How Youth Will Stunt the Growth of the Washington Wizards
Sometimes you sit back and think about the potential of the young Washington Wizards and remark about how this team is in position to great things for a long time. Between the scoring ability of Nick Young, the athleticism and energy of JaVale McGee, and the defensive presence of Dominic McGuire, there’s a chance for this group to actually be a contender in the Eastern Conference in the next three to five years.
But then you watch the youtube videos, read the blog posts from Washington Post beat reporters, look at the inconsistencies in the box scores, and realize that the younger this team gets, the further away they are from legitimacy as an elite franchise.
It starts with the fact that these talented guys are a part of the iGeneration, a generation of social networking, fun-loving, want-it-now techie babies. They are more likely to prepare for an opponent by watching their youtube highlights instead of game film. They will Tweet before sending an email. They will choreograph a pre-game handshake before building defensive chemistry.
This is a significant issue league wide, but what makes the case for the Wizards’ continued disparity in youth development is the stock of young athletes they bring in. The young Wizards, in their own individual ways, are bright and engaging. But look at where they are drafted from. Fresno State (McGuire), USC (Young), Nevada (McGee), and high school (Blatche), aren’t exactly cathedrals of basketball excellence.
Were they out of schools like Connecticut, North Carolina or Arizona, you could take comfort in the fact that their introduction to international basketball fame came on a comparable stage with comparable money before the term “professional” added its inevitable weight of splendor and expectation. So we’re left with super talented kids just learning the various stops along the road to fame and fortune.
It’s not an indictment of their attention span or their maturity, it’s just a reality that coaches – and fans – have to deal with in the waiting game for rookies and young players to develop. Washington doesn’t offer the scrutiny and spotlight on young players that other NBA cities can create, but it does offer the cultural opulence and urban lifestyle that can comfort and coddle any young, rich professional; regardless of their consistency or ability.
There’s no reason to anticipate that the Wizards as currently built will compete for anything more than a low-seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. There’s too much fun to be had, to much money to be spent and to much attention to capture to obsess over winning an NBA title. McGee, Young, McGuire and Blatche will grow and mature, and will likely be great players in the league.
But in this town, at their age, the Wizards franchise is little more than a conduit for these young players to broaden their brand as entertainers and showmen. Problem is, there is no app to make patience in the team link with the development of their maturity.
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I see your point … but I’ll say a couple things:
1) The Wiz kids don’t seem to be the prima donna / spoiled types with a trouble past (aside from Blatche, of course … I’ll chalk up his transgressions to being stupid and not to him being any time of a ‘thug’ … if you will).
2) Also, I wonder if the UNC’s, UCONN’s and Arizona’s of the world are more apt to attractive the pampered AAU types who already have agents and entourages in tow.
On the other hand, these other guys developed in a more realistic setting with a better idea of working hard … and without the hangers-ons telling them they are going to be the “next this or that.”
In terms of the franchise and the waiting game, I think it’s good that the Wiz have maintain a nice balance of youth and veterans.
Everyone keeps saying that the Wizards are throwing all of their chips in to win a championship, but I can’t see how this can be true when they still have financial flexibility AND young talent being developed.
We will see ….
I agree with you on point #2, but we both know DC is a place tailor made for young guys to show off, live large and expand their brand.
If the Wizards had stronger veteran leadership, this post would be futile. But because Butler, Arenas and Jamison aren’t really the “slam somebody into a locker” type, this will be likely to continue until big trades are made and the process of contention is further slowed.
You don’t think Tuff Juice will pound a guy with a bag of nickels if need be?
I actually don’t. Blatche should’ve been in a Boston Crab leg lock at least eight times last season. He’s good for a quote, but I don’t think he wants to be mean to such genuinely nice guys.
I think Gilbert will take that role this year, but he has an uphill battle after publicly saying he doesn’t like that kind of role.