David Falk destroys Wall-Wizards but loves ernie?

[jivelikenice]

I don't get how he can rip Wall, but not rip his own client who was the 2nd pick? If we had drafted Turner #1, he'd go to the media to complain about how we haven't put a good team around Evan.

[jivelikenice]

I don't get how he can rip Wall, but not rip his own client who was the 2nd pick? If we had drafted Turner #1, he'd go to the media to complain about how we haven't put a good team around Evan.

[FAH1223]

he sends his apologies

As a young basketball fan, my favorite player was Jerry West.

When I became a sports lawyer/agent, I came to regard Jerry West as the premier General Manager in the NBA. One of the qualities I most admired about Jerry, that separated him from many of his peers, was his willingness to openly admit when one of his decisions turned out to be a mistake.

Sunday evening, I engaged in a friendly banter with Mike Wise about a column he wad written. Our discussion was repartee, two fans going at it about a variety of different topics.

My decision to knowingly allow this discussion to be aired publicly was a mistake. It reflected poor professional judgment.

Therefore, I want to publicly apologize to both Ted Leonsis and Ernie Grunfeld for publicly expressing opinions that better judgment should have kept private.

I also want to publicly apologize to John Wall. I hope he either ignores my comments completely or tacks them up on his locker and uses them as motivation. Ultimately, whether or not he becomes an elite NBA player will have far more to do with his dedication and commitment than the opinions of critics, professional or amateur.

I have lived in Washington for more than 40 years and I am rooting for Ted to make the Wizards a championship team.

I humbly and publicly apologize for expressing opinions in an inappropriate forum.

[hands11]

David Falk represents one player worth a darn in the NBA: Greg Monroe. His other clients: Bibby (Sucks), Brand (washed up), John Lucas III, Patrick Ewing Jr, Corey Maggette, Juwan, Toney Douglas, Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, Evan Turner.

Is he mad the Wizards bypassed Turner in the draft? What other agent would publicly blast other players? I've never heard Arn Tellum or Dan Fagan do that? Its pretty unproffessional. Why is he even bringing up Kyrie Irving? The Wizards had no shot at drafting him, so who cares? Elton Brand is a Mercedes? HUH??????

Isn't this the crazy guy how used to go to the games and yell stuff all game from the sidelines ?

How the mighty douche has fallen.

He represented MJ his Nike Air Jordon deal, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, James Worthy, Juwan Howard, Kenny Anderson, Dikembe Mutombo and Lee Mayberry

He used to be the most powerful agent in the league.

He was the douche that did the J Howard deal that screwed us. I hate that guy.

Sounds like the media bit and gave him the free press he wanted. Whatever.

[tontoz]

Wall is a talented but flawed player. I haven't seen any progress in his 2 big flaws and this is year 3. Granted the lockout and extended absence this year could have hurt him but at this point i am undecided whether we should keep him past his rookie contract.

Obviously Wall is the biggest problem holding this franchise back. We should be so much better than 10-8 with him back considering how good our front line is and with Beal & Webster playing like an all-stars. Trade him for Darren Collison & a 1st rounder while we have a chance.

DCollison/Carter-Williams(R)
Beal/Webster
Webster/Ariza
Nene/Bennett(R)
Okafor/Seraphin

Championship here we come!!!!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

A Wizards season ticket holder, Falk added: “You guys are in dreamland. Because this team [stinks] so bad you guys want John Wall to be someone he will never be.

“Before Wall becomes Nene, I would trade him and get rid of him.”

“I’m serious. He doesn’t have a feel for the game,” Falk said. “He only knows how to play one speed. Magic Johnson had a great feel, a court sense, by the time he was a sophomore in college. Chris Paul had it by the time he was a sophomore in high school.

“You can develop your jump shot all you want, but if you don’t know how to play more than an up-and-down game by the time you’re about 20 as a point guard, the chances of learning are very slim. I don’t see it happening.”

“Let me ask you a question,” Falk said, maybe 28 times over 30 minutes, often answering for you. “Who’s bigger, Kyrie Irving or John Wall? John Wall. Who’s a better athlete? John Wall. Who’s faster? Who’s stronger? John Wall.

“Now, who’s a better player? Kyrie Irving,” he said of Cleveland’s all-star point guard who was rookie of the year in 2012. “John Wall will never be good as Kyrie Irving was in his first week in the NBA.

“You want to know the reason why just nine teams have won an NBA title in 40 years? Because if both of them came out today, 99 percent of all general managers would still take John Wall instead of Kyrie Irving. They’d take the athlete over the ballplayer. And they’d be wrong.”

“I’m not down on John Wall,” Falk said, before being further down on John Wall. “I just think people want him to be something he’s never going to be. He’s a big tease. He doesn’t have a good enough feel for the game to be an elite player. I don’t think he’ll ever be the player you think he is.”

Again, Falk is not down on John Wall, whom he said has about an 18-month window to develop court sense and become a special player. “He might, but I don’t think he’ll be a much smarter player,” he said. “You can’t become a smart player. You either are or you aren’t.”

“If I own this team, the only guy I’d keep is Bradley Beal,” Falk continued. “I would trade John Wall before what you wrote [Sunday] is wrong.”

[Jay81]

if this is not a shot at Ernie...I am not sure what is



When I became a sports lawyer/agent, I came to regard Jerry West as the premier General Manager in the NBA. One of the qualities I most admired about Jerry, that separated him from many of his peers, was his willingness to openly admit when one of his decisions turned out to be a mistake.

[dangermouse]

But Wall is learning how to change speeds, we've seen it. His floater in the lane has improved. His defense has improved (lets not include that Detroit game, the whole team was sluggish). I even think he is slightly more effective in the half court now he has players he can rely on. His game has improved since the off season. Maybe I'm a homer who sees it because i want to see it, but I see it.

What exactly does he think Wizards org/fans expect John to be? A Lebron/Durant level talent? That is asking for way too much and I dont think there is anyone who seriously thinks that. Can he battle the top point guards in the league, he won't ever be considered the best unless he fixes that jumper or until Chris Paul retires, but can he battle the rest of the top PG's in the league? Yes, i believe he will. Westbrook, Kyrie, Rose. He will battle those guys and it wont be long before he is mentioned along with them in people's top 5 PG lists.

And this is Elton Brand:

[AFM]

His point about Irving vs Wall is stupid. Irving is a better player because he's an amazing shooter, not because he has a "better feel for the game". Wall is a better distributor, Irving is a better scorer.

[80sballboy]

The truth hurts even coming from a jackass.

[80sballboy]

His point about Irving vs Wall is stupid. Irving is a better player because he's an amazing shooter, not because he has a "better feel for the game". Wall is a better distributor, Irving is a better scorer.

Irving has a better feel for the game because he knows what he is-lead guard. John thinks he's Kyrie Irving at the end of games. Just watch him try to take over instead of feeding his teammates.Trying to do too much. He's not Chris Paul or Irving. He doesn't have the jumper to take over in the halfcourt. Hopefully he gets smarter as he matures. I love the guy and I know he makes us better, but we're just not good enough right now. Being mediocre is not good enough for me.

[daSwami]

I will forever begrudgingly give Falk props for his role in getting Juwan-freaking-Howard not one but two (two!) $100+ million contracts in the same off-season. Not offers, but actual contracts. Falk belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of agents for that feat alone. It screwed this franchise for years (thus the "begrudgement"), but it still amazes me in hindsight. That said, it does sort of diminish whatever credibility he thinks he has as an up-side evaluator, at least in my eyes anyway.

[zardsfan]

NBA Players (Time / Frame) MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG

Chauncey Billups(2003/04) 35.4 0.394 0.388 0.878 0.4 3.1 3.5 5.7 1.1 0.1 2.42 2.27 16.9

John Wall (Career # so far) 36.0 0.417 0.224 0.778 0.6 3.8 4.4 8.1 1.5 0.7 3.8 2.3 16.2

In the 2003/04 NBA Season, Chauncey Billips lead the Detroit Pistons to an NBA Championship in his ninth season as a point guard. It was his 2nd season in Detroit and only the 2nd time in his career that he was able to START every game he played in 78/78. At this point Chauncey had 529 NBA games under his belt (Wall has 141 as of this date)

Among NBA circles, Billups (Drafted 3rd overall in 1997) was considered a draft bust. (Sounds familiar)

Detroit won that year in large part because they had great team defense and a core of "good" not great, players that bought into the system. John Walls #'s compare favorably to that of Billips championship season right now, and he will continue to improve.

My point is, I think John Wall CAN win an NBA title right here in D.C. if we build the same kind of team Detroit did... hell, Washington practically "Built" Detroit's Championship team of 2004 (3 starters were x-bullets) so their is hope IMHO.

[jivelikenice]

His point about Irving vs Wall is stupid. Irving is a better player because he's an amazing shooter, not because he has a "better feel for the game". Wall is a better distributor, Irving is a better scorer.

Irving has a better feel for the game because he knows what he is-lead guard. John thinks he's Kyrie Irving at the end of games. Just watch him try to take over instead of feeding his teammates.Trying to do too much. He's not Chris Paul or Irving. He doesn't have the jumper to take over in the halfcourt. Hopefully he gets smarter as he matures. I love the guy and I know he makes us better, but we're just not good enough right now. Being mediocre is not good enough for me.

Wall tries to take over at the end of games? Not sure if I've noticed this. Wall is averaging 6 less shot attempts per game than Kyrie. He's playing less minutes, but if you look at it on a per 36 basis, Wall averages three less shot attempts per game. Since his return, most of our success has come at home and I don't think there are many complaints about his play at Verizon given our success and his play there (my assumption). So I'm guessing you're saying he tries his Kyrie impersonation on the road. Well on the road, John averages only 11.8 shots per game. On a Per basis, he's only at 14.3, which is 4.5 less shots per game than Kyrie. I guess I just don't see how he's trying to be like Kyrie and I really haven't noticed him freezing out teamates to end games. What I'd like to see from him is a realization that this team's success will be based on his ability to attack and put pressure on a defense. Him attacking will collapse defenses and open up opportunties for his teamates. Him standing around does nothing. He needs to try to get better at not turning it over, but not be mindful of it either. I can live with turnovers if they're aggressive turnovers.

[nate33]

NBA Players (Time / Frame) MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG

Chauncey Billups(2003/04) 35.4 0.394 0.388 0.878 0.4 3.1 3.5 5.7 1.1 0.1 2.42 2.27 16.9

John Wall (Career # so far) 36.0 0.417 0.224 0.778 0.6 3.8 4.4 8.1 1.5 0.7 3.8 2.3 16.2

In the 2003/04 NBA Season, Chauncey Billips lead the Detroit Pistons to an NBA Championship in his ninth season as a point guard. It was his 2nd season in Detroit and only the 2nd time in his career that he was able to START every game he played in 78/78. At this point Chauncey had 529 NBA games under his belt (Wall has 141 as of this date)

Among NBA circles, Billups (Drafted 3rd overall in 1997) was considered a draft bust. (Sounds familiar)

Detroit won that year in large part because they had great team defense and a core of "good" not great, players that bought into the system. John Walls #'s compare favorably to that of Billips championship season right now, and he will continue to improve.

My point is, I think John Wall CAN win an NBA title right here in D.C. if we build the same kind of team Detroit did... hell, Washington practically "Built" Detroit's Championship team of 2004 (3 starters were x-bullets) so their is hope IMHO.

In general, I'm wary of this type of comparison. Billups is a bit of an aberration in that he was a really late bloomer for a perennial All Star. You can pretty take any half-decent NBA point guard and say that they are better than a young Chauncey Billups.

The same applies when comparing someone to Nowitzki's rookie year, or to Kevin Garnett's.

[zardsfan]

I hear you Nate, but the point is that I was comparing Wall (now) to Billups during his Championship year (not his rookie or even 3rd year)... Not so much to say Wall is as good or better now than Billups was then; but rather to point out that if a player like Billups can develop into a point guard that can take a team to the Championship and win it, then why not Wall?

[DCsOwn]

https://mobile.twitter.com/daldridgetnt ... 7978784770

[GhostsOfGil]

https://mobile.twitter.com/daldridgetnt/status/302471347978784770

The comments on that tweet are so stupid. The NBA fan base is a joke.

[DCsOwn]

https://mobile.twitter.com/daldridgetnt/status/302471347978784770

The comments on that tweet are so stupid. The NBA fan base is a joke.

Agreed

[verbal8]

https://mobile.twitter.com/daldridgetnt/status/302471347978784770

I can see the comparison. Holiday, Rondo and Wall really are the only guys who seem to be the same type of player as Payton. Rondo really isn't enough of a score to compare to Payton.