Wiz vs Rockets Game Thread 2/23/13 7PM - its a win 2-0

[sfam]

Crazy to say this, but I love watching this 17 win team play. This is real progress.....not a meaningless 6 game win stak to end the season. This team is close to breaking through. The record doesn't show it but they're a solid draft and FA class in addition to continued development in the summer from being a playoff team.....and that's before I consider any further development from the group of Seraphin, Booker,Vesely, and Singleton....if any of those 4 take a meaningful leap, we'll be that much better....

It would be great if at least one out of this group raises their game to be a major contributor - it would be gravy if two of them do. I would think Booker has the best chance, but he gets injured too easily. I'd really like to see either Seraphin or Vesely do something.

The six-game win streak of last season might seem insignificant but Seraphin and Vesely both were starting and playing well.

Booker and Seraphin will be entering the final year of the contracts in 2013-2014, and the Wizards have a team option on Vesely. I have a hard time seeing Seraphin remaining content with the Wizards unless he regains the form he showed last season. I think the Wizards need to be very conservative when it comes to re-signing Booker, because as you mentioned, sfam, he gets injured easily.

Out of the four, Singleton seems like a guy they might keep, but I don't think he's all that special of a player.

The player who I feel like I'm the only person who still likes him is Jan Vesely. Whatever is going on with him is psychological IMO. Physically, he's agile and athletic and long. He is playing very afraid, but I think Jan suffers from the same thing Wall does. Anxiety over performance and a mindset that tends to rush when under duress. I also think Jan should play SF more than be forced to bang inside.

I totally agree that Vesely has the talent to succeed, but have been put off by his effort. You may be right though, that its just a mental thing. This is far better, I think, than if its just that Jan is lazy and uninterested, which has been my fear. Based on the end of last year, I expected to see a far bigger jump in Ves' game after the offseason. We should definitely be giving him another year - this only makes sense considering his draft position, and that he clearly is a smart player who makes a positive difference when on the court.

[hands11]

Someone mentioned that Webster and Ariza would be too old once Wall and Beal enter their primes. Webster is 26, even though he has been in the league for 7 years he left straight out of high school. Ariza is 27, he was 19 during his rookie year. So the Wizards could keep them in their long term plans for the right price. Okafor is in his thirties - although he doesn't seem to require a large amount of leaping and jumping so he could possibly be efective for a few more years.

I agree with you. I think it's premature to rule out Okafor, Ariza or Webster being part of the rebuild. A rebuild doesn't require that all your key players be 25 or younger. I believe you need a mix of young talent and savvy vets who are still productive.

Absolutely. Besides, they can't get ride of the vets until some of the younger player grow up and get established. They need to absorb that basketball savvy that vet players can teach them. Both skills and mental stuff. I think Beal is going to be that kind of player as a very young man. Kind of already is but this is just the beginning. By 21, he should be very established. Amazing. He will only be 21 and in his 3rd year and in full bloom. He will be one of those vet leaders. That will help them get younger again.

Just gotta keep adding the next right piece. Easy to see how any of Victor O, CJM, Otto or Jeff Withey would mix right in and be able to share in the process in their 2nd or 3rd years.

Wizards have a solid 6 deep professional roster with Wall, Beal, Webster, Trevor A, Nene and Okafor. Oddly, Wall may be the one that needs to catch up to the rest the most but now that things are getting established, hopefully he can take a deep breath, realize its not all on his shoulders and slow down. Keep in mind Wall went through 2 years of the blow up.. He needs to get destenched. Beal only got a small amount of poopie on his shoes which he has already washed off.

This is why you do a culture change type of rebuild and not just a talent rebuild. You can now bring in pieces and transition them from college to the pro game much more efficiently. Had a Nick, McGee or Dray come to this group, I think they would have developed better. That said, ideally, I wouldn't add any of them as longer term assets. They just aren't smart enough. Point is, you can work with players like that now. You could bring a Drummonds to this team if you wanted to. But for me, I would always choose the smarter most mature talented player over raw upside and not as smart.

SA is not loaded with freakish athletic jumpers. But they are all smart and skilled. Its a basketball team. Not track and field.

[hands11]

I would give Emeka a 3/21 deal without looking back. He's a good guy, rebounds and boxes out excellently, and is a defensive ace. What Sam Dalembart gets should set the relative salary range for him.

I don't think Sammy should get what Okafor's going to get. Dalembert is so inconsistent. Okafor - you know he's going to give you excellent effort every game. The problem is age. It's always a risk with players over 30. And considering Okafor is making 13 or so mil a year, I don't think a 3/21 deal would grab his attention.

I'm thinking more like 2-years, $24M. But I wouldn't extend the offer until first exploring other free agency options. In 2014, guys like Gortat, Favors, Bosh, Gasol and Granger will be on the market. We might want to take a good look at them before committing to Okafor.

Oh yeah. Defiantly need to look around. And by then, I think we can attract those kind of players. But it is nice to have some options. If things keep progressing like they are, it would be hard for me to see Okafor wanting to leave. He will be wrapping up his career. Why not stay were you were productive and valued.

[hands11]

Crazy to say this, but I love watching this 17 win team play. This is real progress.....not a meaningless 6 game win stak to end the season. This team is close to breaking through. The record doesn't show it but they're a solid draft and FA class in addition to continued development in the summer from being a playoff team.....and that's before I consider any further development from the group of Seraphin, Booker,Vesely, and Singleton....if any of those 4 take a meaningful leap, we'll be that much better....

It would be great if at least one out of this group raises their game to be a major contributor - it would be gravy if two of them do. I would think Booker has the best chance, but he gets injured too easily. I'd really like to see either Seraphin or Vesely do something.

The six-game win streak of last season might seem insignificant but Seraphin and Vesely both were starting and playing well.

Booker and Seraphin will be entering the final year of the contracts in 2013-2014, and the Wizards have a team option on Vesely. I have a hard time seeing Seraphin remaining content with the Wizards unless he regains the form he showed last season. I think the Wizards need to be very conservative when it comes to re-signing Booker, because as you mentioned, sfam, he gets injured easily.

Out of the four, Singleton seems like a guy they might keep, but I don't think he's all that special of a player.

The player who I feel like I'm the only person who still likes him is Jan Vesely. Whatever is going on with him is psychological IMO. Physically, he's agile and athletic and long. He is playing very afraid, but I think Jan suffers from the same thing Wall does. Anxiety over performance and a mindset that tends to rush when under duress. I also think Jan should play SF more than be forced to bang inside.

Lots to evaluate between now and the end of the year. I'm not counting anyone out. I haven't given up on Ves. Actually, I'm looking forward to seeing him on the floor soon. Hopefully we get a good lead and Randy find a way to fit him in. Would be nice to get some kind of update on him.

One worry I have about Ves is that he might prefer playing overseas. Did you watch those stadiums cheering his name. Ves-e-ly Ves-e-ly Ves-e-ly. He is never going to get that in the United States. He will have made 10M dollars by the time we get to 2014. How much money does a man need ? Hey, the United States isn't for everyone. Its a pretty uptight place compared to some other places in the world.

[sfam]

One worry I have about Ves is that he would rather play overseas. Did you watch those stadiums cheering his name. Ves-e-ly Ves-e-ly Ves-e-ly. He is never going to get that in the United States. He will have made 10M dollars by the time we get to 2014. How much money does a man need ? Hey, the United States isn't for everyone. Its a pretty uptight place compared to some other places in the world.

The US is definitely more uptight. And I agree with you - I could easily see Vesely going somewhere in Europe rather than staying here. But gosh, I'd hope he'd at least give it a chance first. I don't think he has yet. The fact that he came back this year with a regressed game tells me that he really hasn't given it a real chance yet. Perhaps next offseason he will.

BTW, the place he was living in, Lithuania, is a pretty cool place. Vilnius is definitely a pretty kickin city - the most open and forward leaning Eastern European city I've been too.



And it has this really cool Castle (Drakai) like 20 minutes outside of Vilnius:



It has one of the largest old town sectors left in Europe, and has lots of cool places there. Its hardly a horrible place to live.

[pancakes3]

If somebody is paying, he'll definitely prefer staying. You can never be too rich or too thin

[Dat2U]

Vesely is probably dreaming of those days when the crowd cheered his name.

My guess is he's back overseas in two years with a nice contract, trying to put his NBA experience behind him.

And in two years Ernie will probably be watching him & Satoransky play together again while scouting some other raw 19 yr old European who can do back flips into a dunk, but shoots & dribbles with the skill level of a 5 year old.

[dangermouse]

Just watched the game and WOW!!!! We managed to beat a good Houston team who were shooting the lights out!

You have to be stoked with:

1) the win

2) unbelievaBEAL

3) Randy didn't play Seraphin, and he coached an excellent game. He put the right guys in to capitalise on mismatches, clearly the best of these being Okafor in the final minutes who had Delfino on him.

[dobrojim]

Someone mentioned that Webster and Ariza would be too old once Wall and Beal enter their primes. Webster is 26, even though he has been in the league for 7 years he left straight out of high school. Ariza is 27, he was 19 during his rookie year. So the Wizards could keep them in their long term plans for the right price. Okafor is in his thirties - although he doesn't seem to require a large amount of leaping and jumping so he could possibly be efective for a few more years.

I agree with you. I think it's premature to rule out Okafor, Ariza or Webster being part of the rebuild. A rebuild doesn't require that all your key players be 25 or younger. I believe you need a mix of young talent and savvy vets who are still productive.

especially given the longevity we've seen from a number of players in the last 5-10 years.
That said, it's all about negotiating the right price with them.

[dobrojim]

I would give Emeka a 3/21 deal without looking back. He's a good guy, rebounds and boxes out excellently, and is a defensive ace. What Sam Dalembart gets should set the relative salary range for him.

You might be right but if you are, the team that signs Ok will be doing a helluva
lot better than the team that signs Dalembert who I heard one Philly fan several
years ago at a game call the stupidest (BBIQ) player he'd ever seen. I'd take
Meka 7 days a week and 2x on Sunday.