's simply thinking different, because well, you want to be different. That's fine and all but that line of thinking isn't the direction we need to go in. You'd basically be turning us in the Milwaukee Bucks or the Philadephia 76ers. A team without a star with no real hope of long term success. Just treading water in an never ending abyss. Maybe I'm being harsh because I absolutely abhor the idea of mediocrity. I hated the Antawn Jamison years b/c I knew what our ceiling was. With Wall we have potentially the greatest Wizards/Bullets player in over 30 years.

You wanna talk trade? Throw out some legit stars. Chris Paul? Reasonable. A bunch of 2nd tier players and cap relief? You've got to be kidding. Igoudala couldn't throw the ball in the ocean during the playoffs. For all the love Cousins gets around realgm the guy had a miserable rookie season. Nothing but empty numbers. The Kings were better when he wasn't on the floor and his inefficiency sinks well below Andray Blatche levels. You want to see us trade Blatche but acquire Cousins? Huh? Based on what we've seen thus far from Cousins, that's taking a step back. As bad as Blatche was last year, he was clearly better than Cousins. On and off the floor.

There's the Dat I know and love! I'm so glad the stupid draft is finally over so we can go back to agreeing all the time again.

[Induveca]

There are 3 guys I'm sick that the Wiz didn't get when they had a chance with a late pick.

Millsap
Blair
Faried

So obvious all three will be great players for years to come........Faried quite frankly is the guy I like the most out of all of them. He will be a star in the league.

Blair and Millsap are good players (the verdit is out on Faried)....but "great players." I don't think so. I doubt that any of the three will ever even make an all-star team. I personally reserve the "great" distinction for players like Kareem, Wes Unseld, Magic, MJ, and Kobe.

The discussion was centered around great late first and early 2nd round picks. And you name 5 of the top 50 guys to ever set foot on a basketball court, of course in that case I'll call them "good" if you wish for that type of lofty comparison, same result. Context my friend.

[DCZards]

The discussion was centered around great late first and early 2nd round picks. And you name 5 of the top 50 guys to ever set foot on a basketball court, of course in that case I'll call them "good" if you wish for that type of lofty comparison, same result. Context my friend.

Good (or should say great) spin, my friend.

[doclinkin]

Blair and Millsap are good players (the verdit is out on Faried)....but "great players." I don't think so. I doubt that any of the three will ever even make an all-star team.

I don't doubt Faried could make an all-star team in his career, based on fan votes. He'll put up some eye-catching highlights on putbacks and alley-oops, will give Blake Griffin a run for his money now and again. With Ty Lawson and (maybe) Andre Miller to spotlight him, lead him and feed him easy slams, he'll stand out better. The Nuggs look to be much improved, exciting, fast, able to catch a few extra national games this year, I suspect they'll be this years Memphis Gristles: a young team built around no particular star but giving 100% energy at both ends. They'll be the squad we wish we were, sooner than we can be. Able to make stops and rebounds to initiate the break, then too fast to catch.

For the pundits and purists: Faried will scrap and claw for rebounds beyond rationality or moderation. Twenty-board games are within his capability, this sort of thing catches attention of the echochamber and postgame jibberjabberers. Lastly he's got a built in niche audience, same way Vince attracted votes from all of Canada (long past his prime) and Yao pulls votes from the chinese diaspora, I suspect the fact that KFaried is open and proud of being raised by two mommies, not shy of the topic, will earn him a few votes from folks who admire the stance.

I do think Singleton will be a nice player for us. He'll perhaps be less dynamic and exciting than Faried, but potentially an important addition if he lives up to his billing. I'm just more confident that a guy like Faried can do the things he does at an NBA level than the longer leaner less powerful Jan Vesely. It will be tougher to knock him off his game.

[hands11]

But on the flipside, to balance out the CCJ 'toldja-so' tally:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV-nDD5CLCE[/youtube]

Pretty sure John Wall could use a guy like this to run with... I'm just a little bit sick inside, again. Man. Singleton will have a lotta work to do to surmount this one. Not to mention Vesely.

Note: Before this guy has ever played I said (a long time ago already) that Faried will score in double figures, right away in the NBA. Scouts who ignored 20/20 games and NCAA-leading double doubles just ignored points, stupidly.

Also, I think Faried will end up a HOF player if he is not injured. Simply because of his motor and that he's like Rodman on steroids and a better offensive player by far than Rodman. He's also a very good defender and one who can defend SF well IMO.

Faried will be a great player.

Damn. I never saw any videos of him like that before. His head was at the rim.

Kid does have a motor. I think you may be right about this one CCJ. I just never saw that in any other video of his.

[closg00]

Blair and Millsap are good players (the verdit is out on Faried)....but "great players." I don't think so. I doubt that any of the three will ever even make an all-star team.

I don't doubt Faried could make an all-star team in his career, based on fan votes. He'll put up some eye-catching highlights on putbacks and alley-oops, will give Blake Griffin a run for his money now and again. With Ty Lawson and (maybe) Andre Miller to spotlight him, lead him and feed him easy slams, he'll stand out better. The Nuggs look to be much improved, exciting, fast, able to catch a few extra national games this year, I suspect they'll be this years Memphis Gristles: a young team built around no particular star but giving 100% energy at both ends. They'll be the squad we wish we were, sooner than we can be. Able to make stops and rebounds to initiate the break, then too fast to catch.

For the pundits and purists: Faried will scrap and claw for rebounds beyond rationality or moderation. Twenty-board games are within his capability, this sort of thing catches attention of the echochamber and postgame jibberjabberers. Lastly he's got a built in niche audience, same way Vince attracted votes from all of Canada (long past his prime) and Yao pulls votes from the chinese diaspora, I suspect the fact that KFaried is open and proud of being raised by two mommies, not shy of the topic, will earn him a few votes from folks who admire the stance.

I do think Singleton will be a nice player for us. He'll perhaps be less dynamic and exciting than Faried, but potentially an important addition if he lives up to his billing. I'm just more confident that a guy like Faried can do the things he does at an NBA level than the longer leaner less powerful Jan Vesely. It will be tougher to knock him off his game.

Both players are high-motor and limited offensively, but you can easily envision Faried's skill-set translating well to the NBA, big question-mark on Vesely. If our hopes are for a slightly better Jared Jeffries, then I think I'll pass. Oops! Too-late.

[closg00]

OTOH...

Kenneth Faried played in the Delco Pro-Am League tonight. Very unimpressive. Played most of the game, had 4 pts, 6 reb. That's it. Maybe Faried could've grabbed more rebounds, I don't know. But offensively he is so limited. Can't shoot at all, not even free throws. If Faried couldn't dominate in a summer league against a team full of former and current Penn players, how's he gonna do well in the NBA?

A team w/ Kenneth Faried, Mardy Collins, Dustin Salisbery, Guy-Marc Michel, Demonte Harper nearly lost to a team w/ all Penn players.

Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz1RnYZg16S