NBA News 2012: Wizards Exercise Options on Young Core

English: Ernest "Ernie" Grunfeld, the General Manager of the Washington Wizards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has exercised the fourth-year contract options on John Wall, Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin and Jordan Crawford while picking up the third-year contract options on Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton. Wall, Booker, Seraphin, Crawford, Vesely and Singleton are now signed through the 2013-14 season. Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not released.

“We have been able to bring in and develop this core group of talented, mature young players over the last several years, and we’re pleased to have them all signed through next season,” said Grunfeld. “Combining them with the veterans we’ve added gives us a solid foundation that can be competitive now while allowing us to continue to build towards future success.”

Wall was selected first overall by Washington in the 2010 NBA Draft. Last season, the 6-4 guard appeared in all 66 games and averaged 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 36.2 minutes per contest. He became the sixth fastest player in NBA history (124 games) to reach the 2,000 points/1,000 assists plateau. In 135 career games, including 130 starts, Wall has averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 37.0 minutes per contest.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/wizards-exercise-options-on-young-core/

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NBA News 2010: Rose vs. Wall?

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

CHICAGO -- As Derrick Rose practiced his corner 3-pointer an hour and a half before Saturday's game against the Washington Wizards, he was unexpectedly crowded by a bunch of guys in sweaters and sportcoats hanging around the visitors' bench.

He looked over, a bit confused, and kept shooting.

Why was the media invading his space?

After a slow start, Rose finished with 24 points, hitting 8 of 20 from the field (7 of 12 in the last three quarters) and all seven of his free throws, to go with eight assists, two steals and three turnovers. He scored eight, hitting four of six shots, as the Bulls took control in the third. He had four assists in the fourth.

In truth, Rose had nothing to prove against Wall, the reigning No. 1 pick and most recent addition to the exciting crop of young point guards in the NBA. Rose knows that, and Wall knows that.

"We're two different people," Wall said before the game. "He's Derrick Rose, I'm John Wall. He's proved himself on this level already for three years he's been in the league. I'm trying to prove myself that I can be the kind of player he is."

Wall looked good, but not great, perhaps bogged down a bit by playing three games in four days. He sat out for part of the second half with a strained foot, but returned late in the fourth.

Wall is certainly every bit as fast as Rose and a lot of people think his jumper is already better -- though that's like saying someone is better with their money than Scottie Pippen.

Rose said Wall will have to get used to constant comparisons to other guards in the league, something few players enjoy hearing about from us reporter types.

"It's not going to stop," Rose said. "He's going to have to answer every call, every matchup. Every point guard in the NBA has a matchup. It's kind of like a faster game now, so the point guards are dominating the ball and really almost like the best players on the team. So every night he's going to have someone coming at him."

If Rose could learn something from Wall, it would be his penchant for thievery.

Wall, who leads the league in steals, had three in the first half. The only one I remember is watching him sneak behind Noah near the top of the key for a swipe. It was the kind of freelancing that Rose is capable of, but doesn't do often enough. Tom Thibodeau can't teach that either; it has to come from inside.

The best part of the Rose-Wall matchup was that it happened.

The NBA needs rivalries that have nothing to do with Twitter potshots, past cheap shots or taking one's talents from the Rust Belt to South Beach.

Rose-Wall is all about basketball, and it matches two exciting, fast, up-and-coming players. It's a relief, quite frankly, and I'll take that every night.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/columns/story?columnist=greenberg_jon&id=5804270

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NBA News 2010: Washington Wizards Center JaVale McGee: The Year of The Beast

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The Washington Wizards went from being a perennial playoff team to one of the worst teams in the NBA to one of the potential surprise teams heading into the 2010-11 season.

The smart money points to John Wall being the main reason for the positive outlook, but third-year center JaVale McGee may just open some eyes come October.

But has he done enough to become the inside presence the Wizards have lacked for so many years?

A first-round selection in 2008, McGee was a relatively unknown prospect from the University of Nevada-Reno. He was lanky and his game was unpolished, but he had the kind of athleticism that had to be harnessed in some way shape or form. He has played sparingly through his first two season, playing behind Brendan Haywood and coming off the bench when struck by inconsistency, but McGee has shown improvement each year.

He showed even more in the Wizards Vegas Summer League by growing an inch and adding some muscle to his frame. He even got a look from the U.S. National team for this year's World Championships.

While he did not make the national team and Summer League play is worlds away from the regular season in terms of competition and defense, McGee averaged 19.5 points on 69-percent shooting and nine-and-a-half rebounds in the Wizards' five games.

His length and athleticism have allowed him minor success thus far, but he will need to refine his game to be the beast he let the world that was watching the Summer League know he can be.

If there was one thing apparent in McGee's first two years, it was his excitement.

After a monster dunk or big block, he would storm down the court like he had just beaten the world. Passion is great, but sometimes his would get the better of him and it would lead to a bad play on the other end of the floor.

Based on his physique, athleticism, and positioning, it is no stretch of the imagination to envision McGee as Dwight Howard 2.0. Howard was a defensive player and a rebounder, first and foremost, before developing his offense around the basket. McGee wasn't expected to be a centerpiece, and hasn't had that type of focus in his training.

Superstars are rarely born overnight, and they rarely last for decades afterward. McGee has a nose for the rim, whether off of pick-and-roll situations, following shots, or just running the floor. With Wall and Arenas as starting guards for Washington, running the floor will be the norm for McGee and the Wizards. In tandem with the finesse style of post-mate Andray Blatche, McGee has the opportunity to get a lot of offensive put backs.

He is a bit behind in terms of coming into his own, but only because of the turmoil around him and his asthma. Rest assured, resting beneath the lanky, baby-faced exterior is a double-double machine waiting for the season opener to start churning out the stats and stuffing the box score.

Wall may get the headlines and press coverage, but this is the year of JaVale McGee.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/451506-washington-wizards-center-javale-mcgee-the-year-of-the-beast

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NBA News 2010: Which Rookie Will Make the Biggest Impact in 2010-11?

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The obvious pick for Rookie of the Year at this point would be John Wall, the No. 1 overall pick of the Washington Wizards, who already started drawing rave reviews after NBA Summer League.  

Standing in his way will be Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick from 2009 who gets re-classified as a rookie after missing all of last season with a broken kneecap; DeMarcus Cousins, the No. 5 pick from this season and his former teammate from Kentucky; and Evan Turner, the No. 2 pick of the Philadelphia 76ers, among others. Needless to say, if Wall's dreaming of being the third straight point guard ROY, he's got his work cut out for him.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/441970-nba-2010-11-the-100-biggest-questions-facing-the-nba-this-season#page/33

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NBA News 2010: 2010-11 NBA Season: Five Overlooked Rookies for the New Campaign

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The NBA Draft is very unpredictable.

The fact that it is only a two-round draft juxtaposed with the ridiculous amounts of rounds in the NFL and MLB Draft leads to this unpredictability.

Due to the small number of players drafted, fans and the media alike have a general misconception that if a player is not drafted in the top 15, there is something wrong with him. Or that he doesn't have the potential to be a truly valuable NBA prospect.

Avery Bradley was made the 19th selection in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

Coming out of high school, many recruits had Bradley rated higher than John Wall. Bradley, the top-rated shooting guard out of Findlay Prep, was noted for his impressive and refreshing defensive skill.

A smart player who is either unnoticed or slips in the draft and can fill a key void for the team.

Insert James Anderson.

A shooting guard out of Oklahoma State, James Anderson had the misfortune of playing three years of college ball, which seems to lead to the idea that a player doesn't have strong NBA potential.

Anderson is a flat-out scorer. Every year of his collegiate career he increased his scoring average by at least four points and Anderson left Oklahoma State averaging 22.3 poin

ts per game.  

Jordan Crawford, 21-year-old shooting guard out of Xavier, gained national attention for his infamous dunk on LeBron James that mysteriously disappeared.  

Jordan Crawford had a very impressive season for Xavier, leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring.  Crawford scored 28 and 27 points in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament to lead Xavier to the Sweet 16 and his impressive ability to shoot and score from anywhere on the court reminded many of Jamaal Crawford.

A 22-year-old out of the University of Texas, Dexter Pittman has a lot of upside.

Unfortunately, he has failed to put it together for more than a few 10-game stretches in college.

After two years at Louisville, Derrick Caracter was a disappointing player who went from being a No. 1 prospect out of high school playing under Rick Pitino to an unknown player at the University of Texas El Paso.

Caracter averaged 14.1 points per game and 8.1 rebounds in his only season for UTEP and led them to an NCAA berth.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/445736-nba-rookies-5-overlooked-rookies-for-the-2010-2011-nba-season#page/6

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NBA News 2010: Sacramento Kings Draft Preview (5th, 33rd Overall Picks)

Image via WikipediaPicks Owned: 5th, 33rd
Areas Of Need
Even though the Kings will eventually need to find a special point guard who is capable of sharing the backcourt with the ball dominant Tyreke Evans, they absolutely need to upgrade the frontcourt, where they routinely played at a deficit at the center and power forward positions. The pieces Sacramento has at power forward in Carl Landry and Jason Thompson would be greatly enhanced by playing beside a strong center.
Draft Targets
If DeMarcus Cousins happens to drop all the way to the fifth slot, the Kings may very well have repeat Rookie of the Year awards. Even though Geoff Petrie would have assuredly taken John Wall first overall if Sacramento had won the lottery, Cousins is the better overall pick for the franchise assuming his personality issues get sorted out completely.
During his first few seasons in the NBA, Cousins will absolutely score primarily at the rim on lobs and put-backs, but I would be surprised if he doesn’t have one of the better low post games and an occasional 15-footer (especially on the pick-and-pop) a season or two before his restricted free agency year.
Preferably instead of Johnson if Cousins is off the board, however, the Kings could possibly trade down a few slots to preserve some cap space and then draft a Cole Aldrich or Greg Monroe to address the center position.
As far as the 33rd overall pick, either Dominique Jones or Terrico White would be excellent options to pair with Evans.
Draft History

• 2009: Tyreke Evans, 4th / Omri Casspi, 23rd / Jon Brockman, 38th
• 2008: Jason Thompson, 12th / Sean Singletary, 42nd
• 2007: Spencer Hawes, 10th
• 2006: Quincy Douby, 19th
• 2005: Francisco Garcia, 23rd
• 2004: Kevin Martin, 23rd
• 2003: No pick
• 2002: Pick traded
• 2001: Gerald Wallace, 25th
• 2000: Hedo Turkoglu, 16th

*Only notable second round picks listed
Like so many GMs, Petrie's most successful picks have come when he has ignored position and made BPA picks. The Kings have had good success outside of the lottery with the 23rd overall pick in Martin and Casspi and hopefully they can translate that to the 33rd overall pick this season.
History of the 5th Overall Pick

• 2009: Ricky Rubio, Wolves, NA
• 2008: Kevin Love, Wolves/Grizzlies, 19.4
• 2007: Jeff Green, Sonics/Celtics, 12.7
• 2006: Shelden Williams, Hawks, 12.7
• 2005: Raymond Felton, Bobcats, 14.1
• 2004: Devin Harris, Mavericks/Wizards, 17.6
• 2003: Dwyane Wade, Heat, 25.7
• 2002: Nikoloz Tskitishvilli, Nuggets, 5.2
• 2001: Jason Richardson, Warriors, 16.9
• 2000: Mike Miller, Magic, 15.3

Average career PER: 15.5
http://kings.realgm.com/articles/188/20100615/sacramento_kings_draft_preview_(5th_33rd_overall_picks)/

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NBA News 2010: Washington Wizards Draft Preview (1st, 30th and 35th Overall Picks)

Image via WikipediaPicks Owned: 1st, 30th, 35th
Areas Of Need
The Wizards good fortune of winning a lottery comes in a year where there is a truly transcendent player, but he unfortunately plays the same position as the unmovable Gilbert Arenas. Considering how difficult it will be to move Arenas, the Wizards will have an expensive logjam at point guard if the experiment of moving Arenas to shooting guard does not work.
Playing the let's suppose game, if the Wizards would have won the lottery after a season that did not include the gun incident, do the Wizards still keep the pick and select Wall, or do they trade down for DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Favors or Evan Turner since those four prospects play positions of need for Washington.
Draft Targets
John Wall is the one and only target at number one and a detailed analysis of his abilities can be read here. His combination of athleticism, instinct and vision is unlike anything we have seen since LeBron James was in the 2003 Draft. He will become both the face and heart of this franchise for the next decade.
Looking at Washington's other two picks, more interestingly, the Wizards will be able to add two additional players at an extremely small cost as they head into a summer of cap space. Both players will presumably be amongst the top 25 players on their draft board.
Assuming they are available, I like Solomon Alabi, Stalnley Robinson, Tibor Pleiss and Kevin Seraphin as targets in that area of the draft.
The Wizards should also consider parlaying the 30th and 35th, along with potentially another asset, to move up in the draft where someone like James Anderson or Luke Babbitt would become available, both of whom would do well in their offense to stretch the floor.
Draft History

• 2009: 5th overall pick who became Ricky Rubio traded
• 2008: JaVale McGee, 18th
• 2007: Nick Young, 16th
• 2006: Oleskiy Pecherov, 18th
• 2005: Andray Blatche, 49th
• 2004: 5th overall pick who became Devin Harris traded
• 2003: Jarvis Hayes, 10th / Steve Blake, 38th
• 2002: Jared Jeffries, 11th / Juan Dixon, 17th / Juan Carlos Navarro, 39th
• 2001: Kwame Brown, 1st
• 2000: No first round pick

*Only notable second round picks listed
Because the Wizards have been a middle of the pack team for most of the past decade, the draft has hardly been an area where core players have been acquired.
Gilbert Arenas was signed in free agency, while Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler were acquired in trades.
Looking at this list, Blatche in the second round of 2005 has been their best pick.
The 2007 class was fairly weak behind Nick Young, though both Wilson Chandler and Rudy Fernandez would have been better wing options for the Wizards.
Other than Serge Ibaka, the 2008 pick of McGee still looks promising.
Trading the number five overall pick in 2009 to essentially rent Randy Foye and Mike Miller already is a disastrous decision. If they keep the pick, perhaps they would selected Rubio and they would be more motivated to trade out of the first slot, which would be a mistake given the vastly superior game of Wall.
History of the 1st Overall Pick

• 2009: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers, NA
• 2008: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls, 17.3
• 2007: Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers, 19.5
• 2006: Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors, 13.7
• 2005: Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks, 17.1
• 2004: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic, 21.7
• 2003: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, 26.9
• 2002: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets, 23.0
• 2001: Kwame Brown, Washington Wizards, 12.5
• 2000: Kenyon Martin, New Jersey Nets, 15.5

Average career PER: 18.6
I do believe the Wizards will improve their first overall pick record to a two-for-two, with Wall being much closer to Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy than Kwame.
http://wizards.realgm.com/articles/293/20100609/washington_wizards_draft_preview/

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