Why is Wesley Johnson so horrible

[clutchinho]

You look at this guy in a vacuum and he's got all the attributes of a guy who teams will be fighting to sign to a max contract. He's 6'7 with a 7'1 wingspan, quick and explosive jumper, quick and wiry strong, 3 point range, unselfish and he's only 27 years old.

Somebody like Danny Green is going to get a multi year contract for $10m per year, and it wouldn't surprise me if Wesley Johnson was playing in Bosnia next season. Is it the lack of drive? Is it mental or are the Timberwolves that poisonous to a young players development

[ClipperRevival]

Like most guys with his amazing talents who don't pan out, it's ALL between the ears. The guy has like the PERFECT wing body. Tall, long and athletic as hell. As a Laker fan, I have watched him the last few years and he just doesn't have the desire to be great. He also has terrible bball iq. The guy usually laughs when he makes a dumb play like, "it's not that bad." What a waste of talent. I would've given ANYTHING to be blessed with that body and athleticism. Not much separating him from a guy like Pippen in terms of size/athleticism. Wes was coordinated as hell for a guy his size.

[senelcoolidge]

Exactly low basketball I.Q. No desire to be good or great.

[clutchinho]

Like most guys with his amazing talents who don't pan out, it's ALL between the ears. The guy has like the PERFECT wing body. Tall, long and athletic as hell. As a Laker fan, I have watched him the last few years and he just doesn't have the desire to be great. He also has terrible bball iq. The guy usually laughs when he makes a dumb play like, "it's not that bad." What a waste of talent. I would've given ANYTHING to be blessed with that body and athleticism. Not much separating him from a guy like Pippen in terms of size/athleticism. Wes was coordinated as hell for a guy his size.

He doesn't have to be great. He doesn't have the handles, overall skill or mentality for it.

But how hard is it for an athletic freak like him to just shoot, defend and run the floor? It just shows the importance of the system. If Wes Johnson was drafted by the Spurs he'd be getting paid this offseason.

[ClipperRevival]

He doesn't have to be great. He doesn't have the handles, overall skill or mentality for it.

But how hard is it for an athletic freak like him to just shoot, defend and run the floor? It just shows the importance of the system. If Wes Johnson was drafted by the Spurs he'd be getting paid this offseason.

He doesn't have it in him. He doesn't take the game seriously. Like I said, a lot of times when he makes a dumb mistake, he just laughs it off like it's no a big deal. I don't care how talented you are, if your head is not mentally in the game, you will severely under utilize your talents. Sure, Wes flashes brilliance once in a while when he is just able to let his natural talents take place, like when he's running in transition for a dunk or he chases down a player from behind for a spectacular block from behind. But most of the game requires more than just running straight. You need to be able to assess situations and react. And Wes' bball iq is terrible and he doesn't take the game seriously.

[ClipperRevival]

I am on the same boat with you OP. I look at this guy and say, "What a waste of talent." Only if I had been blessed with that body, I wouldn't have wasted my talents like this guy. He is so physically gifted yet he gets paid the league minimum when he should be getting close to max money because few are as talented as he is athletically and size wise.

It's all mental. If he corrects it, he still has a chance to be very good because he is still only 27 and as long as you have rare athleticism, you always have a chance. Like Gerald Green.