Agent blasts John Wall

Agent David Falk who once represent NBA greats Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing shared his thoughts recently on Wizards guard John Wall.  Falk is a Wizards season ticket holder and stated the following while speaking to a media member Sunday.

“You guys are in dreamland. Because this team [stinks] so bad you guys want John Wall to be someone he will never be....Before Wall becomes Nene, I would trade him and get rid of him....I’m serious. He doesn’t have a feel for the game,” Falk said. “He only knows how to play one speed. Magic Johnson had a great feel, a court sense, by the time he was a sophomore in college. Chris Paul had it by the time he was a sophomore in high school.

“You can develop your jump shot all you want, but if you don’t know how to play more than an up-and-down game by the time you’re about 20 as a point guard, the chances of learning are very slim. I don’t see it happening....Let me ask you a question,” Falk said, maybe 28 times over 30 minutes, often answering for you. “Who’s bigger, Kyrie Irving or John Wall? John Wall. Who’s a better athlete? John Wall. Who’s faster? Who’s stronger? John Wall.

“Now, who’s a better player? Kyrie Irving,” he said of Cleveland’s all-star point guard who was rookie of the year in 2012. “John Wall will never be as good as Kyrie Irving was in his first week in the NBA....You want to know the reason why just nine teams have won an NBA title in 40 years? Because if both of them came out today, 99 percent of all general managers would still take John Wall instead of Kyrie Irving. They’d take the athlete over the ballplayer. And they’d be wrong.”

Embarrassed by his comments Falk released the following statement yesterday evening:

As a young basketball fan, my favorite player was Jerry West.

When I became a sports lawyer/agent,  I came to regard Jerry West as the premier General Manager in the NBA. One of the qualities I most admired about Jerry, that separated him from many of his peers, was his willingness to openly admit when one of his decisions turned out to be a mistake.

Sunday evening, I engaged in a friendly banter with Mike Wise about a column he wad written. Our discussion was repartee, two fans going at it about a variety of different topics.

My decision to knowingly allow this discussion to be aired publicly was a mistake. It reflected poor professional judgment.

Therefore, I want to publicly apologize to both Ted Leonsis and Ernie Grunfeld for publicly expressing opinions that better judgment should have kept private.

I also want to publicly apologize to John Wall. I hope he either ignores my comments completely or tacks them up on his locker and uses them as motivation. Ultimately, whether or not he becomes an elite NBA player will have far more to do with his dedication and commitment than  the opinions of critics, professional or amateur.

I have lived in Washington for more than 40 years and I am rooting for Ted to make the Wizards a championship team.

I humbly and publicly apologize for expressing opinions in an inappropriate forum.