FanPost

The failure of Vesely is symptomatic for this franchise

Here is a kid with a few exceptional strengths and many weaknesses. A dude that needs to adjust to a different style of play, in a new country, a new culture. We bring in a shooting coach for 3 days, who completely alters Jan's shooting motion, adding more confusion to his already tough situation. Next, the team proceeds to make things hard on him by putting him at the 4, a position he is not used to playing. As a result he, he looks lost out there. He seems to have no confidence whatsoever in his offensive game and clearly has nobody to lean on. I, like many others (Rook and DCrez I remember most vividly) was against drafting this kid for many reasons. But the dude is twice the player he has shown us so far. In many ways, the failure of Jan Vesely is the Washington Wizards franchise in a nutshell.

Same thing with John Wall. We luck into the #1 overall, roll out the red carpet and ask a 20yr old kid to show us the way. Giving him no guidance and a roster full of clueless misfits. The only reason he is somewhat swimming is that he is an otherworldly talent. It's so hard to swim on his own though, that he can't keep the rest of the boat afloat. He seems to be a tripple double threat on any given night, grabbing rebounds to trigger the fastbreak, exploding to the rim at will or kicking it out to an open teammate for the jumper. He really is breathtaking sometimes. Just imagine what he could have been already, if drafted by a competent organization.

There is talent on this roster, there really is.

However, Ernie has managed to find ZERO serviceable veterans that can contribute. The coaching staff seems to have no clue how to develop talent whatsoever and lacks a leader who carve's out clearly defined tasks and responsibilities for everyone. On top of that the FO doesn't hire much needed player personell to help these kids adjust to a new life as a millionaire in a new city. The basketball operation has made a very ugly piece of art out of otherwise fine, but raw materials.

This franchise is dysfunctional to it's core and I put the blame on Ted. He didn't change anything when he took over, which means he initially didn't see what was wrong internally. Therefore, he probably doesn't know how fix this either. His approach of 'smiley-face positivism' and focus on loyalty has proven to be great in other situations, but apparently he doesn't seem to recognize a different approach is needed in this situation. Now it's gonna cost him tons of extra money to turn things around. Money he is not eager to spend (I would think) and a process he is not capable to lead (apparently).

We are arguing with each other about players like Andray Blatche, Javale McGee and Nick Young, the holdover talents from the 'big 3 era'. Sure, there is a lot to say about their own efforts, their goofyness and so on, but after so many years the question should be asked whether the organization is either unable to turn good talents into good players, or unable to asses whether or not a player is worth the time and resources and then take actions accordingly. Either way, that's not good.

The jury is still out on most of the younger players acquired in 2010 and 2011 and like I said, there really is some talent there. Like the holdover talents, however, they have many weaknesses as well. A raw group that really needs some development and guidance. That's exactly why I am afraid that this franchise will mess up the entire rebuild.

Some players will make it on their own, here or elsewhere because they are just that good. Most players though, need a little help from the basketball Gods to land in the right situation at the right time (Jeremy Lin, anyone?) and I am feeling sorry for a player like Jan, for getting drafted by the Wizards.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

The trade deadline and March Madness give us new hope, but as long as this franchise keeps fielding the same incompetent personnel, is it really going to matter who we get on this team? A wise man once said "Keep doing the same thing over and over, while expecting a different result, is the definition of insanity".

The loss yesterday wasn't surprising or upsetting to me. I am fine with losing the majority of our games, but the play of the team is just terrible. Unacceptable. They are flat-out clueless and we have seen this going on for so long with very little noticable progress. It is symptomatic and Vesely is just another glaring red flag on this ship.

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.