What's your thoughts on Darrius Songaila?

by purpleonblack86 on Jun 24, 2009 8:12 PM EDT

I am looking forward to what this recent trade is going to bring us this year and the more I look at it, it really seems like a win win for both teams involved. Besides that good news I was really wondering what people's thoughts were on here about Darrius Songaila's time with the Wizards. He showed me signs of improvement and provided a good back court presence at times as well as needed scoring even sometimes in clutch moments but his reserve role and lack of consistent production makes him being traded away understandable. Etan's situation was unfortunate and I wish him all the best but as far as Pech well that's a different story but I still hope he develops his role better in Minnesota. Now my initial question is basically what you guys think was Songaila's legacy with us good or bad and how do you think he'll fare with the the Twolves? Considering that I see D.Songalia as the higher commodity out of the three but feel free to disagree.

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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I was going to write a post about Darius tonight

But with all the threads already in the FanPosts and this one, I think I’ll wait until after the draft. Interesting question, though.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jun 24, 2009 8:56 PM EDT reply actions

Solid player that was misused.

I liked Songaila. He was a good role player who busted his butt on the court and did pretty damn well with limited abilities. That said, he should have never played center – but that’s the coaches’ fault, not his.

The Washington Wizards: providing career scoring nights for unknown opposing bench players since 2004.

by mamemimo on Jun 24, 2009 8:57 PM EDT reply actions

Spot on

"Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home." --- Daffy Duck

by George Templeton on Jun 25, 2009 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions

i expected more

i thought he’d be a passing big man who could hit open shots and hold his own on the boards. i thought he’d fit in really well, but he never was all that effective on the court. a little too slow i think.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Jun 24, 2009 9:10 PM EDT reply actions

I absolutely loved him.

The statistical evidence won’t back it up but I remember during the 07-08 that every time he got an open jumper I felt like it was money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laydODN6xVk

by hibachi on Jun 24, 2009 9:30 PM EDT reply actions

True that

by MR on Jun 24, 2009 11:14 PM EDT up reply actions

It Depends on What Stats You Look At

There are reasons why good team players don’t rack up box score statistics. But in terms of APM, he was a beast, the third most valuable player on the team the past two seasons behind Antawn and Brendan.

He did the little things that don’t show up in the box score, at least not in his line. He was one of the only low-post defenders who could hold his ground and not bite on pump fakes. His individual rebounding was sub-par, but the team rebounded just as well with him as it did without him. I believe that was because he was also one of the few players on the Wizards that practiced good fundamentals, such as boxing out his defender. (Boxing out sometimes puts you out of position for rebounds, but it can increase your teammates’ chances for boards.)

He was very consistent with his mid-range jump shot. If teams played him too close, he would make them pay with his passing. He also was a pretty good drive-to-the-basket guy, when the need called for it. He was pretty adept at creating his own shot in the low-post, and thought this was an underrated part of his game.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jun 25, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

The Wiz didn't keep him long enough

Each year, he added 2-inches to his range…. Next year, he would have been beyond the 3-point arc.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Jun 24, 2009 10:35 PM EDT reply actions

Thats definitely true

He kept being able to hit longer and longer jumpers. Its kinda funny but everytime he caught the ball, my dad and I could immediately say “shoot it” or “DONT SHOOT AHHH!!!” based solely on how far away he was from the basket.

The issue is that I think his knees deteriorate every year a bit more. I am not convinced he will be able to stay healthy both of the next 2 years.

by Manimal Smith on Jun 25, 2009 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Songaila

shot more long jumpers (and I mean, just inside the 3-point line) than anyone else on the Wizards… and he still ended up with a 53% Shooting percentage.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Jun 25, 2009 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions

It was impressive and he would definitely help this team but ...

He couldn’t jump over a newspaper – if we needed a physical rebounding presence I think we could do better than Darius.

He really is a warrior though and I kinda feel like he did show he could be that guy last year – I’m just really warry of his knees.

by Manimal Smith on Jun 25, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm a Songaila fan

I think the offense moved better when he was in the game. He made good cuts and he hit players making good cuts. That kind of play is infectious. He played his role well. H was a hard working and under-rated defender.

However I find it hard to use the word “legacy”. He was/should be a career backup and role player.

by MR on Jun 24, 2009 11:17 PM EDT reply actions

We Need Guys Like That

He was/should be a career backup and role player.

We have three All-Stars in our starting line-up. And our MVP starter, IMO, is not one of them. That’s already 4 great players on our team and in our starting lineup. You don’t need a “Dream Team” to win a championship. In fact, it helps to have a lot of guys who fill unique roles on the team. I sincerely felt that Songaila could have been one of those guys. I’m curious to see who Ernie replaces him with.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jun 25, 2009 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Ideally, we'd get someone to replace him that's a better rebounder

Darius wasn’t as awful as his rebounding numbers indicated, but he’s still below-average in that department. I don’t really care too much if the guy we get can hit an 18-footer.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jun 25, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions

+ 1

"Come on James Walker, making fun of Browns fans? That's like waiting outside a middle school for the short bus to arrive so you can try out some "new material."

by purpleonblack86 on Jun 25, 2009 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Cuppettcj-

Agreed about Songila/roles etc.

So who are our all stars if not Arenas?

by MR on Jun 25, 2009 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Don't Understand the Question

So who are our all stars if not Arenas?

That’s obvious, unless I misunderstood the question.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jun 25, 2009 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions

We have three All-Stars in our starting line-up. And our MVP starter, IMO, is not one of them.

AJ, Caron and Haywood? But not Arenas?

by MR on Jun 25, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Not Sure if You Will See This

Sorry about being so late in my reply. Our All-Stars are Caron, AJ, and Gil. Our MVP starter, IMO, is Brendan Haywood, not Arenas.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jun 30, 2009 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Yea I completely agree he should be a career backup and role player and I was just getting a little fancy with the “legacy” word not that I was crowning him as a great player or anything.

"Come on James Walker, making fun of Browns fans? That's like waiting outside a middle school for the short bus to arrive so you can try out some "new material."

by purpleonblack86 on Jun 25, 2009 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

E

Even at PF he was too short to have any chance at blocking/challenging his man’s shot attempts. because of this, his only true plan of attack defensively was to push his man off the block. The back injury robbed him of some strength too.

Once they get the ball he isn’t strong enough to hold his ground or long enough to challenge. if the opponent did make a move toward the basket he would try to strip and picked up fouls this way.

He’s perfect for MIN as a reserve forward that can hit open 16 footers. For a team hoping to go deep in the playoffs he should be a luxury, not a necessity off the bench.

by Jheiser3 on Jun 25, 2009 2:08 PM EDT reply actions