Jan Vesely was drafted No. 6 overall by the Washington Wizards in 2011. After being traded in only his third season in the NBA & getting very little playing time on either, Vesely has decided to take his talents to……. Turkey!? That’s right, a former top-10 NBA draft prospect is going back overseas to play professionally, which is a rare sight to see since Vesely hasn’t even played 5 years in the NBA. Usually careers can end early because of serious injuries, or even death (RIP Len bias). But to leave the NBA so soon because you were not fulfilling expectations is very rare! It just goes to show that every draft prospect that gets drafted doesn’t necessarily have the ability to be great. This is also a reminder of how important it is to draft well when a team is in their “Rebuilding Mode.”
If you look at the OKC Thunder, they hit on every single lottery pick (Ibaka was a late first round pick) from ’07 to ’09. And now are not only one the best teams in the Western conference, but they are also still very young. The Wizards organization may not feel like the drafting of Jan Vesely had any effect on them since they are now a legitimate playoff team. Unfortunately, however, the mistake of drafting a player so high and not getting anything in return has the potential to come back to haunt your franchise. No matter how you spin it, drafting a bust in the NBA lottery can set your franchise back. And though some would argue that the Wizards were able to overcome this draft mistake by acquiring some solid veterans such as Marcin Gortat, Nene Hilario, & Trevor Ariza (who was replaced by Paul Pierce) to essentially replace the production and impact that Vesely was intended to provide as the 6th Overall pick in the 2011 Draft Lottery, the Wizards might still suffer from their actions. For example, now that Washington is an established playoff team, there’s no going back in the lottery to get young, high level talent. So essentially now, the onus is on Bradley Beal & Otto Porter Jr. to both develop and become great players like John Wall. If these players don’t develop, Wizards fans could possibly be looking at a very brief time of relevancy in the NBA. And not to make any Wizards fans upset, but just to show how drafting is so important, these are the potential players that Washington could have drafted instead of Jan Vesely….
Kemba Walker, Klay Thopmson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic ,Kenneth Faried, Jimmy Butler Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas …Sheesh…..and some of those were 2nd Round Picks. Oh well, I guess Wizards Fans will always have this to look back on in 2011.
– JRC
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