I’m not sure what to make of the rumors regarding a potential trade centered around Ersan Ilyasova going from Milwaukee to Washington in exchange for the third overall pick other than… Rumors are fun! Plus, with the Theodore Unit already in place, adding a Turkish player with the nickname “Ghostface” would fit the M.O. Also, this one smells Grunfeldian, which makes it worth addressing with blog pixels. Of course, Ilyasova and the Wizards’ first-round pick are just two components of a likely more complicated could-be deal. No way Ilyasova would ever be traded for the third pick straight up.

The rumor started on the good ol’ radio. Via Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times on Milwaukee’s SportsRadio 1250:

“Well, if they move (Ilyasova), it’s going to be a major move, because Ersan’s value is definitely pretty high. And one of the rumors, and I repeat RUMOR, all capital letters here—is that Washington might have some interest in Ilyasova and another Bucks’ player for the #3.”

Woelfel, clearly being of an old school ilk, did not “tweet” this rumor out via his Twitter account (@GeryWoelfel). That said, Woelfel hasn’t tweeted in the month of June and his account bio currently states: “Live updates from the Las Vegas Summer League and the latest in Free Agency.”

Read more »

[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 63, Washington Wizards vs Milwaukee Bucks; contributors: Rashad Mobley and John Converse Townsend from the Verizon Center and Kyle Weidie via eyes on a television screen.]

All Thumbs. [Larry Sanders is all thumbs -- via @wiz_spurtin] [Anxious Ernie]

Read more »

[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 50, Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks; contributors: Sean Fagan, Adam McGinnis and Kyle Weidie from behind the television screen.]

Real Deal Beal [Bradley Beal shot chart vs Bucks, via NBA.com/stats]

Read more »

Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 50th game of the season against the Bucks in Milwaukee are TAI’s Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) and guest Jeremy Schmidt (@Bucksketball), who contributes to the ESPN True Hoop Blog Bucksketball.

Wizards Starters (14-35):

John Wall, Garrett Temple, Martell Webster, Nene, Emeka Okafor

Bucks Starters (25-24):

Read more »

[Ed. Note: Lukas Kuba is TAI's Czech correspondent for
everything Czech/Jan Vesely/Tomas Satoransky-related. —Kyle W.]

“Honza had a few challenges in front of him before. Whether in his sporting or personal life. He did overcome them all and I believe he’ll cope with this one successfully, too.”
—Jan Vesely’s Dad, Jan Sr.

In late June of 2011, captivated and transfixed by the whole Jan Vesely “Dunking Ninja” a k a “The Flying Czech” a k a “Blake-Griffin-Is-The-American-Jan-Vesely” buzz/euphoria both in the Czech Republic and in the Serbian capital of Belgrade (not to mention among the Wizards faithful), I embarked on a little foolish journey—I decided to revive my dead blog with a translated post of an interview Vesely gave to the Czech media, semi-hoping someone would read it and say “Good job man, I enjoyed this.” By the dawn of the morning in Washington, D.C., the DC Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg unearthed the post and wrote about it, saying “… and with the Wizards now putting much stock in their newest first-round pick, Jan Vesely, someone’s gonna have to start monitoring the Czech media. The natural outlet would seem to be the Luke Mellow basketball blog.”

Read more »

 

Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s fourth game of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks in D.C. are TAI’s Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) and guest Jeremy Schmidt (@bucksketball), who writes about the Bucks for the TrueHoop blog Bucksketball.

Wizards Starters (0-3):

Tentatively, perhaps likely: A.J. Price, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Trevor Booker, & Emeka Okafor

Bucks Starters (1-2):

Read more »

John Wall’s summer league feet game.

Things I learned/witnessed at summer league in Las Vegas, in bullets:

• On Day 1, Chris Webber, an analyst for the games on NBA TV, broke out his pleated cargo shorts. It was a tough day for all of us.

• Bradley Beal can block shots… he averaged one per game over five contests in Las Vegas. Chris Singleton also threw his body around a bunch (“I feel like it’s going to help Chris Singleton out a lot,” said Shelvin Mack about the summer league 10-foul limit during Wizards mini-camp prior. “You know, he likes to foul, so he’s going to play a lot longer, so it’s good for us.”). This clip shows Beal blocking, or rather, thwarting a lob attempt off the backboard, and then Singleton diving over the first row of chairs for the loose ball:

Read more »

In their fifth and last summer league game, the Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 78-75, to leave Las Vegas with a 3-2 record. TAI’s Adam McGinnis from behind the television and Kyle Weidie, courtside in Sin City, take you through The Reaction. But first: a smooth Bradley Beal drive near the end of the third quarter…

M.V.P.

Bradley Beal might not have wowed in Vegas with high scoring outputs or super flashy highlight packages (he didn’t drop 35 like Josh Selby, but averaging 17.6 points over five games isn’t bad), but the Washington faithful can rest assured that he did not disappoint. Beal displayed the consistency on both ends that the Washington franchise has sorely lacked at the shooting guard position for years, and Beal is only a teenager. His effective style was showcased against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Wizards’ summer league finale. Beal finished with a team-high 18 points (7-for-13 field goals), six rebounds, two blocks, one assist, and one steal.

Read more »

[Editor's Note: TAI's Adam McGinnis takes us back to his photos from 'Under the Hoop' when the Milwaukee Bucks were in D.C. on March 8.]

The Opening Tip.

Bucks Warm Up.

Read more »