Went to the first 3 days of Vegas SL and watched Hawks + Rockets games live. Here’re my initial observations and thoughts on the SL Wizards squad 📝

I'll start with what y'all probably didn't/couldn't see on TV:

• Justin Champagnie TORE INTO the young guys (Sarr/George) during the huddle at 2:58 mark in the 4th during the Rockets game
  • This was after a very sloppy sequence where Kyshawn turned the ball over, Sarr eventually got the loose ball but took an ill-advised triple, missed, and Whitmore had a dunk on the other end.
  • I thought this was very important to note because it's a testament to how young and inexperienced our boys are. It’s a process with them and patience is gonna be very important. It's gonna take years for them to reach their potential and there’s gonna be many bumps and setbacks along the way.
• Justin was easily the best player on our SL team. I loved the way he carried himself, he was very poised on the court and very clearly a well-respected veteran voice on the squad. Would love him on the roster. The Wizards have done a great job with their G League/Go Go program.

Okay now the stuff you probably already saw on TV but ima share my thoughts anyway lol:

• Wizards vs. Hawks
  • Alex Sarr
    • Slow start, literally. Seemed a step slow on the defensive end. Had some wild shot-blocking attempts early on which got him 2-3 quick fouls. Seemed to settle in much better after that 3-block sequence. 
    • He is not physically imposing. Opposing teams will make sure he touches the paint as little as possible on offense, and he doesn’t really have the strength to do anything about that. 
    • He’s not aggressive getting his own shot/buckets on offense, I don’t think he’ll develop into a No. 1 option. As a big who’ll handle the ball a lot, he’s gotta take better care of it. 
    • Good: He doesn’t need to be a No. 1 scoring option for us (that’s for 2025). I think he’ll serve well as a secondary playmaker out of the post. All the talk about his skills as a 7-footer is correct. I love his passing already and he’s clearly comfortable with the ball in his hands. His shooting form looks good too, especially from the line. I believe in his stretch potential. HE LOVES A JAB STEP 😂 and it's actually pretty effective. He dropped a defender with one earlier in the game then hit this triple after a jab. Looks like his go-to.
    • Great: Legit rim protector. He has legit unicorn athleticism and will for sure be a threat in transition, both as an initiator and finisher.
  • Bub Carrington
    • He’s going to be a fan favorite. Bucket-getter, athletic, great energy. His debut stat line speaks for itself. Likes going at his defender, good vision with his passes, fantastic effort on the boards. He looked real good at PG and I’m looking forward to his development. 
    • For the most part, he took care of the ball but had bad b2b turnovers halfway through the 4th that can’t be ignored.
    • +16 and it showed. Offense looked great when he was on the court.
    • He is 18 years old. Will Dawkins cooked here.
  • Kyshawn George
    • I like his size (⏸️), if he can put on some muscle I like his potential as a physical 3&D piece for us. 
    • Has a nice passing eye so another potential secondary playmaker for us from the wing spot.
    • Still a shooter at heart tho and his form looks good. Just don’t see much in terms of creating separation for his own shot.
    • Finished a passing sequence that went Bub->Sarr->Bub->George corner 3. Great to see in person.
• Wizards vs. Rockets
  • Yikes lmao
  • Sarr
    • Way more comfortable in the midrange area, has a nice lil mid-post game. Shots and everything look much better from there despite the poor shooting night. He just left everything short this game. Def doesn’t have the strength to be down in the low post often.
    • Not as comfortable from deep but like that he's still taking those shots.
    • Had a really bad game overall
  • Vukcevic
    • Bro got a very long ways to go on defense. On his 1st defensive possession, didn't defend the screen well at all and just watched the ball-handler take the open lane to a free layup. Didn't look interested in being good defender this game, at all. 
    • Don’t love his energy. Missed a wide-open oop finish and barely made it back past the half court line before the Rockets scored off his miss.
    • He's nowhere near good enough on offense for his defense & energy to be that bad.
  • George
    • They tried him as a primary ball-handler for a few possessions in the first half which I was happy about cause I want them to tap into any potential as a playmaker. Unfortunately, it didn’t go well, at all. A lot of sloppy dribbling and passing TOs (6 total).
    • Great shooter, looks very comfortable pulling up from deep (75% this game) especially off the catch.
  • Bub
    • Aggressive. LOVE how he attacks the boards, gets paint penetration and pulls up with confidence
    • All of that is going to lead to some sloppy TOs and bad shots. There will be growing pains with him. Didn’t like his shot selection today and was very inefficient despite the high-scoring effort.
    • That being said I don’t think he’ll be one to shoot us out of games. He still looks to play-make and get his teammates some looks.