Yet more reasons to freak out about John Wall

[washingtonwizard]

NBA Draft: Yet more reasons to freak out about John Wall
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/05/nba-draft-yet-more-reasons-to-freak-out-about-john-wall.php
Sat May 22,2010 2:05 PM ET By Matt Moore
I'd probably come to your attention that John Wall is kind of a big deal. He's been the anticipated No.1 overall selection since the start of the college basketball season, and has become one of the most hyped picks of the last decade. His upside is based not only on his ridiculous athleticism and talent, but the fact that his game is so much better suited for the NBA style.

But let's not undersell the athleticism. Particularly in light of his draft camp performance.

There are tons of reasons to disregard the NBA draft camp. Most players don't participate in the basketball drills. The agility and leaping drills have led to many players being overrated who simply can't play basketball. There's just more to basketball than the physical tools. But we can use the measurements and testing as another tool in our evaluation.

And using it in that manner? Wall's off the charts.

In the measurements, Wall posted a 6-9.25 wingspan. You can think of the relevance there in terms of his ability to contain large, long guards like Rajon Rondo. You can also use it when projecting his ability to create his own shot over long players and rebounding prowess. As a comparison? Wall's wingspan was longer than expected No. 2 pick Evan Turner's 6-8 wingspan. Turner is 6-8 in terms of height, while Wall is 6-4, and yet Wall has a longer wingspan. That's incredible.

The 25 yard dash was also ridiculous for Wall, who posted the top time of his group with a 3.14. As a comparison, Darren Collison, who is considered one of the fastest players in the league, posted a 3.10. So Wall wasn't unbelievable, but he was still stunning. His vertical and other numbers will be available later in the week, but it should be noted:

John Wall is every bit the freak of nature we think he is.

[washingtonwizard]

Demarcus Cousins is a fat ass:

NBA Humans Larger, Less Fat Than Non-NBA Humans
by Busta Bucket Correspondent Written on May 23, 2010
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images As draft nerds are well aware, NBA Draft Combine measurements have started coming in . Measurements and combine results are a small slice of the overall delicious cherry pie that makes a successful NBA player, so don't often mean much in and of themselves. But going over results is still fun. First of all, you get a solid reminder of how freaky the dimensions of these people are. Second, players can legitimately improve or ruin their draft stock if some unexpected results are found. In that NBA player cherry pie (I should stop writing these things when I'm hungry) this all does represent only a small slice, but it is the most objective slice we have. (Hard numbers are nice for a lot of reasons, one of them being ego checks. Remember when DeMar Derozan claimed he could out leap Vince Carter and came up seven inches short ? Ha.)

The jumping/running/lifting results have yet to hit the inter-webs, but we do have heights, wingspans, and body fat percentages. Consensus number one pick John Wall became even more consensus-er now that we know he has better size and length than Derrick Rose. Seriously, a 6'9.25" wingspan? For some perspective on what that means, imagine that classic bully move where the bully extends their arm and holds the other person by the head, while the person getting bullied swings their fists angrily but can only reach far enough to hit air. John Wall is the bully. Jerryd Bayless is the person swinging at air.

In other news, DeMarcus Cousins is fat . Remember how people were concerned about Kevin Love's fatness? Love's body fat percentage was 3.5 percent lower than Cousins. Is it even more scary that Cousins claims to be in the best shape of his life ? Well, Hollinger's NBA predictor thingamajig likes Cousins a lot . Chris Kaman was the only other similarly fat lottery pick and he's managed to keep it together somewhat. What we do know is that Cousins is this draft's most likely player to have a weight clause in his contract someday.

Shifting to guys the Blazers may select with the 22nd pick, Larry Sanders measured well. He has the same height and wingspan as DeMarcus Cousins, with the opposite weight problem. If the Blazers want an banger-type to come off the bench at PF and contribute immediately they may want someone who doesn't give up 15 pounds to Martell Webster.

That's the tricky part of addressing Portland's needs through the draft. There aren't many minutes available for a guy that requires significant development. If all Sanders needs is to bulk up that's one thing. Unfortunately the word "raw" shows up on his DraftExpress bio more often than I'd like. I'm not confident that this team has time for him. Really, Joel Freeland may be the best option. (And if we're talking a backup PG that fit Nate's system, Koponen is closer than you think to being that guy. But I'm biased because Finland stole my heart long ago. Moving on.)

Most of the other guys assumed to be available for Portland are the PF/SF types that will likely be playing more of a small-forward role in the NBA. (Combo -forwards? Do people say that? Can we start?) There weren't any huge measurement surprises from the mid-lower first-round members of this group, with the notable exception of Damion Jones' ridiculous 7'0.25" wingspan. The thing about combo-forwards in today's NBA is that there seem to be a lot of them available. The Blazers drafted Dante Cunningham in the second-round last year. Unless they find someone they think will be an absolute gem I'm not sure Portland wants or needs more.

All of which is why Portland should just go ahead and do what they really want, another draft n' stash special. Assuming Portland does not move up and nab someone they really want, which could be a stupid assumption, selecting French big man Kevin Seraphin would make sense. Seraphin reportedly has rare athletic ability for his size. He could develop his skills in Europe for a while longer and potentially be a cultural buddy for Nic Batum someday. Or he could just stay in Europe until everyone forgets about him. Whatever.

[washingtonwizard]

Wall disses Arenas:

What John Wall knows about D.C.
In his brief previous comments about D.C., John Wall's focus has mostly been on Barack Obama. During a Monday appearance on ESPN 980's The Sports Fix, he expanded about what he knows about D.C.

"If they pick me, that's gonna mean a lot," Wall said of the Wizards. "It's a dream come true for me to play in the NBA. Washington is a great city, being that it's the capital city. Great fans, they've got a great hockey team, and they haven't had a star there in a while. That's a place I'm wishing I can come in and take over."

Well, don't tell Gilbert Arenas that Wall thinks they haven't had a star in a while, but it was a fine enough answer. Kevin Sheehan then asked a follow-up on how often he's been to the District.

"I haven't really spent time there," Wall said. "I played in the Charlie Weber tournament two years in a row, that's the most experience I have. And I know the President stays there, that's all I know about it. And they've got a good marketing company."


At least, I think that's what he said. Though I have absolutely no idea what he'd have meant if that's actually what he said. Brotman Winter Fried Communications? That's a good marketing company.

Wall said his favorite player growing up was Allen Iverson. He said he most needs to work on his jump shot. He said one of the most important things he learned from John Calipari was that "you can't give 100 percent on offense and from 55 to 70 percent on defense." He said Kentucky assistant Rod Strickland told him D.C. was "a nice city" and he "used to love playing there." And he didn't have much at all to say when asked about the past 12 months in Wizards history.

"To be honest, I knew all the things that happened, but I wasn't on the team and I wasn't a part of the organization or anything like that, so I couldn't really talk about how things went," Wall said. "I know I read up on how [their core] got traded and things like that, but when I'm coming in, I'm trying to change it around, if that's who I go to. I want to help the organization change, help the team win games, just come in and do what I did at Kentucky."

[washingtonwizard]

bye bye Arenas

Gilbert Arenas might be leaving Washington pretty soon
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Gilbert-Arenas-might-be-leaving-Washington-prett?urn=nba,243284
By Trey Kerby

It's almost funny to think that five years ago Gilbert Arenas(notes) was a rising star in the NBA. Coming off his first All-Star season at age 23, Arenas was the face of the Wizards, a team that a lot of people thought had a shot at becoming one of the Eastern Conference's elite. Three years later, he'd be a part of a bidding war between the Wizards and Warriors, before eventually settling on a $111 million contract with Washington.

Of course, since signing that huge contract, Arenas has played 34 of a possible 164 games between his recurring knee injuries and that whole "Choose One" episode in the Wizards' locker room. That's why, according to former Washington Times reporter John Mitchell, Arenas is on his way out.

According to one source with intimate knowledge of the team's plans, the Wizards front office, headed by president Ernie Grunfeld, doesn't want Arenas — released earlier this month from a Washington DC halfway house after serving 30 days for a felony gun conviction — anywhere near [John] Wall, whom the team has already decided it will select with the top pick in the June draft. After Arenas was convicted Grunfeld traded away four starters.

One source tagged Arenas as "the reason why a core of players that reached the playoffs" on multiple occasions had to be broken up, "and it was entirely due to what he did. He poisoned the team. He is a cancer."

The Wizards' options include trying to trade Arenas, who has four years and more than $80 million in salary remaining on his contract. But that is not the only option. According to a source the team will "definitely consider buying out" Arenas' contract.


Sure, this is just a single report, and as noted in the piece, the Wizards publicly stand in opposition to everything that's being said here. However, if a team is trying to shed some of its baggage and establish a new identity, getting rid of the guy most closely associated with a bygone era makes sense, especially considering the rest of the team was blown up earlier in the year.

That being said, as Kyle Weidie of the suberb Washington Wizards blog Truth About It says, "whomever is pointing to Arenas being the sole reason why the entire unstable house of cards came crashing down has an agenda." Since Arenas went from face of the franchise, super fun times all the time, No. 1 Wizard to "cancer" and "poison" in two years, I'd say that's probably true too. However, moving Arenas' contract while clearing the way for John Wall is a pretty big win for Washington.

It should be interesting to see how this plays out, though I'd think moving Arenas is a win-win-win situation. Some team gets a talented guard who will be driven to show the Wizards they made a mistake. Arenas gets a chance to prove he wasn't the problem. Washington has a bad contract off its books and a rookie point guard who is going to be great. Sounds reasonable to me.

[Roddy Beaubois]

lol Wizards tlong

[Kai]

lol Wizards tlong

If it were tlong every article would have it's own thread.

[Roddy Beaubois]

true, true

[DJ Mbenga]

cousins=sean may