Vesely has needed someone to lean on, having been benched for 23 of the Wizards’ 61 games and having struggled mightily when he actually received playing time. A high-flying, 6-foot-11 forward, Vesely has fallen well short of the expectations that the Wizards had when they selected him sixth overall in 2011 (ahead of Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Kenneth Faried, who are all logging productive minutes for their respective teams).
The Wizards (20-41) have experienced marginal success since John Wall came back from a left knee injury, rookie Bradley Beal developed into a promising young player and Nene and Emeka Okafor formed a stout defensive front line. But that progress has obscured only partially the disconcerting regression of the four forwards Washington drafted in the first round the past three seasons: Vesely, Chris Singleton, Kevin Seraphin and Trevor Booker.
None has foundered more than Vesely, who has followed up an inspiring finish to his rookie season — he averaged nine points and seven rebounds in 15 games last April — with a campaign that is on pace to rank as one of the 10 worst in franchise history.
Vesely is averaging just 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds and his player efficiency rating — the metric used to measure per-minute production — is a paltry 6.76, more than eight points below the NBA average and six spots away from last in the league.
Among the players who have appeared in at least 35 games in one season for the Bullets/Wizards franchise, Vesely’s rating for this season ranks 561st out of 570, just above the rookie season of 2007 second-round pick Dominic McGuire, who is out of the league.
As a rookie, Vesely averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds and had a PER of 11.57. This season, he has the same number of rebounds as personal fouls (88) and his free throw shooting has been an unsightly adventure at 27.2 percent (9 of 33). He made 53.2 of his attempts last season.
“He’s got to be a guy that plays confidently. That means the ability to run up and down the floor, defend, rebound, block some shots. Not play sometimes, where he hides from the ball,” Coach Randy Wittman said of Vesely. “He’s a smart player. He’s a skilled player that can pass well, makes the right reads and he’s got to put himself in those positions when he’s out there.”
Lengthy adjustment
A team that aims to build through the draft doesn’t have the luxury of missing on a high lottery pick, especially after trading away the fifth pick in what has proven to be a quality 2009 draft for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. But Vesely has appeared more unsure of himself the more he plays, and compares his struggles in the NBA to his initial adjustment to playing for European power Partizan in Serbia.
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