Ok so firstly hear me out. I’m 27, born and raised in the district and I love wizards basketball. This is just my opinion but I really cannot stand to watch Deni play basketball 😣… Maybe I wouldn’t have a problem with how bad he was if I didn’t get that feeling that Deni thinks he better than he actually is. Like has anyone seen improvement with his game? I was talking to a friend about Deni and he asked me what does he do? I couldn’t give an answer without being condescending. I just really don’t like his game, misses too many layups for my liking , still not consistent enough with the 3 ball. His defense to inconsistent… and honestly that part of his game is what I despise the most… added on top of that is his delusional fanbase, who likes to attack me on twitter whenever I speak the objective truth about Deni’s game/ performances. I was pissed when we gave him an extension 😭 I’ll be so happy when he’s gone. Am I tripping or do yall feel the same way?
You’re wrong and you’re right. You aint trippin. It’s complex. I’ve probably written enough about him over the years to fill a book, but essentially it’s what Brad told Trez so he understood the low external and internal expectations for this franchise. “We’re the Washington Wizards bruh”.
I’m in Baltimore, where the Wizards are from prior to moving to DC. If you’re like me, you’ve seen a lot of ball. In person playing, high school, college. If you’re like me you had friends or cousins who were notable athletes. You play bball yourself. You’ve seen the greats, the almost greats, the legends and the journeymen. I’ve seen Magic, Jordan, Bird, Miller, Drexler, and on and on. That was before your time but you’ve likely been paying attention to the NBA on a longer arc than some fans of his.
So they just have a 5-year view of the talent, the skill, the abilities, the drive, and the criticism NBA players get. Deni is like the one athlete from their country to ‘make it’ in the league, and so they’re fiercely protective. Like you know how you’ve seen people doing the bare minimum at something but their family or friends back them like they’re doing the world’s best job at it? lol. It’s like that. Nothing you, or I, or anybody says is going to convince them of anything, because they are duty bound to protect him at all costs.
So don’t take it personal. Just hope he gets better. He’s gotten marginally better this season, mainly because there’s nothing real left to blame. His fans have blamed everyone from Kyle Kuzma to Rui Hachimura to Raul Neto to Poole to Bertans to Corey Kispert to the coach for not literally benching anyone else who would have or shoot the ball, and for not literally leaving Deni in for the entire game.
That’s what reveals it. They aren’t doing anything but protecting their guy. Some of what is said is rooted in truth. He’s had some great defensive stops. He’s reliable for the most part with the defense he plays. He’s very, very, very patient and won’t go for the first 2 or 3 fakes, but he’s not gonna bite on fake 4, 5 and 6 either.
He’s been good in a starting role having more confidence shooting the 3 or driving to the basket, working on his moves. All that belies the fact that he’s a lottery pick 225-odd games into his NBA career just now becoming…mediocre.
But here we are, all we can hope for is for him to get better. We got nothin else goin on. I’ve seen a ton of talented guys over the years from the University of Florida, or UConn, or Syracuse, tons of different places, go by the wayside. Plenty of guys would be happy with hundreds of games in the NBA while still being mediocre. TBJ was pretty much the same way, and he’s still hanging around. Difference is nobody hyped up TBJ like he was the second coming or defended it when he made mistakes or didn’t fill the team’s needs.
This is literally the tip of the iceberg. There is so much nuance with things that have happened over the years but rest assured you’re not wrong overall. But imagine Deni was your relative. You see somebody online talking shit about him, you’re gonna defend him, right? Dog if it was my nephew on an NBA team getting torched, I’d be defending him, lol. So just view it that way, cause honestly most of them are nephews anyway. Happy Holidays bruh!
Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving I appreciate u taking the time out to chat with me. Point blank I just love hoop OG. I took it personal because I felt like anybody going to war for buddy after his body of work was just flat out delusional and disrespecting the game I love… a game that got me out of a lot of shit. A game that more than a game to me atleast. I appreciate u because I’m seeing I’m going to have to look at Deni thru a different lens now. He is average but to his fans that’s their Jordan so ima just take the good with the bad with Deni.
Comments like these are why I’ve been so pro-Deni.
Most NBA fans have seen Lebron, Curry, Durant, and Jokic who are on their level. This idea that you’re the only person that has seen elite basketball is ridiculous.
The only reason that I’ve supported him is that until the Wizards drafted Bilal, he was the only player that had legit upside. I don’t know how you can root for a team whose best player (Beal) was not a superstar, got rid of the fan favorite in Wall and not at least try to find the one guy that could break out.
Rui was a black hole on offense, Neto was another black hole on offense and was a journeyman score first point guard with no future. Poole has been the worst player in the league, Bertans took crazy shots and didn’t pass, and the coach has blown the most 20+ point leads I’ve ever seen while continuing to play horrendous lineups and have no plan at the end of games. Kuz and Kispert don’t deserve blame but there are a lot of guys that were not good.
Coming into the league at 18 was a mistake but if he had gone to college for the past two years and then this was his second year in the league everyone would look at him as a good prospect. 50-40-~80 with great defense and 2.29 Assist/TO from a 22-year-old is mediocre then I’ll be happy to find out what good is.
This sums up my pro Deni position.
TBj was smaller than Deni and didn’t have the same physical tools. Physical tools will always get more hype and opportunity.
I don’t really care about Deni I just want to be right. If he became an all-star I would stop caring about arguing this altogether.
Weird flex but okay. Its a holiday so instead of me writing a novel of an argument back to you, happy holidays and stay safe, fellow Wizards fan. 🦃
🦃🙏