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[Jan Vesely works on his shooting form with Flip and Ryan Saunders. - photo: K. Weidie]

Many folks are naturally a bit more curious about Jan Vesely than others on this Wizards team, and that includes the likes of John Wall, Jordan Crawford, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee. Reason being, not many have seen the sixth overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft in a setting outside of his role as the “Dunking Ninja” on YouTube. They want to know if he’s up to NBA snuff.

The fair warning is that expectations of Vesely should be immediately tempered. This is not to discourage potential, nor preemptively quell disappointment. It’s just that there are a myriad of factors as to why Vesely’s integration into a pro basketball team in the nation’s capital will take some time. And that’s okay. We might see a bodacious dunk or two early on, but it also might take 10-15 games (about a sixth of this shortened season) before we see Vesely truly comfortable on an NBA court. Until then, feel free to remain confident in the scouting of Vesely performed by team management which led to his draft selection. He’s got the tools, he just needs to learn how to hammer.

Video: Jan Vesely, An Integration Process

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“I’m a better player than the last time I was here, that’s for sure,” proclaimed Roger Mason Jr. on Monday night, after the fourth day of Washington Wizards training camp. Furthermore, he said, “I’m a better player than I was in San Antonio.”

At least this is what the Wizards are hoping for, but to what degree remains to be seen. Regardless of his chances to show himself as a player, Mason knows the role he signed up for in his return stint with Washington.

“My role is just to share some of the knowledge that I’ve learned,” said Mason. ”Learning from guys like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, you know, pros… being with Amar’e Stoudemire. Those are things that I can bring to Andray Blatche, to let him know how Tim Duncan prepares for games. To let John Wall know how Tony Parker prepares for games. They won championships. So my role now is to come here and teach these guys what champions do.”

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At the conclusion of an afternoon session on day five of training camp, Washington Wizards assistant coach Sam Cassell cracked smiles while rebounding for John Wall, Jordan Crawford and Shelvin Mack as they performed a shooting drill. Cassell is about to begin his third season on the bench for the Wizards. Forever known for his personality, he doled out positive instruction to the young guards, sharing stories with Wall about a certain game in his playing career where he “killed it” and got the win. Cassell also proclaimed Crawford as the funniest dude he knew, the camaraderie among the trio being rather overt.

The three-time world champion with 15 NBA seasons under his belt is essential to the development of both guards. He’s constantly teaching the young Wizards moves and positioning. Even though Flip Saunders had this to say after practice,:

“Sam does a good job because he has good knowledge as far as played the position. One thing that’s a little bit different is that Sam played a lot different than these guys. And sometimes you have to talk to Sam because the things he wants them to do, as far as shoot mid-range shots and those type of things, that’s not what their game is. Sam’s speed has definitely never been close to those guys. So that’s one thing we gotta watch out a little bit. But he’s got a good knowledge of what to look for.”

Either way, certainly the athletic can learn something from the tactics of the non-athletic. Cassell has also enjoyed past friendly battles of one-on-one with the likes of John Wall, Nick Young and JaVale McGee. Something left in the tank is sometimes best spent on education.

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Washington Wizards Training Camp 2011: Day 4

By 7 pm on Tuesday evening, toward the end of the fifth day of training camp, the Washington Wizards will have 72 hours before their first preseason game. How NBA teams are coping with such short turn-around times is anyone’s guess, but the young Wizards have seemingly adjusted their seriousness with the abbreviated schedule. Aside from the hanging free agency status of Nick Young, this preparation experience coincides with the fewest distractions (including the distraction of expectation) that the Wizards franchise has had going into a season in a long time.

But ask most involved if they’re ready for Friday’s contest against a Philadelphia 76ers team in D.C. and a disregard for the affirmative will come back like a knee-jerk reaction. ”Uhh… No way,” Roger Mason said with a smile, “but we’re going to do the best we can. The coaches have prepared us great. The emphasis has been on defense, defense, defense.”

“I’ll tell ya in a couple days,” was Flip Saunders’ response, playing down the importance of Friday’s game in terms of basketball judgement and playing up the gauge of game conditioning it will be. Although, Chris Singleton seemed very ready to go against an opponent instead of a teammate. Plenty of anxiousness to go around either way, but it’s evident that this inexperienced squad is aware of the work ahead. Let’s take a look at some of the action in motion pictures… Read more »

 [Not many breaks for the weary -- photo: K. Weidie]

The third day of Washington Wizards training camp entailed a spirited scrimmage toward the latter stages of Sunday evening. JaVale McGee showcased nifty jump hooks, John Wall finished at the rim with ease, and Roger Mason Jr. flashed his superb shooting ability by drilling numerous long-range shots. The weekend two-a-day practices were taking a visible toll on the team, however, as Andray Blatche sat out of portions with cramps, Kevin Serpahin played with a wrap on his shoulder, and players labored through their final conditioning drills. McGee sarcastically mentioned afterward that compact schedule was different than camps of the past, and “Pierre” relayed a similar sentiment on Twitter.

The mood conveyed to the assembled media was one of leadership and workmanship. Blatche again discussed his pre-lockout meeting with Flip Saunders about being a leader. And while Dray again hilariously could not recall the name of the book Flip gave him to read, he did recite the literary themes quite well. McGee said that he sees himself coming into his own as a leader. Saunders praised the leadership skills of veterans Rashard Lewis, Mason Jr. and the new addition, Ronny Turiaf. There is no training camp motto this year like 2010′s “Back to Basics” or 2009′s “Our Time.” The construction hard hat given out after each practice to the hardest worker symbolizes the no frills approach.

McGee described the new business-like atmosphere: Read more »

Talk is cheap, and perhaps so is reading. And in retrospect, all the electronic pixels and printed typeface in the world can be just as meaningless as spoken words, as they pertain to future promises and the game of basketball.

Thus, people will readily point out that this is at least the fourth consecutive year of corner-turning expectations for Andray Blatche. Some have given up on him. Some continue to have hope. What’s evident is that he might finally break through toward a specific destination of achievement, or he won’t.

In his post lockout press conference, Washington Wizards coach Flip Saunders mentioned that he and team VP of basketball administration Tommy Sheppard gave Blatche a book on leadership this summer, before the lockout. When asked about that book at training camp this past weekend, Blatche could neither remember the book’s title, nor much of the leadership advice it offered.

“I only read like half of it, because after a while, it was like, ‘OK, alright, I got the message,’” Blatche said with a sheepish grin on his face. He went on to talk about the standards of leading by example and making those around him better. This piggy-backed words from Blatche reflecting that he now has become tired of not being a leader, tired of being on a team more known for goofiness, and tired of playing losing basketball.

“Playing around haven’t gotten us no where,” Blatche said. “All the games is out. I’m 25-years old now, this is my seventh year in the league. This is my time for me to step up and try to have guys follow me on the path I want to go. And the path I want to go is winning… just the total opposite of last season.”

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In the midst of training camp, just three days since it commenced, four days until the first preseason game, and exactly two weeks until the beginning of the regular season, the Washington Wizards are running toward the beginning.

Rashad Mobley, John C. Townsend and I represented Truth About It.net in an ESPN 5-on-5 regarding the Wizards today. Along with Brett Koremenos of HoopSpeak.com and Mike Wallace of ESPN.com, we attempted to answer five questions:

1. For which Wizards player is the 2011-12 season most important?
2. Who is the most intriguing player on the Wizards’ roster?
3. What’s the most surprising take in John Hollinger’s Wizards profiles?
4. Based on Hollinger’s profiles, what do the Wizards need most?
5. Will a shortened season help or hurt the Wizards?

Click here to read the ESPN.com 5-on-5 about the Wizards, and then vote in the poll below for which player has the most important upcoming season.

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On Saturday, December 10, the Washington Wizards went through their second day of training camp, fielding an incomplete roster of 16 invitees. Ronny Turiaf was acquired, but had yet to arrive; Hamady N’diaye was signed the next day, Sunday; and the statuses of Nick Young and Maurice Evans continued to be in limbo. The media was given access to the very latter portion of the day’s work, past 8 pm on a Saturday evening in Chinatown as the Wizards prepared for their first NBA basketball game action since April 13, a preseason match this Friday, December 16 against the Philadelphia 76ers in Washington.

The session open to media on the Verizon Center practice court involved two small sets of scrimmaging. One pitted a White team of John Wall (#2), Jordan Crawford (#15), Rashard Lewis (#9), Andray Blatche (#7), and Kevin Seraphin (#13) versus a Blue team of Mike Wilks (#29), Mardy Collins (no number), Larry Owens (#32), Aaron Petway (#52), and JaVale McGee (#34). The second featured a white team of Wall, Roger Mason Jr. (#8), Owens, Blatche, and Petway versus a Blue team of Shelvin Mack (#22), Crawford, Lewis, Jan Vesely (#24), and Chris Singleton (#31).

Things you will see in the video below (in relative order of appearance):

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[UPDATE ON TRADE, via Washington Wizards press release: "...they have acquired forward/center Ronny Turiaf, a 2013 second round pick and cash considerations from the New York Knicks along with a 2012 second round pick from the Dallas Mavericks.  The three-team deal also sends Tyson Chandler, the rights to Ahmad Nivins and the rights to Giorgos Printezis from Dallas to New York while the Mavericks will receive Andy Rautins from the Knicks and a 2012 protected second round pick from the Wizards." NOTE: cash considerations is likely $3 million, max allowed by rule.]

Accountability. That’s exactly what Ronny Turiaf brings to the Washington Wizards as they finalize a trade for the 6-10, 245 lbs. big man with the New York Knicks. Accountability and, per the video above, crazy reactions. Oh, and also, Ernie Grunfeld once again uses cap space to make out like a bandit, so it seems.

Turiaf is a 28-year old veteran (29 in January) of six NBA seasons and 358 games. In terms of size (between 6-9 and 6-11), experience (over 300 NBA games, 30 or younger), and the statistical metric, PER (between 14.2 and  14.4), Turiaf’s career could compare to the likes of Danny Schayes, Mel Turpin, LaSalle Thompson, Jahidi White or Jeff Foster. [stats via Basketball-Reference.com]

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