Blow Up The Bullets

By Mark Bacon

For two of the last three years, the Washington Bullets* seemed a franchise on the upswing. Playoffs, second round, no less, Wall & Beal, etc. Contenders. “The next big team.” (*I do not use the W-word, feeling it harkens back to pointy hats and burning crosses too much. And Skins is deemed offensive in the same city?)

Then Icarus flew too close to the sun and crashed, right?

WRONG!!!! This franchise is mired in mediocrity and will remain so until GM Ernie Grunfeld is ousted, for starters. He. Must. Go. Firing Randy Wittman was convenient and nice and all, but not cutting the head off the snake. Owner Ted Leonsis is considered a genius in the White World of Hockey, a “sport” I admittedly know borscht about, and don’t care to. But he transformed the Washington Capitals this season into as model NHL team; IF they advance past the Pittsburg Penguins, I am told.

The Bullets? They languish and remind me of a boat without a rudder. But they got a new coach! Yayyy? No. Scott Brooks is not a great coach. KD and R. Westbrook made him appear to be one. He’s too vanilla. Too safe.

The Bullets honed in on Brooks, 50, from the outset of their search, partly out of fear that other franchises (the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves), would pounce. Washington didn’t interview any other candidates and moved quickly with a grand offer. Brooks is now one of the six highest-paid coaches in the NBA , tied with Dallas’s Rick Carlisle.

“He was in demand because of his record, and so we moved quickly, although I don’t want anyone to think we didn’t know who he was,” Leonsis said. “We certainly had been studying for years and years. You always have to do your Plan B planning.”

One part of Brooks’s background stands out as Les Boullez enter a pivotal summer: his history with impending free agent and DC Homeboy Kevin Durant. Brooks was with Durant for the Montrose Christian Academy product’s first eight NBA seasons — first as an assistant coach for the Seattle SuperSonics — and it is no secret that the Wizards will go after Durant when free agency opens July 1. The combination fueled speculation that the Durant pursuit was a significant factor in hiring Brooks.

No. Anyone who thinks they will land him is dreaming. KD is a winner. DC is not. Not for now. Brooks won't change that, either. He needs talent. Bullets are bereft of talent.

Asked whether he was going to bring Durant with him, Brooks adeptly sidestepped the question and praised the players currently on the roster. He said John Wall has the potential to reach “two or three levels” higher and gushed over Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. Grunfeld also played down the theory.

“I like Scott Brooks as a basketball coach,” Grunfeld said when asked about the Durant speculation. “That’s why we got him.”

Leonsis highlighted various other reasons for hiring Brooks. He mentioned Brooks’s experience cultivating young talent in Oklahoma City, where Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden developed into all-stars. He complimented the “culture of accountability” Brooks created with the Thunder, which he coached to a .620 regular season winning percentage, three Western Conference finals appearances and a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals over six-plus years.

OK. My fix? Blow Up The Bullets. You are stuck with Brooks, so scorch the earth. Let’s see what this cat can do. Start by dealing Beal. I think Jimmy Butler for Beal is a good trade. The Bulls don’t want the oft injured two guard, and turned it down. But, it’s the first step; Deal Bradley Beal; damaged goods. Nice kid, bad wheels. Get rid of all the over-priced cheerleaders on the bench like Anderson, Dudley… all the other deadwood Grunfeld populated the team with, in a desperate move to make up for screwing up retaining Paul Pierce (THAT was a great move, by the way. Getting Pierce for a season.) Free agents? I don’t think it’s a particularly rich crop this year. Build through the D-League.

Oh. Say what? We don’t have a D-League team.

There ya go. Ditch Grunfeld. Blow up the roster. Invest in a D-League team. (Grab Russ Smith??) Placate Wall, the only player worth placating, and all else is open. Shame Sam Cassel was never given consideration as coach. He’s someone John Wall could have learned from, actually did in the past when Cassel was an assistant under Wittman. John Wall respects him. But that would have been “unsafe.” And that’s the way Grunfeld plays it. Safe. Boring. Dull. Ball for losers.

Blow Up The Bullets.

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"The Best Player Available" or Drafting For The Future

By Mark Bacon


Dear Reader,

Been a while, hasn’t it? I’m no longer in D.C., but am forever a Skins fan. Prior to the Draft, I was re-reading exchanges between MESports’ CEO, Haven Harrington and myself. Haven is a man with a keen eye for football, as many of you know. Much better than my burgundy and gold biased lens.

Recapping a Skins game this past season, HH says to me the Skins need help at WR. "DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon are good, but depth would put them over the top."

I forgot about that until yesterday… With a draft rich in defensive linemen, the area we need much help with, I was certain Vernon Butler or Kenny Clark would be the choice. (Bummed Sheldon Rankins wasn’t there. But you knew he would last no longer than 12th-14th. Congrats Sheldon!!)

Wide receiver wasn’t a significant priority for the Washington Redskins in the First Round of the NFL Draft, but they stuck with their board on Thursday.

In other words, when Redskins General Manager, and Football Personnel Genius, Scot McCloughan says best player available, he means it.

Texas Christian wide receiver Josh Doctson was the pick for the Skins last night in the First Round. And while wide receiver doesn’t immediately seem like much of a need, both DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon are entering the final year of their pricey contracts. So if you draft to build for the future, this pick makes sense. Defensive linemen will be there later.

After flipping spots with the Houston Texans, Josh Doctson remained the best player available in the Redskins’ war room. Redskins Coach Jay Gruden said the TCU product was the best player on the team’s list (the 22nd overall pick.)

“He’s got height,” Gruden said. “He’s got the mad leaping skills which are very appealing – especially in the red zone. He’s another guy that’s going to bring athleticism to this offense, and we’re excited to have him.”

Washington had pressing needs at defensive line but decided to pass on a number of players, like Kenny Clark (taken 27th overall by the Green Bay Packers), Robert Nkemdiche (taken 30th overall by the Arizona Cardinals) and Vernon Butler (taken 31st overall by the Carolina Panthers).

“There’s arguments there that you can take defense, but we took the best player,” Gruden said. “We addressed defense the other day with Josh Norman. We gave them a first-round pick, so they should be happy. It’s about building a football team and taking the best player to help us, and we thought Josh was a perfect fit.”

Doctson is 6’2” -and his 41-inch vertical that was tied for the best among wide receivers at the NFL combine in February. The Redskins didn’t have a wide receiver over six feet last season. Doctson had 78 catches for 1,326 yards and 14 touchdowns in 10 games. He suffered a season-ending wrist injury at the end of the year, but Doctson said he’s completely healthy right now.

Doctson was the third wide receiver taken in the draft. The Cleveland Browns took Corey Coleman with the 15th overall pick, then the Texans selected Will Fuller prior to Washington’s selection. Laquon Treadwell went off the board to the Minnesota Vikings right after Doctson at No. 23.

“I think [Doctson’s] the most polished receiver of the group, personally,” Gruden said. “I think he can do a lot of different things across the middle. When the ball is in the air, he’s got the jumping ability. He’s got great hands. I think he’s got the best hands in the draft also. He’s a great pure route-runner. I graded him out very, very high. Our scouts had him graded out very high. Scot loved him. We all loved him, obviously, based on his production.”

Every video I personally viewed after the pick was a highlight reel. Of course. Red Zone monster. Tracks ball very well in the air. And interestingly, doesn’t use his body to help in the catch. All hands. May or may not be a drop problem. NFL corners figure shit out fast.

But I like the pick. Washington’s addition of TE Vernon Davis and Defensive Back Josh Norman make the team already improved in key areas. And the Defensive linemen will be there tonight.

Grade: B+ to A-. 

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UofL and UK hit McDonald’s for Super-Sized Talent

The Bluegrass powerhouses will get an injection of high quality talent for 2016-17 basketball season.

By: Raashaan Myers

     It had been five years since I had a reason to make my way to Chicago for the McDonalds All American game. The year was 2011 and what a collection of Bluegrass Thoroughbreds came through the windy city that year! The University of Louisville had two participants in the game in Cincinnati native Chane Behanan and Chitown’s own Wayne Blackshear while UK would have a dynamic quartet of young guns in Chicago’s Anthony Davis, Jersey kid Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Indiana baller Marquis Teague, and Oregon big man Kyle Wiltjer. This was the definition of a banner group for both schools as they would be the galvanizing force to back to back National Championships with UK cutting the nets down that upcoming season in 2012 and UofL taking home the crown in 2013.

     

Fast forward to this year and as I made my way into the house that MJ built the United Center I wanted to feast my eyes on a class that has been very much hyped for more than a year now. And while I would not dare to say that this year’s incoming group of Bluegrass ballers will have the same impact those guys had in 2011 there is no doubt that some special talent will be coming to the hardwood near you very soon. And while two luminaries of this class big men Thon Maker and Harry Giles weren’t on display the step up in overall talent and ability was easy to see. Here is my breakdown of the local kids as well as some of the national guys who make me look twice.

VJ King – 6’7” Guard/Forward Louisville Game stats: 5 points (2-4 FG) 1 rebound

The lone UofL signee while not playing as many minutes as I or any of the other Cardinal fans would have liked showed a tremendous and diverse skill set on the court. While his bread and butter is his midrange pull up jumper which he flashed off a great feed from De’Aaron Fox I was impressed with several facets of VJ’s game. Offensively King is a triple threat player on the court with the ability to take a make off the pull up, attack off the bounce, or spot up and knock down the open 3. VJ showed great vision making some nice passes and always looking for teammates and trying to run offense in an All Star game which is always known for guys wanting to just go for their own. What I had not seen before was Kings ability defensively and all week he was a demon in practice on D and it carried over to the game where he was able to get deflections and had the quickness to defend any of the West guards on the perimeter. His talents defensively will make he and rising sophomore Deng Adel a formidable defensive wing duo next year. VJ was also the first guy off the bench to congratulate teammates and has a very positive attitude which has L1C4 written all over him.

Bam Adebayo – 6’9” Forward Kentucky Game Stats: 16 points (6-9 FG) 12 rebounds 2 steals 1 block

Bam has been my favorite player in this class for a while now. This young man for a physical standpoint was the most imposing figure in this year’s McDonalds All American Game. Built like a college upperclassman Adebayo was easily to carve out space to finish inside with ease, but also the skill to step out to 18 feet and confidently knockdown the jumpshot without hesitation. It is that inside/outside ability that make Adebayo one of the true impact players in the 2016 class. I was also very impressed with this ability to handle the ball in the open court making a nice wrap around dribble in traffic. Bam also was a very active player on both the offensive and defensive glass as well protecting the rim defensively. Adebayo will be a major impact player for the Cats and will be the next in the line of great big men at UK under coach Cal following the footsteps of Cousins, Davis, and Towns.  

De’Aaron Fox – 6’3” Point Guard Kentucky Game Stats: 2 points (1-8 FG) 7 assists 2 steals

Malik Monk – 6’3” Shooting Guard Kentucky Game Stats: 11 points (5-12 FG) 4 assists 1 steal 1 block

I grouped these two guys together because in my evaluation of the two at the McDonald’s game both guys had a very similar type of game. Both guys are 6’3” and are more comfortable making plays with the ball in his hands rather than playing off the ball it will be interesting to see how these two guys grow together as the season goes along next year at UK. Clearly Fox was a bit more interested in getting his teammates involved while Monk would look for his own offense first. I like the fact that UK will have two interchangeable players at the PG and SG spots but how that duo progresses and get used to playing off each other will be huge for Kentucky next season. Monk who is reputed to be a knockdown shooter was 0-4 from downtown but he will have plenty of time to get that together especially considering the looks he will get with Adebayo patrolling the paint. Both Fox and Monk are explosive athletes and outstanding in transition with the potential to become high level defenders as well because of their athletic gifts.

Sacha Killeya-Jones – 6-11” Forward Game Stats: 6 points (3-7 FG) 2 rebounds 2 steals 1 assist

For me Sacha was a bit of an unknown coming into the game but I can clearly see why he was selected for the game. SKJ reminds me very much of Willie Cauley-Stein in terms of both body time as well as length and agility. While still very much a raw athletic product with some time to add strength and really work on refining his offensive game Killeya-Jones can be a very good player down the road. What he can do now is give great effort defensively and utilize his physical tools to help UK on the backboards as well. Very good long range prospect for the Cats that will have time to grow.

Here are some of the other players that caught my eye in the game!

Josh Jackson – 6’7” Guard/Forward Undecided Game Stats: 19 points (9-11 FG) 4 rebounds 3 assists

They say he is undecided with Arizona, Kansas, and Michigan State battling it out for his services, but I will tell you whoever gets Josh Jackson will immediately bring in the best player on their team. Jackson is the #1 player by many in the 2016 class and for good reason. Josh is a superior athlete with great size for the guard position possessing a tight handle and very good looking jumpshot from long range. Utilizing both a change of pace dribble and very confident and strong ability to finish at the rim Jackson will definitely be in play to be one of the top players selected in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Frank Jackson (No relation) – 6’4” Point Guard Duke Game Stats: 19 points (5-7 3pt FG) 2 rebounds

This young man put the point in point guard as he stole the show with his outstanding shooting display. Coach K loves the guys who can fill it up from deep and Jackson will fit right in that mold. With the ability to take and make off the bounce, catch and shoot, as well in transition Jackson will be a very nice weapon to add to Grayson Allen and Luke Kinnard for the Blue Devils.

Other guys to look out for next year will be Markelle Fultz (Washington), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Lonzo Ball (UCLA), Jayson Tatum (Duke), and Terrence Ferguson (Undecided)

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