Welcome to the District, Anicet Dybantsa Jr.

[AFM]

Hope the kids good. But ill hold on record saying i think we should have taken Boozer.

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

That dude ain't going be top 3 in this draft in hindsight, but hey his analytics were impressive......

It wasn't "his analytics" that were impressive, it was his play on the basketball court. Among the very best of the last decade or so.

& no one knows who'll be in the top 3 of this draft, but I'd say Boozer is the most likely to be RoY & most likely to be the first all star out of this class as well.

I’ll bet you a Reuben at parkway deli you dead wrong play boy

[anselmheifer76]

Hope the kids good. But ill hold on record saying i think we should have taken Boozer.

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

That dude ain't going be top 3 in this draft in hindsight, but hey his analytics were impressive......

It wasn't "his analytics" that were impressive, it was his play on the basketball court. Among the very best of the last decade or so.

& no one knows who'll be in the top 3 of this draft, but I'd say Boozer is the most likely to be RoY & most likely to be the first all star out of this class as well.

I was very in favor of taking Dybantsa, but this wouldn’t surprise me at all. Boozer is awesome. And pro ready. I think he could be a PF version of Scottie Pippen. We just needed our Jordan.

Boozer will be a great pro, and probably immediately. And now that we have AJ, I’m already fantasizing about finding a Boozer, not that there are many of them.

[queridiculo]

Eh, convinced Dybantsa will be a bust.

This will be yet another instance of picking flash over substance the franchise will pay dearly for.

[FAH1223]

Eh, convinced Dybantsa will be a bust.

This will be yet another instance of picking flash over substance the franchise will pay dearly for.

That is a wild assertion to make.

Like we knew Jan Vesley was a bust.

AJ actually has skill and produced in college.

[BMagic]

Read on Twitter

This kid and Jayden Daniels will have DC on lock the next decade. Most would crumble under the pressure of spearheading the resurrection of DMV hoops, but AJ is embracing the challenge. Said it leading up to the draft, he'll be the best Wizards player since Wes Unsled (excluding Wizards MJ).

[prime1time]

Eh, convinced Dybantsa will be a bust.

This will be yet another instance of picking flash over substance the franchise will pay dearly for.

Lol

[DCZards]

Eh, convinced Dybantsa will be a bust.

This will be yet another instance of picking flash over substance the franchise will pay dearly for.

Yes, you're gonna get plenty of flash from AJ...but don't get blinded by it. You don't put up the historic numbers that AJ put up in college without having plenty of substance as well.

[9 and 20]

Watch on YouTube

I watched this radio bit on youtube. The host is interviewing Chase Hughes who covers the Wiz. The host, Kevin Sheehan, talks about how even though AJ put up huge athletic testing numbers at the combine, he doesn't really look at him as a Blake Griffin or Russell Westbrook type - the monster in-game dunkers who took over games based on athleticism.

I kind of agree with that. You don't really see 6'10 with a 42 inch vertical most of the time with him. You see 6'10 that can handle the ball and moves like a guard and very good footwork. There are a few dunks mixed in but it's not like watching Blake Griffin highlights.

They didn't mention it in the video but I think Caleb Wilson is much closer to the type that dominates based on being a great athlete.
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Edit - I can't get the embedded video to work but the link to it works.

[doclinkin]

Much as I advocated for Peterson as the ideal fit for the roster, I really think the top 3 players ended up with the ideal situation for each of them.

Peterson is a quiet kid who simply wants to excel at basketball with no distractions. He’s got running mates to act as the public face of the franchise and is surrounded by team talent. He can play in a quiet market with a fanbase that supports a winning team with fanatic loyalty. I expect he will settle in and play his whole career with one team. And that team is poised to win early. If they re sign Kessler and keep him healthy anyway.

Memphis similarly has no time or patience to develop players. Smallest market in the league, not a destination team in free agency. They can’t pay players not to produce thus select box score heroes who have proven to do the thing. They’ve been relying on a star who’s wearing out his welcome in the league with off court antics that threaten his availability. In Boozer they get all business. No BS. No fat in his game. All beef. Same as Utah they need to keep their big man healthy. But if so those two are the ideal complement to each other. Rebounding. Smart play. Grit and grind personified.

And DC. This market is a sleeping giant. Local fans waiting in the bushes. The best basketball factory in the nation, churning out pros from PG county to Bmore. But the worst local crowd support in the nation. This is why players rank us as among the worst markets. It’s 2nd hand embarrassing to visiting teams that they hear louder cheers than the home team. Who’d want to play for that crowd?

It’s when we’re down we get invaded by imports. I’d bet a majority of the suites get sold to powers with no permanent ties to the area. Half our games get their ticket sales bumped by visiting teams fans.

More than any other team this market needs a genuine star. They need a guy who can bring in bandwagonners and diehards alike. Starpower. Swagger. A guy who can sell jerseys in other teams markets. So out of towners choose to rep DC, fly in to buy tickets and see a Wizards home game while they’re on vacation. Make interns and pols rep their temporary home.

Yet when we win the crowd gets raucous. When we have a star the stalwarts show up proud. John Wall. Gilbert. Those home crowds crackled and roared.

AJ has genuine starpower. Whatever the flaws in his current game. His upside is towering. Hard to build starpower out of an off ball player. His game demands touches. Yet he’s literally head and shoulders above other ballhandlers. Part of how he draws fouls is because of his size in motion. The only way you’re stopping him is reaching and hacking. His pull up J is so far above your reach you can only bump or shove as he rises.

It’s an obvious foul to call. One of the things Ive tabbed to look for in the next Metagame after small ball is the rise of both interior play and the reascension of Big Guards.

If the league tightens up defense in reaction to flopping— the same way they overreacted to small ball, and now to tanking— foul calls will be harder to come by. This means you want players who can score thru contact and force the refs to call the obvious play. You want And-1’s not soccer style flailing to beg for referees attention. Man size buckets.

So post entry passes to dynamic bigs will generate high percentage shots. Big to big passing will be key. Tall guards who can pass in motion (or short guards with a good floor game) will generate easy buckets on drive and dump action.

But if you want to get to the foul line you will need unstoppable machines who can handle being hacked. Call their own number and go get it. With the aura around them that draws attention and forces refs to make the call. Heroes. Plot armor. The obverse of the way refs swallowed their whistle to protect Wemby in the playoffs. Fans get tired of unearned fouls. But if you take the hit and score anyway you earn respect. Earn your swagger. Throwback to the MJ era. Vs the bad boy Pistons. As AJ builds muscle he’ll be able to jump thru contact on his way to the rim. His legs are strong. But see him in 2 years after he builds his core. Antman power.

As for Swagger, we have that in spades. New York fans still call out Trae Young in their parade after they won the damn thing. AJ comes into the league with that same earned competitive arrogance. Players like Bub and Key were yapping as rookies, win or lose. Bilal makes bold statements about not really caring who is in front of him. Guys like JC or Watkins play undaunted on defense. Riley doesn’t talk but he plays with a deep and complete bag on offense. Waiting to see if Trae can unlock the nasty in the game of Slam Whitmore rejuvenated after a death scare.

We have only needed a big dog under the basket to chase away invaders and get stingy with possessions when our lanky outside defenders force misses. If we can rebound we can run and slam in transition. For a short time we will try out a HOF big underneath. Maybe we can grow our own Dawg Pound out of Felix and Juju.

But the Big Dawg will be AJ. If he makes us fun to watch then the league will tend to notice. Refs. Fans. Big games. Merch. Free agents will get the same message as the incoming rookies have. DC is a destination to watch. The next big thing. Our own personal Monstarr is the Nextest Biggest Thing.

This next phase should be fun. Even the learning curve bit of it.

[FAH1223]

Read on Twitter

[Despy]

Eh, convinced Dybantsa will be a bust.

This will be yet another instance of picking flash over substance the franchise will pay dearly for.

well I'm convinced

[keynote]

This guy is great with the media -- he's a great quote, he's at ease in a variety of contexts, and he's witty. He knows how to temper the cockiness to avoid tipping over into being unlikeable. The last highly-touted rookie to come into the league this media friendly might be Shaq. Griffin was funny, but didn't fully show it until later in his career. Hill was a bit too clean cut. Guys like LeBron were polished, but didn't reveal their personalities until later either.

AJ's got to earn it on the court, of course. But if he reaches his on court potential, he'll have the total package to be a (the?) face of the league.

[nate33]

This guy is great with the media -- he's a great quote, he's at ease in a variety of contexts, and he's witty. He knows how to temper the cockiness to avoid tipping over into being unlikeable. The last highly-touted rookie to come into the league this media friendly might be Shaq. Griffin was funny, but didn't fully show it until later in his career. Hill was a bit too clean cut. Guys like LeBron were polished, but didn't reveal their personalities until later either.

AJ's got to earn it on the court, of course. But if he reaches his on court potential, he'll have the total package to be a (the?) face of the league.

I'd throw Anthony Edwards into that mix. He is another guy who is cocky, but in a likeable way.

[keynote]

This guy is great with the media -- he's a great quote, he's at ease in a variety of contexts, and he's witty. He knows how to temper the cockiness to avoid tipping over into being unlikeable. The last highly-touted rookie to come into the league this media friendly might be Shaq. Griffin was funny, but didn't fully show it until later in his career. Hill was a bit too clean cut. Guys like LeBron were polished, but didn't reveal their personalities until later either.

AJ's got to earn it on the court, of course. But if he reaches his on court potential, he'll have the total package to be a (the?) face of the league.

I'd throw Anthony Edwards into that mix. He is another guy who is cocky, but in a likeable way.

Ant is hilarious, but he's also crude. He's comparing the size of his anatomy to fans, he's loudly living the single life with IG models, etc. He's great, but he's not for every demo.

So far, AJ's been more family friendly without going full Grant Hill in a tux playing the piano.

[TheBlackCzar]

This boy is a damn fool......

LLS

https://youtu.be/BvmPrCUn0FE?si=zRPZiPwKCHJ1UycA

[payitforward]

Eh, convinced Dybantsa will be a bust.

This will be yet another instance of picking flash over substance the franchise will pay dearly for.

Yes, you're gonna get plenty of flash from AJ...but don't get blinded by it. You don't put up the historic numbers that AJ put up in college without having plenty of substance as well.

100% !!

It'll be a long time before we know which of this year's top 4 becomes the very best player. But if AJ really is a 2-3, as he's being projected, then he has a shot to be great.

He has every physical attribute, he's displayed outstanding maturity in every encounter w/ the public or press that we've gotten to witness, & he has shown exceptional drive & desire.

I can't think of a single reason to be negative about him. & as to "flash over substance," to tell the truth I don't know where you see anything of that nature at all.

[payitforward]

This boy is a damn fool......

LLS

https://youtu.be/BvmPrCUn0FE?si=zRPZiPwKCHJ1UycA

Oh... this is absolutely great! What a terrific kid AJ is!

[payitforward]

This guy is great with the media -- he's a great quote, he's at ease in a variety of contexts, and he's witty. He knows how to temper the cockiness to avoid tipping over into being unlikeable. The last highly-touted rookie to come into the league this media friendly might be Shaq. Griffin was funny, but didn't fully show it until later in his career. Hill was a bit too clean cut. Guys like LeBron were polished, but didn't reveal their personalities until later either.

AJ's got to earn it on the court, of course. But if he reaches his on court potential, he'll have the total package to be a (the?) face of the league.

What you said!

[anselmheifer76]

Eh, convinced Dybantsa will be a bust.

This will be yet another instance of picking flash over substance the franchise will pay dearly for.

Yes, you're gonna get plenty of flash from AJ...but don't get blinded by it. You don't put up the historic numbers that AJ put up in college without having plenty of substance as well.

100% !!

It'll be a long time before we know which of this year's top 4 becomes the very best player. But if AJ really is a 2-3, as he's being projected, then he has a shot to be great.

He has every physical attribute, he's displayed outstanding maturity in every encounter w/ the public or press that we've gotten to witness, & he has shown exceptional drive & desire.

I can't think of a single reason to be negative about him. & as to "flash over substance," to tell the truth I don't know where you see anything of that nature at all.

This. In spades.


I also see an exceptional drive and desire to be great. It’s part of what makes me feel like he will actually wind up a really good defender and 3 point shooter. College AJ, plus defense and a really good 3 point shot could be a HOF player.

[payitforward]

That dude ain't going be top 3 in this draft in hindsight, but hey his analytics were impressive......

It wasn't "his analytics" that were impressive, it was his play on the basketball court. Among the very best of the last decade or so.

& no one knows who'll be in the top 3 of this draft, but I'd say Boozer is the most likely to be RoY & most likely to be the first all star out of this class as well.

I’ll bet you a Reuben at parkway deli you dead wrong play boy

Wrong about what? I'm usually wrong about many things....

Maybe you mean about Cam as RoY? If so, you're on -- but I'm not a Reuben fan, so make it a Pastrami sandwich!

But... who do YOU think will be ROY, & what decides this bet? Maybe place in the voting for RoY? Cam above the other 2? After all, it might be that it's not one of the top 3. Might be Wilson? Or one of the first bunch of guards?