2012 Wizards' Player Evaluations: Jan Vesely

Now, did any of these things prove to be untrue.

Besides John Wall or JaVale McGee, Vesely was perhaps the most scrutinized of the Wizards during this shortened season. The knowledge was that Vesely was going to be something of a project, but there was hope that his boundless athleticism and his playing time with Partizan would deliver a more complete package than the one that arrived on the Wizards doorstep in December.

Instead, the Wizards got an intriguing piece that was clearly labeled "some assembly may be required." Early in the year, many of us gushed how Vesely did so many of the "little things" such as rotating to his man, quickly getting the ball out on the break and constantly working on the boards (though not necessarily securing them) to keep possessions alive. However, after the first 35 or so games, the little things stopped being so impressive. Everyone knew that Vesely was a hustle player and his time on the floor would see him constantly careening around an causing havoc. This in turn led to the trend of Vesely picking up a ton of cheap fouls as he would tend to be overaggressive in man defense or reach over the back of an opposing rebounder.

The question for the Wizards and Vesely next season is not whether he is going to play a large role on the team, but what area do they need him to focus on to benefit the team the most in the upcoming season. Do the Wizards bring someone in to fix the jumpshot or do they set to work on developing some sort of low post game.

Like Chris Singleton, Vesely's development was no doubt stunted by the lack of practice, summer league and training camp. I think there is every opportunity that Vesely has a Seraphin like leap next year, the more concerning question is whether the Wizards have a future starter on their hands or a more athletic Chris Andersen.