2/4 LA Clippers @ Wizards 7PM CSN.....

[Dat2U]

Why biggest question is why are we seeing so much regression? Booker should at least be a reliable rotation player. Seraphin really took a nice step in the right direction last season. Crawford was improving, albeit slowly up until a few weeks ago. Wall's 3 point shot went from being at least an option to a complete non threat.

[fishercob]

Fish I normally would side with the whole talent vs. organizational thing. And in 95% of the cases I think that holds true. However I suspect the Wizards are a special case. The level of disorganization and incompetence is so overwhelming, I can't help but think that no player could overcome this.

I was wondering what would happen to MJ if he had gotten drafted to the Wizards. If he had broken his wrist like he did in his rookie year in Chicago, would the Wiz doctors somehow mistreat or misdiagnose the injury to the point where it's a continuing problem. Would Jordan have fixed his admittedly shaky jumper when he first came into the league in a Wizards uniform? Would Ernie have some managed to build a contender around him? I really don't know.

MJ would have been fine. Ernie never would have had the balls or foresight to draft Pippen.

[Ruzious]

Fish I normally would side with the whole talent vs. organizational thing. And in 95% of the cases I think that holds true. However I suspect the Wizards are a special case. The level of disorganization and incompetence is so overwhelming, I can't help but think that no player could overcome this.

I was wondering what would happen to MJ if he had gotten drafted to the Wizards. If he had broken his wrist like he did in his rookie year in Chicago, would the Wiz doctors somehow mistreat or misdiagnose the injury to the point where it's a continuing problem. Would Jordan have fixed his admittedly shaky jumper when he first came into the league in a Wizards uniform? Would Ernie have some managed to build a contender around him? I really don't know.

Agreed - and it's not just one or the other - it's both. When you look down the entire roster and see zero net improvement from every young player, you know there's a development problem. And when you see Javale McGee and Andray Blatche having easily their highest efficiency numbers and PER numbers the year after they leave Washington and after they should have been fully developed players, you know there's a development problem. That doesn't mean there isn't a talent problem. But when you never develop talent, you have no hope, and it's silly to just call it a talent deficiency.

[FAH1223]

Why biggest question is why are we seeing so much regression? Booker should at least be a reliable rotation player. Seraphin really took a nice step in the right direction last season. Crawford was improving, albeit slowly up until a few weeks ago. Wall's 3 point shot went from being at least an option to a complete non threat.

Wall shot the 3 with so much confidence hsi rookie season, especially early on.

Bad coaching on Flip Saunders and his staff (who are still there).

Its frustrating. This organization will not change.

[Dat2U]

Another example of regression is Vesely's shot. Look at the old scouting reports and video footage from him playing overseas. His jumper was inconsistent... not completely nonexistent!!! Every time we see him play it looks like he's never taken a jump shot or free throw in his life!!! I don't understand it, is he even working on it???

I wonder if the Wizards example of internal development is pulling Vesely aside during practice and telling him to find an open rim and shoot jumpers for 30 minutes?

[Nivek]

I still think player development is largely the player's responsibility. There's only so much any organization can do to get guys to spend time in the gym practicing. To develop a skill there needs to be good teaching, but Wall doesn't need someone in the gym holding his towel while he shoots jumpers. At least he shouldn't. He should be perfectly capable of going into a gym and putting up a thousand shots using good form without some coach standing there to watch and/or call out encouragement or instruction.

The organization has a player selection problem. Namely, they persist in picking undeveloped projects. They've bought into the delusion that they can pick good athletes and then watch them become good players after a few years of "development." But, they don't seem to have a clue about what "development" means beyond the assumption that young players will get better. Young players often do get better. But not always, and not necessarily on your timetable.

Unless, of course, you're picking guys you KNOW have the work ethic and discipline to put in the time to develop. How do you know? Well, a good first cut is the player's skill level. Because, the only way to develop a skill is through focused practice. A guy who's a great shooter has spent time practicing that skill. A guy who's a great ball handler has spent time working on it. These are good clues for whether or not a guy will continue working once he's in the NBA.

[hands11]

Funny thing is, when I watched Kentucy back in the day with Wall and Bledsoe I remember saying, this Bledsoe dude can ball. He has good handles, he can shoot, and the game is not to big for him. He would be a nice pick up and in a lot of ways he impresses me more then Wall does. He just seemed to have more skill then Wall though Wall was the better specimen. 6-5 PG who is lighten fast who people had watched since HS. I was kind of hoping we got them both.

Wall can still be a good player. It's just to bad his shot wasn't better and he spent so much time trying to outrun everyone instead of learning to change pace and get spacing. But he is just getting into the grove of year three after a long layoff because of his knee. He seems to finally be in shape where he can reliable log minutes. Now he has to start showing steady progress till the end of the year. That will tell us a lot about what Wall will become.

His season is really just getting started. His first game off the bench was only Sat 1/12 and his first start where he logged 27 min was just Sat 1/26 .. just 6 games ago. And his last 4 games he has had Temple as his starting SG.

Its fine to evaluate Wall but I wanted to add that context. Its something I even forget. It's not to excuse everything away from the past because I think he could have done better and he has been stubborn in his approach in the past, but in regards to seeing progress this year.... I say the evaluating that starts about now.

Wall hasn't really won me over as a long term keeper. Specially at what he might cost. I just hope he gets better. That is what is in the teams best interest regardless of if they keep him or not.

[Kanyewest]

Fish I normally would side with the whole talent vs. organizational thing. And in 95% of the cases I think that holds true. However I suspect the Wizards are a special case. The level of disorganization and incompetence is so overwhelming, I can't help but think that no player could overcome this.

I was wondering what would happen to MJ if he had gotten drafted to the Wizards. If he had broken his wrist like he did in his rookie year in Chicago, would the Wiz doctors somehow mistreat or misdiagnose the injury to the point where it's a continuing problem. Would Jordan have fixed his admittedly shaky jumper when he first came into the league in a Wizards uniform? Would Ernie have some managed to build a contender around him? I really don't know.

Well EG did take Michael Redd who shot even better than he ever did in college. John Wall is simply in year 3. I agree that he should try to take more 3 pointers especially since shooting it in game is different than another. I also feel like Wall's feel for the game is a bit off sometimes. Like sometimes he has his mind to take a jumper when he does have the lane to get to the basket.

[jivelikenice]

He should at least take the corner three....Frankly, a lot of the guys on this team need to focus on that three ball versus chucking up 25 footers...Singleton, Crawford, Wall....Those three specifically should focus there.

[Dat2U]

If I a guy is willing to put in the hours, then the franchise should not only be willing to assist... but would want to help that player as much as possible in improving that player's skill level. After all, that would be just re-investing resources back in the guy you've drafted. Why wouldn't any organization NOT take a pro-active approach to helping their players (i.e. their assets) improve?

I think part of the problem is an organization like the Wizards that may share Nivek's belief that player development is largely the player's responsibility so they have more of a hands off approach. Basically, treating the player like an adult and expecting him to not only practice on improving, but also doing so the right way. I think that's not a realistic view of the situation because for the most part your dealing with young spoiled immature guys that have been coddled their whole life. Sure, some guys like Durant & Kobe are self-motivated freaks of nature and live in the gym and live to practice. But most players are not. So telling someone like Javale to pay for their own coach when he's asking for help and he's wanting to improve his game is really disconcerting no matter what the situation was (upcoming lockout or not).

To me you do everything possible to help that player. You add additional assistants if need be to ensure your young guys are getting that specialized attention. I don't think the Wizards are doing that. To assume that everything is fine with the Wizards internal development and all these examples of either regression or lack of improvement is solely the player's fault's would strike me as a naïve viewpoint.

[hands11]

I still think player development is largely the player's responsibility. There's only so much any organization can do to get guys to spend time in the gym practicing. To develop a skill there needs to be good teaching, but Wall doesn't need someone in the gym holding his towel while he shoots jumpers. At least he shouldn't. He should be perfectly capable of going into a gym and putting up a thousand shots using good form without some coach standing there to watch and/or call out encouragement or instruction.

The organization has a player selection problem. Namely, they persist in picking undeveloped projects. They've bought into the delusion that they can pick good athletes and then watch them become good players after a few years of "development." But, they don't seem to have a clue about what "development" means beyond the assumption that young players will get better. Young players often do get better. But not always, and not necessarily on your timetable.

Unless, of course, you're picking guys you KNOW have the work ethic and discipline to put in the time to develop. How do you know? Well, a good first cut is the player's skill level. Because, the only way to develop a skill is through focused practice. A guy who's a great shooter has spent time practicing that skill. A guy who's a great ball handler has spent time working on it. These are good clues for whether or not a guy will continue working once he's in the NBA.

You are describing what I saw in Nikola V that made me a believer. His predraft workout..the ones he was doing for himself..were awesome. He was practicing the right stuff and doing it over and over. And he was already eating the right stuff... clean diet of fruits and veggies. Basically he was 100% about just getting better. All he did was eat right, practice and sleep.

We needed a young 7-0 center to replace McGee. Nikola was an ideal pick.

Now he is only putting up good numbers on a bad team and he may not become an All Star, but he will be a solid productive player who does what you need at center regarding core production. He rebounds and defends the paint. He should be able to get you a double double most nights.

A 7-0 230 Okafor type who is 22 and making 1.7M and no more then 3M in two years.

I never understood that draft. They didn't get one player I wanted.

[Nivek]

I see what you're saying, dat, and I do agree with that part of it. While I think it's the player's job to get his ass in the gym and work on his game, if I was running the team I'd have a load of resources ready for the player. I'd have expectations established, plans in place, etc. No one on the team would have to wonder what they should be working on.

That said, in fairness to the front office (which I think needs to be replaced), they're already doing a lot of this stuff. Players have one-on-one sessions with coaches. They spend time doing skills work. In the offseason, every player receives written instructions of what they're supposed to be working on. I don't know how much offseason follow-up they're doing to see whether or not guys are following their offseason plan.

There just isn't a shortcut for player development. At some point, the player has to get his behind in the gym and do the work.

[closg00]

Totally agree Dat. The Wizards are the only NBA team that does not rotate young players through stints in the D-League, that could be part of the development problem, not enough playing-time.

[Kanyewest]

^^ Seems like the Wizards use Europe as their d-league but no one gets called up. GUys like Beal and Wall are typically not sent to the d-league though. Still wonder if the Wizards should send Seraphin, Vesley, or Booker to the d-league. I don't think it helped Hamady N'Diaye much.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

CCJ it is hard to take you seriously about Wall. No matter what type of player Wall turns out to be you can claim you were right.

That makes my odds better.

tontoz, I made comments after Wall's hot start. How is he playing now? The same as he's been the previous two seasons. I drank the Koolaid. If that disqualifies me when I said, "I no longer worry about Wall," then fine. Once the team lost to Sacramento for the second time, with Isaiah Thomas beating the Wizards; it made Wall's shine duller. And the other losses that removed any and all doubt about playoffs, those losses made my mindset adjust from thinking the team should "win with Wall" to thinking they should "do what is best in the long haul".

I have said Wall and Beal are made for each other but I have also said I like some guys in the draft better than Wall. Can Beal play with McCollum, Smart, Burke, etc? I don't know. Would acquiring Kemba or Jimmer plus a pick for Wall be better than keeping John Wall? Probably so!

tontoz, you might think I am waffling, but the bottom line is at the end of 2014 is when a contract must be renewed. Wall doesn't have to be THE GUY. I like Marcus Smart and I recall being flamed for considering trading Wall before Irving came into the league.

I see Wall trying hard and competing on defense. I see how he is with better teammates. But he IS who I have thought all along.

[closg00]

^^ Seems like the Wizards use Europe as their d-league but no one gets called up. GUys like Beal and Wall are typically not sent to the d-league though. Still wonder if the Wizards should send Seraphin, Vesley, or Booker to the d-league. I don't think it helped Hamady N'Diaye much.

Then the Wizards did their due-diligence, rather than have a guy rack-up DNP's, at-least he wasn't rusting on the bench. What other basketball games can Vesely practice shooting, FT's etc, if he is not part of the rotation?

[hands11]

There isn't a poster here that makes projections that hasn't waffled to some degree or another. Specially when they are pissed or overly happy after some wins.

Now if you are someone that only posts the sky is falling, well.... that makes things a little easier since the record has been bad for a while now. Not a lot of nuance needed there.

You have been fair to Wall both in criticism and occasional hope.

He is clearly talented. He will also get better.

How talented ? How much better ? When ? Was he #1 worthy ? Should they keep him and for how much ? Those are the questions up for debate.

Lots to evaluate between now and the end of the year.

[dangermouse]

I think we would have won even if they had Griffin.

[montestewart]

Now if you are someone that only posts the sky is falling, well.... that makes things a little easier since the record has been bad for a while now. Not a lot of nuance needed there.

The record has been bad for a while now, so I much prefer the blue sky/sunny day posts. It can't be easy at all to write them. Much nuance required.

[Kanyewest]

^^ Seems like the Wizards use Europe as their d-league but no one gets called up. GUys like Beal and Wall are typically not sent to the d-league though. Still wonder if the Wizards should send Seraphin, Vesley, or Booker to the d-league. I don't think it helped Hamady N'Diaye much.

Then the Wizards did their due-diligence, rather than have a guy rack-up DNP's, at-least he wasn't rusting on the bench. What other basketball games can Vesely practice shooting, FT's etc, if he is not part of the rotation?

I agree that using the d-league should be used more if the Wizards kept their second round picks. EG has pretty much struck out consistently since he drafted Andray Blatche with these Euros. Although on the plus side being crappy vs mediocre has it pluses such as getting potentially elite prospects.

Can the Wizards send Vesley to the D-League at all? I know that the Wizards don't have their own affiliate but still. I hope Vesley can improve his free throw shooting on his own though- at this point it is so terrible that practicing on his own should help.