Washington Wizards

Last Year’s Record: 43-39

Key Losses: Roger Mason

Key Additions: Juan Dixon, Dee Brown, Javale McGee

What significant moves were made during the offseason?

The key move for the Wizards this offseason was not losing anyone significant!  The Wizards entered the offseason with Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison both as free agents.  Obviously Wizards fans were a bit concerned with 2 of their top 3 players being free agents, especially since the never underspoken Arenas had made some not so subtle threats about leaving town if he didn’t get what he wanted.  Thankfully, Jamison signed quickly to a 4 year $50 million deal and Arenas soon followed with a 6 year $111 million deal.

Over $150 million was enough for one offseason so the Wizards didn’t do much else.  They did, however, bring the fan favorite and streak scorer Juan Dixon back to Washington.  The fans will love him again and he should get a real chance to contribute with Arenas sidelined for the first few months.  In the draft, the Wizards picked up big man Javale McGee, an athletic 7-footer from Nevada.  McGee has had some good preseason games scoring-wise thus far, but the Wizards will be looking for rebounds and shotblocking from their big men.

What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Wizards’ biggest strengths are its individuals’ scoring ability and resiliency.  Although we will not see him until January, Gilbert Arenas is one of the NBA’s most explosive players and capable of putting up points in a hurry by way of the three pointer and getting to the rim.  Antawn Jamison has a great knack for scoring as well, although you wouldn’t consider him explosive.  Its creativity and a deft shooting touch that makes Jamison a consistent 20 PPG player and one of the few active players to have tallied a 50 point game.  Jamison and Arenas, along with Butler will once again have a shot at each averaging 20 PPG, an impressive feat.  Juan Dixon and Nick Young will be coming off the bench and, while they aren’t going to vy for the scoring title, they are both capable of having 30 point nights.  With so many capable scorers, the Wizards should be able to find someone to keep them close even on the worst of nights.

In addition to their scoring abilities, the Wizards have shown more resiliency than any other team the last few years.  They’ve dealt with the Arenas injury for the past two seasons, a Caron Butler injury during the ‘07 playoffs, and now they’ll be without Arenas and center Brendan Haywood to start the 2008-09 campaign.  Although the team will miss Arenas and Haywood, the reason they are still a playoff contender is because of the toughness of Caron Butler.  He’s earned the nickname “Tough Juice” for a reason and seems to always keep the Wizards afloat.

What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

Well, besides staying healthy, the Wizards biggest weakness continues to be defense.  They’ll also be tested on the inside.  The Wizards tied for last place in 3-point field goal percentage defense last season, a sign that they don’t always make their rotations and gamble too much, a charge any Wizards fan will tell you is true.  Their field goal percentage defense was better, but could stand to be improved.  Coach Eddie Jordan has put a great deal of emphasis on defense the past few seasons (and they have gotten better), but further progress needs to be made if the Wizards want to contend.

Defense will be even more challenging this season as big man Brendan Haywood will miss quite possibly the entire season.  Look for a center-by-committee approach from Coach Jordan.  Etan Thomas, Andray Blatche, and Javale McGee will all be asked to fill the role.  Etan will be the punisher, Andray the finesse guy, and McGee the shotblocker.  Too bad they can’t be combined into one player.

What are the team’s goals?

Optimistically speaking, the Wizards hope to have a Big 3 of Arenas, Jamison, and Butler by January, start playing for homecourt, get Haywood back for the playoffs (with no rust somehow), and try to make the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Wizards would surely be happy with that scenario, but realistically they have a few primary goals.  The first is to obviously get healthy.  Second, they want to develop their young talent: Nick Young, Javale McGee, and Andray Blatche.  As far as results, they certainly want to make the playoffs.  Arenas was out last season and they still did it so it would be a disappointment not to be back this season.  They should aim for at least the Second Round as Wizards fans are tired of getting bounced in Round 1.

What crazy thing will Gilbert Arenas do this season?

This is obviously question numero uno for the Wizards this season.  What will Arenas do next?  We heard about his million dollar pool and mountain and his high altitude air pressure house, but what is next?  How long can Arenas continue to be the biggest star in Washington without actually doing anything?  When will his blog be updated?  These are all pressing questions for the Wizards faithful.  We can only wait and see.

Predicted Record: 45 – 37

Yep, I’m taking the optimistic angle here that Washington does have a Big 3 in mid-January and improves on last season’s record.  Even without Arenas, there’s no reason this team isn’t at or above .500 by January.  Jamison and Butler should be able to carry the load and they’ve got a capable group of role players and some improving young talent.  I’ll go as far to say that the Wizards will make the 2nd Round.

swing team (noun)

1. a team that is “good on paper,” but regularly falls short of expectations
2. a team that relies on 1 or 2 players with a history of injuries
3. an unproven team with a lot of talent, but little experience

So, here are 5 swing teams for the 2008-2009 season

1. Toronto Raptors – After a .500 season last year, the Raptors decided to mix things up a bit and traded T.J. Ford for Jermaine O’Neal.  O’Neal, of course, is a former all-star, but missed half of last season due to injury and put up just average numbers when he was on the floor.  Then, there’s 22-year old Andrea Bargnani who has lots of potential, but is coming off a sophomore slump.  Raps fans are hoping JO is his healthy old self and Bargnani blossoms.  If that happens, the Raptors will do some damage.
2. Denver Nuggets – A lot of fans were scratching their heads when the Nuggets basically gave Marcus Camby away to the Clippers this off-season, but maybe their roll of the dice will pay off.   Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony are still a scary duo and maybe Anthony’s gold medal in Beijing will rub off on his teammates.  For the Nuggets to swing upward, they need those two to play well and as a team, plus some help (and health) from Camby’s replacement Nene.
3. Washington Wizards – It’s the same old story for the Wizards.  Injuries, injuries, injuries.  Remember this is the same team that was in 1st place in the East in 2007 at the All Star break before injuries decimated them.  They’ll start off without Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood, but a cast of youngsters along with Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison will try to hold down the fort until 2009.  It seems unlikely, but if everyone gets back to 100% this team could swing in a big way.
4. Miami Heat – Coming off a 15 win season, there’s only one way for Miami to swing, but they could really surprise some people.  They’ll need Dwyane Wade to stay healthy and for Michael Beasley to make an immediate impact.  Shawn Marion needs to play up to his capabilities as well.
5. Houston Rockets – Talk about a swing team!   The Rockets two stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming are two of the league’s best talents, but have spent more time with ice packs than they have on the floor the past few seasons.  Add the combustible Ron Artest to the mix and that’s like adding vinegar to baking soda.  Unbelievably, the Rockets could realistically win the Finals or see their best 3 players injured and suspended by December.

Unfortunately there’s no voting when it comes to swing teams or we’d all be stuffing the ballot boxes….all we can do is sit back and watch.  Any predictions?

1. Washington Wizards – What a brilliant move by Agent Zero to sign a $111 million deal and then just 2 months later announcing you’ll be having yet another knee surgery and will miss at least the first month of the season. The Wizards are just praying this doesn’t turn into another Allan Houston or Grant Hill situation. Washington fans are already too familiar with overpaying for guys that don’t pan out (See: Juwan Howard). Once again it’s up to Caron and Antawn to keep this stock out of freefall.
2. Josh Howard – Howard’s now infamous comments: “The Star-Spangled Banner is going on. I don’t celebrate this [expletive]. I’m black.” Add that to his “NBA players do smoke marijuana” comment just before a playoff game last season and his brilliant idea of throwing a birthday party after losing a playoff game last season. Yeah, time to sell this stock. Here’s the Star-Spangled Banner video:
   
   
3. Rookies – Michael Beasley’s now the latest rookie to be fined. He got hit $50,000 for the marijuana-smoking incident at the Rookie Transition Program. Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were disciplined a few days ago. Who’s teaching the Rookie Transition Program? Josh Howard?!? These guys are rookies so they’ve got plenty of time to bounce back, but their stocks are dropping right now.
   

First, the runner-up is this play where Michael Jordan shows us he can still get up…

As impressive as that block looks on video, it was 10x better in person as it just came out of nowhere. Think him getting his shot blocked on the previous play had anything to do with it?

Now, onto my choice for most memorable moment at an NBA game…

To set the stage, it’s 2005, the city of Washington, DC is hyped up as the Wizards are back in the playoffs for the first time since 1997 when they were the 8 seed and known as the Bullets. After years of losing, this Wizards team is exciting and really has a shot to get out of the first round as the 5 seed. But, we haven’t been to the post-season in forever and the city is panicking as the Bulls take games 1 and 2 on their home floor. The Wizards respond in Game 3 though, winning 117-99 setting up a do-or-die Game 4. You’re not coming back down 3-1 and going to Chicago. I was lucky enough to score tickets (albeit in the upper level) to Game 4.

Coming into this game, we knew we’d have to play like we did in Game 3 when our Big 3 of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Larry Hughes each scored 20+ with a little help from Etan Thomas off the bench. We needed our Big 3 to come through and to get some bench help.

Unfortunately, the one guy off the bench who could score in a hurry, Juan Dixon, was slumping. Wrong time to be slumping. Being a Duke fan, I still wasn’t a fan of this guy.

The game is about to begin and, like you do at all Wizards games, the PA announcer welcomes everyone to “the most POWERFUL city in the world” and does the player introductions. I’m looking around, looking down at our play-by-play and analyst team of Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier. I’m wondering what mistakes Buck has already made for the fans watching at home, and I’m hoping he’ll be excited when he’s talking about “daggers” and “backbreakers” late in the game. In Buck-ology, a “dagger” or “backbreaker” is a big shot at a key moment in the game sort of like Mike Breen’s “bang,” but not quite as frequent.

I can’t remember who was at this particular game, but DC is, of course, the politician’s Hollywood and the legendary Tim Russert would often sit courtside as would other political types.

Onto the game…

Late in the first quarter, Dixon entered the game. To be honest, it was a bit surprising as it was somewhat a question mark if he would even play given his slump, but Eddie Jordan wanted to roll the dice.

In his first six minutes, he scored 14 points. Impressive, but would it last? I was still skeptical. The arena was electric, though as the whole team was playing with energy, sparked by Dixon. Nobody was sitting down.

By halftime, the Wizards were up 61-37 and Dixon had 16 points. This would not be a nailbiter.

When it was all said and done, Juan Dixon scored a career-high 35 points and led the Wizards to a 106-99 win.

I had never heard the “Phone Booth” so loud as that game. From tip to buzzer, no matter what the margin, everyone was on their feet. I don’t think I sat down the whole game.

I have to admit, though, being at Game 5 in Chicago would have been nice…

If you have any memories of special NBA moments you have attended, feel free to e-mail me an article and I’ll try to publish it.

After arriving in DC, Wizards fans couldn’t wait to see this athletic 6′11″ big man paired with MJ. It didn’t take long, though, before Kwame was driven out of town by the pressure and his own lack of effort. If you think his stock had hit rock bottom after failing in DC, the Lakers proved that theory wrong by offering up Caron Butler for Brown. It was hoped that playing alongside Kobe, Kwame could flourish in an A-list city where he could just as well be anonymous. But, it didn’t work out in L.A. either. His time there was plagued by injuries and, then, the emergence of Andrew Bynum dimmed any chance he had at the limelight in a Lakers jersey. So, now he’s been in the league over 6 years and done hardly anything…he’s worthless right? Well, not to the Grizzlies who were willing to part with all-star Pau Gasol for Brown, Javaris Crittenton, and some draft picks.

Now, after just half a season in a Grizzlies uniform, Brown is leaving for Detroit. He could have signed with a lot of teams and not raised an eyebrow, but Detroit doesn’t just sign anybody. They try to sign pieces to their championship puzzle. And, when you consider that the Pistons haven’t been able to replace Ben Wallace, maybe they are looking at Kwame to fulfill this role? Like Brown, Wallace struggled early in his career in Washington, and was uncoveted when he arrived in Detroit. The two have similar physiques (although Kwame is a bit taller) as well. Kwame’s strength’s are his defense and rebounding, which is all they are going to ask him to do in Detroit. He won’t need to touch the ball on offense and he’s surrounded by veterans with a ring on their fingers who lead by example rather than words. Kwame’s not going to have anybody screaming at him in the Motor City. They’d just bury him at the end of the bench if he doesn’t want to play. At 26 years old, Kwame still has time to become a high caliber player, and maybe, just maybe, he’s finally landed in the right situation.

“I’m basically giving back $16 million,” Arenas told the Washington Times. “This is in line with what I’ve been saying the whole time. You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don’t wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can’t do anything about it.”

Just in case you don’t remember, Arenas said in his blog back in January, ” I want to get a six-year deal. I want to be a max player.”  Well, he’s not going to be a max player if he’s signing at a discount, but what he’s doing makes a lot of sense and we wish more guys would do it.

Arenas also said in that same blog, “For me to look elsewhere, I want to go find a championship team who’s a championship contender. I’m going to have to take less money, but I’m willing to do that to win a ring.”  So does Arenas think the Wizards are a championship contender?  Well, they just re-signed Jamison and it looks like they’ll have pretty much the same team as last year which puts them in the playoffs but not much further.  Thanks to Arenas Washington has some extra cash, but probably not enough to become a championship team.  It’s more likely that Arenas decided he’d rather take a chance on being the star of a championship team rather than go play alongside Kobe or someone.

In any case, maybe some players will be willing to take less cash on occasion.  It seems like it’ll work out for Arenas and the last we checked, Latrell Sprewell is still trying to feed his family.

Re-signing with Washington would be the easy thing to do. Arenas has said he wants to stay in DC and just wanted to “test the market”, but plenty a player have “tested the market” and found a better contract elsewhere. Arenas has stated repeatedly he will only come back if the Wizards also re-sign Antawn Jamison this off-season and they just did re-sign Jamison for four more years so the odds look good for Washington. “He said he’d take less money if they got me, and they got me,” Jamison said. “So I think everything will get worked out with Gilbert.”

The Lakers and Clippers have also been reportedly interested in Arenas at one time or another, but both situations don’t seem likely anymore. The Lakers would have to make some pretty big changes to make the money available for Arenas which they are unlikely to want to do considering they are coming off a Finals appearance. The Clippers, on the other hand, would want to work a sign-and-trade most likely involving Elton Brand, but now that the Wizards have re-signed Jamison, Washington is in a much better position to win in Gilbert’s eyes. Don’t hold your breath, LA fans.

Where do you think Agent Zero will wind up?