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BRAVEONAWARPATH

By BRAVEONAWARPATH
in The Tailgate

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StillUnknown

StillUnknown

Posted
Posted (edited)

has Ted ever said anything negative about any player on one of his rosters?

he's an eternal optimist

its going to take more than fast start for me to turn the corner on Baltche. I want consistency over the course a season, not a couple of weeks. We've seen the flashes, thats what makes it so damn frustrating.

Edited by StillUnknown
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stwasm

stwasm

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its going to take more than fast start for me to turn the corner on Baltche. I want consistency over the course a season, not a couple of weeks. We've seen the flashes, thats what makes it so damn frustrating.

First thing's first. Could someone please tell Mr. Blatche that it's okay to go inside the paint, and he doesn't need to settle for jumpers?

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Destino

Destino

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First thing's first. Could someone please tell Mr. Blatche that it's okay to go inside the paint, and he doesn't need to settle for jumpers?

Or work hard all summer so that you can actually hit those jumpers enough that defenders can't let you have them. Get a shooting coach and develop the mid range jumper to a science and fans will love watching him shoot it. The problem is the guy can't consistently shoot but for whatever reason thinks he can.

Maybe he needs a sport psychologist to sit with him and force him to watch some game tape. Maybe they can talk about that horrid spin move too.

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pjfootballer

pjfootballer

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Posted
First thing's first. Could someone please tell Mr. Blatche that it's okay to go inside the paint, and he doesn't need to settle for jumpers?

I once saw an interview where he essentially said the area on the floor under the basket that is painted teal reminds him of a lake and he can't swim, so he stays out of it.

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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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http://www.tedstake.com/tag/teds-take/

Ted Leonsis comments on the draft.

Quite the Haul

Friday, June 24th, 2011

I thought our draft was a very good one last night.

We had three picks and we used them all.

Before we begin, we did have a discussion on moving up in the draft. The price was our 6th pick; our 18th pick; AND our first round pick for next season. That was simply too high of an ask and was counter to our plan of hording and using many picks to stock pile young players. I believe in setting a strategy and sticking with it. We didn’t believe going off strategy was the right course of action last night to move up a few spots in the draft.

We were also approached about selling one of our picks for cash but we felt we needed more players and talent and we declined. We also thought about buying another pick in the first round. We were prepared to do it but there were no sellers.

So we picked 6th, 18th and 34th.

We were not surprised that the draft went pretty much as our scouts and staff had outlined except for one change before us so we went the route that most experts had predicted and our staff had prepared for and picked Jan Vesely. Why? He is a legitimate 6 foot 11 inches. He can run; he can jump; he has tons of energy; and he is hyper competitive. He has played in professional leagues before and he will fit the system that our staff wants to implement in the future built around John Wall. The pick was a consensus between our coaches, our staff and our GM. They were excited so I am excited!

And then we got lucky at pick 18 and picked Chris Singleton. Why? Toughness. Maturity. Defensive excellence; a high energy player; plays with a chip on his shoulder; will knock folks down; and practices hard. He is in great shape and had a great workout for us. He played in a tough conference and has that intangible of work ethic that we value now very highly. I think our fans will love this young man. He and Trevor Booker will team at times to be dynamos on the boards and playing tough shut down defense. We had Chris ranked much higher than 18 in our mock drafts and we are very happy he will be a Washington Wizard.

And at 34 we picked a guard who is a winner and a steady and polished player from a great program at Butler. Shelvin Mack will serve as another young guard and back up to John Wall. He is a strong fundamentally sound player with a high basketball IQ. He can shoot; can play point; and is a hard worker.

All three players are high energy players.

They have sound basketball IQ; exhibit good fundamentals; and have high character. And all were excited about being drafted by us and playing in front of our great and growing fan base.

Thank you to the thousands of you that came to our draft party last night. THAT was very nice of you.

In 12 months time we have added seven young players to our roster: John Wall, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, Jordon Crawford, Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack. That is quite the haul of young new talent into our team. I am happy we have stayed on strategy.

Now to develop these young men via coaching and off season regimes of excellence. Thank you for believing in the plan. It is an exciting time for all of us.

Edited by BRAVEONAWARPATH
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Warhead36

Warhead36

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I like Ted. He was obviously very successful in business and it's no surprise why: he sets a strategy and he sticks with it. You may not like the picks but at least we have a vision and are executing it the way we feel is best. Gone are the days where Pollin, Unseld, and LaSooz would just scrap together garbage teams and make $$$ by marketing other team's stars or mediocre local products.

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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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With the 18th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards select Chris Singleton

Singleton is a 6'9", 230 pound Forward from Florida State. He's a good athlete with excellent length (7'1" wingspan) and strength. And as Mike Prada pointed out, he's Fast Fast Fast.

Did you think John Wall and Trevor Booker are fast? Absolutely. But what if I told you that Singleton posted a better 3/4 sprint time than both of them at this year's NBA Draft Combine? It's true. Whereas Wall ran the sprint in 3.14 seconds and Booker did it in 3.1 seconds, Singleton did it in 3.09 seconds.

As everyone knows, I've been high on Chris Singleton all year. He is the single best defensive player in this draft - and in my opinion, the best defender to come out of the last five drafts. He has the ability, the physical tools, the work ethic and the mentality to become an elite NBA defender. In College he guarded everyone from Point Guards to Power Forwards. He was particularly adept at playing the pick-and-roll because he could switch off onto ANY guard.

As Mike pointed out in his excellent article in May for SB Nation:

The experience of working with Leonard Hamilton, one of the best defensive teachers in college basketball and a guy who has a scheme that closely resembles an NBA one, means you can be sure his defense will translate.

He does have his offensive deficiencies. He is a poor ball handler and he can't shoot off the dribble. He tends to get out of control when trying to create shots - and he turns the ball over too much (2.9 per 40 PA). He is only a mediocre rebounder (9.0 per 40 pace adjusted - poor for a PF, good for a SF).

But Singleton is not a one-way player. He is an improving shooter, especially with his feet set. He improved his 3-point shooting last year to a passable 37% and his Free Throw shooting improved as well (68%).

So what have we got here? A player that can defend multiple positions. An OK rebounder for a wing. A player with an improving catch-and-shoot jump shot. High energy. High Basketball IQ. Good work ethic. Intense player with a passion for playing defense. Sounds to me like a definite role player... a 3 and D guy. But of course, if he makes that open corner 3-pointer almost automatic, he becomes so much more.

Singleton may have been the steal of the draft, but let's not heap tons of praise on Ernie Grunfeld for the pick. It was as easy a decision as John Wall was last year. It's hardly praiseworthy to pick a no-brainer.

Nonetheless, I give this pick a grade of A+

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2011/6/24/2242165/rooks-take#storyjump

---------- Post added June-24th-2011 at 08:15 PM ----------

Interview with Jan Vesely's girlfriend.

http://www.nba.com/wizards/video/2011/06/24/JohnWallondraftpicksmov-1743559/index.html :pfft:

Edited by BRAVEONAWARPATH
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Going Commando

Going Commando

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I'm extremely excited about the amount of speed and length we've got on our team now. And I agree about what Singleton needs to do offensively to become a useful starter. He really only needs to focus on limiting the turnovers, shooting free throws, and perfecting his ability to catch and shoot. If he does that, he'll be good. He doesn't need to worry about ball handling or creating off the dribble, he's got John Wall to get him the ball where he needs it.

If we have a season next year, I think Singleton is the starting 3 at some point. His game probably translates a little better immediately than Vesely's does.

Anyway, between Wall, Singleton, and Booker, I think you've got the potential to have a team that can defend the perimeter even better than Miami. What we'll need then is for JaVale to become a true defensive anchor in the middle and then we could be a special defensive team.

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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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Before people try to start comparing Vesely to Oleksiy Pecherov or other international busts in Washington; just remember, he’s a different guy. He doesn’t fit the stereotype of a European player who shoots perimeter jumpers (because he’s not a good shooter). He’s an aggressive, athletic player who attacks the rim hard. He certainly has flaws in his game, but his effort is usually always there. His game wasn’t going to grow much more in Serbia. He had to come to the United States to get better. And, he is already prepared to practice some dunks with JaVale McGee after claiming that he would like to compete in the Slam Dunk contest as well.

“We think Jan can play,” Coach Flip Saunders said. “We think he can come in right away, and he can be a guy that can be a rotation guy and can play for us. He’s a freak athlete. Maybe the greatest skill that he has -- outside of kissing -- is probably how hard he plays. He plays unbelievably hard. He’s got a high motor, and that goes along with how we played at the end of the year when we had success.”

Vesely also has a playful side that wasn’t revealed in his interviews, as he labored through his broken English, but in his interactions with his loved ones. Kodouskova said that he never let on that he had any worries about how the day would turn out.

“I don’t think he was nervous. He’s the kind of guy, he doesn’t take it seriously. He takes it how it goes,” she said. “He likes to be in the center of the attention.”

The Wizards were also comfortable with the 18th spot, where they thought they would have to get a wing player or shooter but wound up getting the best perimeter defender in the draft -- a player that one Western Conference executive thought the Wizards should’ve taken with the sixth pick.

“We didn’t think [singleton] would be there at 18, so we didn’t think it was realistic, but that’s the way the draft goes,” Grunfeld said. “You never know. Everybody ranks their players a bit different, and we were fortunate enough to be able to get him down there.”

The best part about getting Singleton is that he comes from the trade that keeps giving – the Kirk Hinrich deal from last summer, which has now yielded Jordan Crawford, Kevin Seraphin, Mike Bibby’s buyout savings and now a hard-working blue-collar player who now has a huge chip on his shoulder after sliding out of the lottery.

“I felt like my value was higher than what I got picked but I’m fine with it. It’s just the way life goes. I mean just like everybody else, you keep track of things. We’re going to see,” he said. “I was pretty confident they were high on me. There were other teams, but a lot of people fell in different positions, and a lot of people didn’t think they were going to go in certain places. It just worked out the way it did. I’m a Wizard now.”

McGee even took to praising the pick on Twitter, saying that Singleton’s presence could possibly keep him from making posters for getting dunked on next season.

Singleton’s offensive game is still a bit limited, but he should be able to get some easy buckets simply by running the floor with Wall. “I’m a developing offensive player. Everybody knows that,” Singleton said. “My shot is getting better and my ball handling is getting better and my play handling is getting better. I feel like the team we have got…me, just going in there with Vesely and Shelvin Mack, I feel like we can contribute right off the bat. I feel like we’re all dedicated to just proving everyone wrong, just push our team and try to get over the hump.”

Saunders was a huge fan of Mack going into the draft, believing that he had the toughness and confidence to be a solid floor leader off the bench and take the pressure off of Wall from time to time. The Wizards thought that he, too, would be long gone before they were picking in the second round.

“Again, we had him rated a little bit higher than where we got him at, but that’s the way the draft works,” Grunfeld said. “You never know how people in front of you have players rated, and we were fortunate that he was there for us.”

After getting what they wanted, the Wizards will now have to put it all together. But they really can’t complain about how it all turned out. They were fortunate. They were pleased. And like Vesely, they were elated.

“I’m happy to be in Washington,” he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/czech-wizards-covered-every-position-in-the-draft/2011/06/24/AG7t2TiH_blog.html

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Chachie

Chachie

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Posted
Vesely certainly doesn't lack for confidence. I like his attitude, he's got an alpha dog presence. I'm really looking forward to watching him play. Take away Blatche and half our points might come from dunks next season.

With his attitude, we don't want him hanging out with Andray after hours. :)

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Posted

I don't need to read tweets from JaVale any more. Let's just say he comes off very much like he's 23 years old. And I say this as a 25 year old.

Why in the hell does he call himself Pierre?

---------- Post added June-24th-2011 at 05:10 PM ----------

With his attitude, we don't want him hanging out with Andray after hours. :)

Well with his girlfriend being as pretty as she is, I'm betting he won't be getting arrested for soliciting prostitutes or sponsoring Lap Dance Tuesdays in the future.

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Destino

Destino

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So here's how it looks like it's going to be:

Center - McGee, Seraphin, N'diaye

PF - Blatche, Booker/Singleton

SF - Lewis, Vesely, Singleton/Booker

SG - Young, Crawford

PG - Wall, Mack

or

Center - McGee, Seraphin, N'diaye

PF - Blatche, Vesely

SF - Lewis, Singleton, Booker

SG - Young, Crawford

PG - Wall, Mack

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Gator Bait

Gator Bait

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Posted
So here's how it looks like it's going to be:

Center - McGee, Seraphin, N'diaye

PF - Blatche, Booker/Singleton

SF - Lewis, Vesely, Singleton/Booker

SG - Young, Crawford

PG - Wall, Mack

or

Center - McGee, Seraphin, N'diaye

PF - Blatche, Vesely

SF - Lewis, Singleton, Booker

SG - Young, Crawford

PG - Wall, Mack

5- Gasol/McGee/Seraphin/N'diaye

4- Blatche/McGee/Booker

3- Lewis/Vesely/Singleton/Booker

2- Young/Crawford/Jeffers

1- Wall/Crawfod/Mack

I have a very strong feeling Marc Gasol will be a wizard.

I also think Crawford is the best back up PG option we have. We will have a 9 man rotation that looks like this:

Gasol

Blatche

Lewis

Young

Wall

Crawford

McGee

Vesely

Singleton

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