I couldn't resist using this photo

Interesting article by Marcus Thompson II in the Mercury News today on Brandan Wright and his future with the team. It goes through the usual litany of injury excuses, and kinda skates over the fact that Wright has always been a defensive and rebounding disaster when he’s made it onto the court.

While Wright has certainly been a disappointment, what’s maddening is that he’s always remained on the verge of being a serviceable player (unlike, say, Patrick O’Brien). And at times — in particular last year’s preseason before his second shoulder separation — it seemed like we were finally going to see the potential (utilizing his length and explosiveness) that made him such a high pick coming out of UNC after his freshman year.

But the fact remains that we haven’t, and this year has been perhaps the most disappointing of all as he was felled with a mysterious back injury for over a month and now can’t even crack the rotation. Maybe he’ll one day put it all together and become a positive contributor on the court, but at this point it seems incredibly unlikely that Oakland will be where that happens.

And in that way, he sort of reminds me of Alex Smith. A player with all the potential in the world who, despite numerous chances, could never put it all together when it mattered for the team that drafted him. Sure, you can legitimately blame coaching, and injuries were definitely a factor, but when it comes to the bottom line performance neither player lived up to his draft position.

So, like with Alex Smith, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wright one day put it all together and become a solid contributor (both are young and play a position of huge importance in their respective sports, and they may finally have the experience to put it all together). But at this point this turning of the corner won’t be happening with their original teams, so in Wright’s case I just hope the Warriors can get something for him before he inevitably leaves at the end of the year. Because otherwise, based on the team’s history of former players blowing up elsewhere, it’s going to be annoying as hell when Wright inevitably comes into Oracle next year and throws up a career high against the dubs…

Postscript: Another comparison for Wright could be Greg Oden — a player who, if he ultimately flourishes, will do so in another uniform than the team that drafted him. Though in Oden’s case it’s easy to put the blame squarely on the injuries, as more “fixable” problems like coaching and attitude didn’t interfere as much. So I’ll stick with the Smith comparison.

Posted by Mike in Roster

Tags: alex smith, brandan wright, greg oden