Having the lingering taste of a loss going into the All-Star break is one thing. But having to hear David Falk shred this roster apart, just when everyone has been acknowledging the progress its making? C'mon, man. Gimme a freakin' break.
If you missed it, the Wizards' old friend (and Michael Jordan's agent) David Falk decided to rekindle his feud with the Wizards by laying into the entire roster in a conversation with the Washington Post's Mike Wise. Oh, and he had some special words about John Wall:
"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."
Cool story, bro.
Go ahead and read the whole interview with Wise. To Wise's credit, he thought Falk's statements incorrect and ill-timed. The Wizards have been playing well lately; couldn't he have just piled on at the beginning of the season when nothing was going right? It would have made a lot more sense to me, at least.
There are lots of fun parts to it, like suggesting the Wizards would draft John Wall over Kyrie Irving if the two were rookies. Funny. Didn't realize those two were in the same draft class. Must be my mistake.
And just for good measure, take this quote from Falk in 2010 and use it to get your mind in a fun place before heading over to Wise's piece.
"The cold war between the Wizards and me is over. We're in a new era," said Falk, who ended his long-standing pledge not to attend Wizards games after Pollin died last November. "This perception of Turner not working out is a continuation of a previous feud -- the feud is over."
Kthxbai Mr. Falk!
UPDATE: Falk apologized for his comments in a statement:
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.