J-Rich Movement

That’s somewhat of an exaggerated statement. I will say this though- folks I know and like in the media have this odd double standard where Nellie is the devil and Mullin is god. Fans are quick to blame coaches and players when they should be blaming the front office.

I’m more or less with you on that. I like the guys on this team… I don’t begrudge them for losing. It’s certainly a flawed roster. Rowell sucks, and Mullin, though he had a nice year or two, is no better than a mixed bag himself. And I really like what Nellie has done with this team over the years, in both stints. The guy is flat-out entertaining, and a good coach.

But we are currently 5-13… with our talent and the number of weak teams on the schedule so far, we could easily be 10-8. Nellie has thrown several games away with his substition patterns. I’m not quick to call out a coach, let alone one I love like Nellie. And when we just don’t have the horses, I’ll be the first to admit it. But we don’t have 5-13 talent. Our roster is better than that. And so far, Nellie has gotten in the way. He did a good job for us in 1992 and 1994 and 2007, but he is doing wrong by this team right now.

Wright looks lost, soft, and too raw. He routinely blows defensive assignments, doesn’t seem that focused, and has a very limited offensive game. Watching him awkwardly jog up the court is painful. I’m not saying he can’t be good, but all I’m saying is that right now (and last year) he isn’t (wasn’t) ready. FJ and I were talking about this the other day. He sees Wright as a future starter in this league (not an All-Star). I see a 6th-8th man. We’ll see. I’ve been both wrong before (Biedrins, Ike) and right (POB, Kosta, Taft, Monta, Kaz, etc).

I’m guessing your take on Biedrins was very similar back in the day. Not hating, just making the point — a lot of the criticisms of Wright are the same ones about Biedrins when he showed up. They look soft and unfocused… they look too skinny… they look too limited on offense.

But Biedrins, for all the focus and fire he supposedly lacked, became a very good player. The look didn’t matter as much as the production. You can look weaker as long as you still pull down rebounds… a goofy jog is okay if you still get there before the other big guys… you can be limited on offense if the one thing you do well, you do amazingly well… you don’t have to look intense if you can beat them looking relaxed. Biedrins isn’t intimidating, graceful, versatile or charismatic. What he is, is really good.

And Wright is a helluva lot like him. Smart, uber-efficient offense, energetic defense, and superior speed for a big man. That combo of skills will win you some games, no matter how it looks. There’s one big difference between the two — Biedrins is amazing at rebounding and only decent at changing shots, while Wright is only decent at rebounding and amazing at changing shots — but overall, they’re similar players, guys who run the floor, avoid offensive mistakes and execute a lot more big-man stuff than you’d expect just from looking at them. They’re both guys who play under-the-radar winning basketball.

Does Wright make some defensive mistakes? Sure, but not “routinely”, as you say… there are five guys in the rotation who screw up more often than he does. He gets turned around and beaten every now and again, but his length gives him a lot of margin for error, and he already plays fantastic help defense. By every measurement, our defense improves dramatically when he’s on the floor, and when you watch him closely, you can see why.

It’s not that Brandan Wright has potential. It’s not that he could be good. He’s already good. And when he starts getting the minutes he deserves, you’ll start to see that, and you’ll forgive him for looking like a flake and a goofball.