nate33 wrote:This is an interesting debate.
Wall is a heck of a competitor and he gives it his all on the court, so I'm loathe to criticize him. But it is true that he does seem to enjoy the nightlife a bit much during the season, and he has been out of shape in some offseasons. In general, I get the feeling that he loves basketball and loves to compete, but he doesn't necessarily have the type of mental discipline to work on the boring minutia in the offseason that might make him a better player. My guess is that his favorite basketball training drill is to play basketball.
Beal seems to be more disciplined and detail-oriented in his game. He lacks Wall athletic fluidity, but you can tell that he works very hard on boring things like footwork and body positioning in order to help improve his game. That said, I sometimes worry about Beal's mental toughness. He isn't an ice-cold assassin during crunch time, but instead seems to be more likely to miss free throws and clutch shots down the stretch. (In his defense, that's changing a bit this year as he grows more confident in general.)
Basically, I think the perfect basketball attitude would combine Beal's off the court discipline and work ethic with Wall's on the court spirit and competitiveness.
Overall, I think both players have pretty good attitudes. You don't really worry about giving either guy a long term contract because both guys are going to keep working hard (if not always working smart) and try and improve. Most of my complaints are just minor nitpicks. Things could certainly be much, much worse.
Wall and Beal are going to be boosted by Porter.
If the Wizards simply hold on to their draft pick they are one Harry Giles or Justin Patton (or, Ruzious, the big kid at Baylor); and, in round two, Jason Hart, away from being an upper tier team.
(i.e. I'm worried...)