Wizards Strongly Considered Drafting Klay Thompson Instead Of Vesely

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 4:21 pm

The Washington Wizards considered picking Klay Thompson in the 2011 NBA Draft at No. 6 instead of Jan Vesely.

Thompson blew Flip Saunders away at a pre-draft camp, but Vesely was considered a safer pick and was ranked higher on most boards. Vesely is no longer in the NBA.

“We toyed with it,” Saunders said. “But heaven forbid you go out of the box and pick someone you’re higher on than anyone else.”

Via Zach Lowe/Grantland

DMVleGeND · Post #2 » by **DMVleGeND** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 4:44 pm

Vesely was considered a "safer" pick? :lol:

What a joke.

Donnyxc · Post #3 » by **Donnyxc** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 5:05 pm

Funny, they both become nasty after a few years in NBA2K Association.

12footrim · Post #4 » by **12footrim** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 5:48 pm

DMVleGeND wrote:Vesely was considered a "safer" pick? What a joke.

No doubt. One guy had already proven he couldn't shoot a lick. I remember during the draft and after people were saying Klay Thompson could lead the NBA in three point shooting one day. That's a pretty good attribute when you are 6-7 regardless if he could handle the ball or play any defense. It's like they said we considered this guy then picked this guy that was about 100% different.

LApwnd · Post #5 » by **LApwnd** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 5:55 pm

Captain Hindsight

Doddage · Post #6 » by **Doddage** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 6:53 pm

No doubt Vesely didn't work out, but I do wonder how he'd have panned out in another situation (like the Spurs?). Maybe he'd still be the same player, but he had the raw tools (e.g. rebounding, passing, athleticism) to build on.

Cassius · Post #7 » by **Cassius** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 7:27 pm

The best shooters on the Wiz at the time were Nick Young and Agent Zero... that'll screw anyone's career up pretty fast.

FAH1223 · Post #8 » by **FAH1223** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 8:05 pm

Cassius wrote:The best shooters on the Wiz at the time were Nick Young and Agent Zero... that'll screw anyone's career up pretty fast.

Arenas was traded before then in December 2010 for Rashard Lewis...

NinjaBro · Post #9 » by **NinjaBro** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 8:30 pm

Love it!

thinktellectual · Post #10 » by **thinktellectual** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 8:44 pm

Sounds to me like a lot of excuse making from Flip Saunders.
And a bunch of whining on top.

23artest23 · Post #11 » by **23artest23** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 9:12 pm

DMVleGeND wrote:Vesely was considered a "safer" pick? What a joke.

My thoughts exactly. I'm no expert nor do I write my own mocks but I've been a fairly hardcore, observant fan of basketball for many years. With that said, it blows my mind that an unknown foreign player with a ton of development needed was a safer pick than Klay. In fact, I'm calling BS on that and rather what is going on is a weak attempt at justifying a poor decision from a guy who seems to make a lot of poor decisions.

LApwnd · Post #12 » by **LApwnd** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 9:25 pm

well I didn't see any one post it but the year before Klay got drafted, he got caught with up with drug possession (weed). Maybe that played a role in their decision

ohio · Post #13 » by **ohio** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 9:28 pm

DMVleGeND wrote:Vesely was considered a "safer" pick? What a joke.

did you follow the draft? or are you just hindsight picking?

Cassius wrote:The best shooters on the Wiz at the time were Nick Young and Agent Zero... that'll screw anyone's career up pretty fast.

no Gilbert Arenas was on Magic at that time.

shadrock · Post #14 » by **shadrock** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 9:29 pm

Buuuuuuuuuut they didnt...

Cassius · Post #15 » by **Cassius** » Tue Jun 9, 2015 11:33 pm

ohio wrote:
DMVleGeND wrote:Vesely was considered a "safer" pick? What a joke.

did you follow the draft? or are you just hindsight picking?

Cassius wrote:The best shooters on the Wiz at the time were Nick Young and Agent Zero... that'll screw anyone's career up pretty fast.

no Gilbert Arenas was on Magic at that time.

Oh wow nice catch.

DMVleGeND · Post #16 » by **DMVleGeND** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 4:26 am

ohio wrote:
DMVleGeND wrote:Vesely was considered a "safer" pick? What a joke.

did you follow the draft? or are you just hindsight picking?.

Yes I followed the draft very closely that yr. I lie to you not when I say that 80% of the Wizards board was against the Vesely pick and thought he would bust.

ohio · Post #17 » by **ohio** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 4:27 am

DMVleGeND wrote:
ohio wrote:
DMVleGeND wrote:Vesely was considered a "safer" pick? What a joke.

did you follow the draft? or are you just hindsight picking?.

Yes I followed the draft very closely that yr. I lie to you not when I say that 80% of the Wizards board was against the Vesely pick and thought he would bust.

I don't doubt that, I figured he'd be a bust too (along with JV), but Klay was nowhere near the conversation.

DMVleGeND · Post #18 » by **DMVleGeND** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 4:33 am

ohio wrote:
DMVleGeND wrote:
ohio wrote:did you follow the draft? or are you just hindsight picking?.

Yes I followed the draft very closely that yr. I lie to you not when I say that 80% of the Wizards board was against the Vesely pick and thought he would bust.

I don't doubt that, I figured he'd be a bust too (along with JV), but Klay was nowhere near the conversation.

I realize that most fans didn't have Klay in the conversation, but for the Wizards to think that Vesely was a safer pick is ridiculous to me.