Now that both Jamison and Arenas are signed for the foreseeable future, the Wizards plan for the future is starting to come into focus. Will it be good enough to win a championship? What pieces do you think they are missing?

After all the speculation and rumors, the Wizards made one thing clear: Antawn Jamison will not be leaving the Washington Wizards anytime soon. His incredible on-court production means something in the NBA; something like a $50mm contract. Now the speculative eye turns to other free agents like Roger Mason Jr. and Mr. Arenas; who currently represents himself without the help of an agent. There’s a rumor floating around that the Wizards offered Arenas a 6-yr $100MM deal, but he has yet to answer. More on this story as it continues to unfold…

 Just in case you need to see what production looks like: here’s some more tidbits about Jamison from www.washingtonwizards.com:

Jamison led the Wizards in scoring (21.4 ppg) and rebounding (a career-high 10.2 rpg) last season to earn his second career All-Star appearance.  He was one of only five players in the NBA to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds and posted a career-high 44 double-doubles. 

The 6-9 forward has averaged 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds in 299 career games with the Wizards.  Jamison has been a captain and led the Wizards to the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the club. 

18 - JaVale McGee

47 - Bill Walker

The second pick (Bill Walker) was sent to Boston for cash considerations. Here is the scouting report on McGee (per yahoo sports): 

Strengths: An incredibly mobile athlete with good size and excellent length (7′6″ wingspan) to go along with an intriguing, developing skill-set. Has a solid frame capable of putting on more weight, and huge hands. On the offensive end, he shows flashes in most facets of the game, with hook shots and turnaround jumpers in the post, ball-handling ability on the perimeter, and a developing jump shot. With his size and athleticism, he’s capable of finishing many tough shots around the rim with extended dunks, and should be a good threat as a finisher in pick-and-rolls. His shot-blocking potential is immense, and he already has made an impact in that regard with his length, athleticism, and timing. His upside is through the roof and has only begun tapping into his potential, seeing significant minutes for the first time this year.

Weaknesses: Very weak physically, struggling to finish through contact and hold or establish position on the block. Fundamentals and footwork are lacking, and he rushes and forces a lot of shots in the post. Is content to fade away frequently and has no left hand to speak of. His shot selection, decision making, and basketball IQ in general are highly questionable. Not a very efficient player at all and doesn’t always recognize limitations skill-wise. A terrible free-throw shooter. Defensively lacks all fundamentals and is ineffective aside from a few impact plays a game, especially in post where he’s pushed around. Motor and toughness are questionable. Has much development to do and has high bust potential.

Outlook: A likely mid-first round pick due to his incredible upside, but is a while away from contributing and has considerable bust potential.

There has been mixed responses from Wizards fans on the blogs; with some saying he is a Tyson Chandler type of Center while others say he is complete garbage and will never see the floor. I have never seen him play, so I’ll let you tell me if this was a good pick or not…

 ”Kobe, tell me how my A** tastes”

Just a snippet of Shaq’s rhymes after the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the NBA finals. Click here to watch and listen to Shaq’s freestyle in NYC. (If you are at work, make sure to put your earpiece in.)

 This is why Shaq is one of my all-time favorite players. Sure he’s over the hill, but he’s seven feet tall and 350 lbs. with multiple championship rings, and he has no fear. In this freestyle he went at not only Kobe, but Patrick Ewing and even the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. While his comparisons to the late great Notorious B.I.G. are somewhat ridiculous in terms of rhyme skills, Shaq still holds the mic down better than any other professional basketball player I’ve ever heard spit a flow.

Afterwards, here’s what Shaq told Stephen A. Smith:

“I was freestyling. That’s all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what mc’s do. They freestyle when called upon. I’m totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all. And by the way, don’t forget, six albums, two platinum, two gold. Anybody who knows me knows I’m a funny freestyler. Check the NBA DVD when I was wrapping about Vlade Divac during my first championship run. Please tell everybody don’t make something out of nothing.”

That’s simply public relations bulls%*t Shaq. To devote an entire freestyle to Kobe losing without him says a lot more than “it was all done in fun”. In addition, he brought up the Colorado snitching incident and his divorce, so he clearly has a lot more hate than love in his blood for Kobe.

I can’t wait to read your feedback on this one…

Here are some options from rumors I’ve heard around the net:

- Package their draft pick with a current player on the roster in exchange for a star quality player

- Pick a Point Guard

- Pick a Center/Power Forward

I truly don’t know what the Wizards are going to do and to be quite honest, I doubt they know what they are gonna do either. There are a lot of moving pieces in this organization right now; such as offers for Arenas or Jamison that the Wiz might have to match (none yet), what to do with Roger Mason, the Etan Thomas saga, the faith (or lack thereof) in Brendan Haywood, etc. etc.

My take

The Wizards simply do not have the explosive scorer or the excellent defense to win the NBA finals as they are currently constructed. As much as I love Jamison and Arenas, neither one of them can be referred to as a “defensive stopper”. They try to have Stevenson fulfill that role, but in this day and age of the NBA, teams must have at least 3 good defenders on the floor at all times who can score as well as defend.

Therefore, somebody (a starter) has to go. Butler is a budding star, always in the top 5 in steals per game and is more of the solution than the problem, so he stays. Stevenson is their best perimeter defender, inexpensive and is a fairly good scorer, so he stays. Haywood had a career year and if the Celtics can win it all with Kendrick Perkins, Haywood is just as good if not better. So the choice comes down to Arenas or Jamison. To keep both means more of the same, but to lose both would cause the Wiz to scramble for a consistent scorer.

I say let somebody else pay Arenas his MAX money and resign Jamison to a 3-year deal; allowing him to retire as a Wizard. Jamison’s game isn’t very demanding on his body so as he ages, he will probably continue to score well, but his rebounding will diminish; so he can be a serviceable veteran and a good mentor to the younger players. In the meantime, use the leftover Arenas money to find a somewhat young but NBA experienced, pass-first, defensive minded point guard who will turn Butler into the Superstar we all know he can be. Jamison can be his wing-man and let the rookies and youngsters (i.e. Blatche, Pecherov, Young, McGuire) run with the new point guard who would rather get 10-assists per game than 40 points.

Use the first draft pick on a Power Forward/Center who wants 15 rebounds more than he wants 30 points. Use the second pick on the best center, power forward or point guard available.

Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know how you feel below…

Draft Workouts: Day 5

The Wizards held their fifth pre-draft workouts on Wednesday, June 11 at Verizon Center. The prospects in the workouts include Georgia guard Sundiata Gaines, North Carolina guard Danny Green, Winthrop forward Taj McCullough, West Virginia guard Darris Nichols, Alabama-Birmingham guard/forward Robert Vaden, and Virginia Tech forward Deron Washington.

Draft Workouts: Day 4

The Wizards held their fourth pre-draft workouts on Tuesday, June 10 at Verizon Center. The prospects in the workouts include Kansas guard Mario Chalmers, Cholet (France) guard Rodrigue Beaubois, Alabama forward Richard Hendrix, Mississippi State forward Charles Rhodes, Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, and Western Kentucky guard Courtney Lee.

Draft Workouts: Day 3

The Wizards held their third pre-draft workouts on Monday, June 9 at Verizon Center. The prospects in the workouts include Indiana forward D.J. White, Clemson forward James Mays, Ohio State forward Othello Hunter, North Carolina guard Tywon Lawson, Butler guard Mike Green, and UAB forward Walter Sharpe.

Draft Workouts: Day 2

The Wizards held their second pre-draft workouts on Friday at Verizon Center. The prospects in the workouts include Drexel center Frank Elegar, Wayne State forward Jeff Ferguson, Missouri guard Stefhon Hannah, St. Bonaventure forward Michael Lee, Auburn forward Quan Prowell, and Florida State guard Jason Rich.

Draft Workouts: Day 1

The Wizards kicked off their workouts for the 2008 NBA Draft by bringing in six players which include Oregon State forward C.J. Giles, Tennessee-Martin guard Lester Hudson, Kansas forward Darnell Jackson, Gonzaga guard Jeremy Pargo, Florida forward/center Marreese Speights, and Rider forward Jason Thompson.

Here’s some more info on some of the players:

C.J. Giles
C- 6′10 - 220 lbs. | College: Oregon St.

Fast Facts

· Averaged 6.3 ppg and 5.6 rpg for Oregon St. during his senior season (2007-08)

· Played at Kansas for two seasons before transferring to Oregon State

Darnell Jackson
F - 6′8 - 250 lbs | College: Kansas

Fast Facts

· Averaged 11.2 ppg and 6.7 rpg during his senior season for the 2008 National Champion Kansas Jayhawks

· Was named to the 2007-08 All Big 12 Third Team

Lester Hudson
G - 6′3 - 190 lbs. | College: Tennessee-Martin

Fast Facts

· Was fourth in the nation in scoring during the 2007-08 season (25.7 ppg)

· Recorded the first quadruple-double in Men’s Division 1 college basketball history on Nov. 13, 2007 vs. Central Baptist College (25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals)

Jeremy Pargo
G - 6′2 - 219 lbs | College:Gonzaga

Fast Facts

· Is the younger brother of New Orleans Hornets guard Jannero Pargo

· Named 2007-08 West Coast Conference Player of the Year (12.1 ppg, 6.0 apg)

Marreese Speights
F/C - 6′10 - 245lbs | College: Florida

Fast Facts

· Played two seasons at Florida, and was a member of the Gators 2007 National Championship team

· Averaged 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for the Gators in 2007-08

· Played high school basketball at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, VA

Jason Thompson
F- 6′11 - 250lbs. | College: Rider

Fast Facts

· Averaged 20.4 ppg and 12.1 rpg during his senior season (2007-08) at Rider

· Ranked second in the nation in rebounding last season

Other Notes:

Acording to www.washingtonpost.com, Gilbert Arenas has oficially opted out of the final year of his contract as of Friday. The move makes Arenas, who was scheduled to earn $12.8 million next season, an unrestricted free agent. According to a provision in his contract, Arenas had until June 20 to opt out but he elected to do so last week to “get it out of the way.” Teams will be able to negotiate with free agents July 1. Arenas has said that he will seek a maximum-level long-term contract, one that could cover up to six years and be worth more than $120 million. However, Arenas has also said that he would be willing to take less if it helps the team retain Jamison and make other moves to improve. Arenas, who has not hired an agent and is representing himself, said he does not have any visits scheduled with other teams.

According to Marc Cornstein, the agent who represents Vladimir Veremeenko (6′10″ 230lbs.), it appears that there is a decent chance that Veremeenko could play in summer league. Taken in the second round by the Wiz two years ago, Veremeenko is playing for Russia but could negotiate his way out of the contract all together or simply be cleared to play in summer league.

> *1. This was supposed to be the year the Wizards would rid themselves
> of the Cleveland curse. The Cavs were just two games better than the
> Wizards and had made a panic trade in the middle of the season.
> Meanwhile, the Wizards had persevered even with all the injuries and
> were as healthy as they had been all season. What went wrong? How
> did Cleveland win this series?

The Wizards will never get rid of the “Cleveland Curse” without a clear understanding of team identity. Cleveland knows who they are; the Lebron and sidekicks show. Washington on the other hand had an injured Gilbert Arenas who was trying to take the team back on his shoulders at the beginning of this series; even though Washington made the playoffs without him. That precedent made Butler and Jamison take a step back to allow Gilbert  to get into his groove; which backfired on the Wizards. Some of the blame for the integration of Arenas and the back-and-forth communication (is he going to play, is he not…) falls on the shoulders of Coach Eddie Jordan; who should be the first one to know everything so he can alter his game plan to account for his main scorer being in the line-up or out of it. The third and final factor that had an impact on the Wizards losing this series was the hesitant use of the bench by Coach Jordan. The same players who stepped up in the absence of Arenas (Young, Mason, Blatche, etc.) played a much less significant role in the playoffs as opposed to the role they played in the regular season. The smallest bit of hesitantancy is all it takes to lose in the playoffs and the Wizards players and their head coach were hesitant throughout the series.

> 2. What do you think are this team’s biggest weaknesses? How would
> you propose fixing them? What changes should be made to the roster?
 

The Wizards are somewhat like the Suns in the West; they are a run-and-gun offensive team that struggles to defend and score in the half court set. As we all know, that formula does not win very many championships in the NBA these days; as evidenced by the Suns trading for Shaquile O’neal. A change of that proportion may be needed in Washington. At some point, the Wizards are going to have to give up some scoring power in favor of a dominant, low block scorer and rebounder. A strong, powerful player who is 6′9″ or above who can consistently pull down 10+ rebounds a game while commanding a double-team offensively. That sort of player will create open shots for the other players on the floor and opportunities for offensive rebounds for the other big man.

The second pressing issue is the need for a defensive-minded,  true point guard. Arenas plays the position adequately, but he would be more effective if a pass-first point guard set him up for open looks at the basket. Juan Carlos Navarro or Steve Blake could have been that missing link, but the Wizards traded them away before knowing what they had in their grasp. If the Wizards can somehow acquire these two pieces (Pass-first PG and PF/C), that will allow more flexibility in the lineup and a better defensive prescence in both the front and back court. Arenas could move to the SG position, allowing him to concentrate on scoring; while the new low-block player could start at center, providing motivation for Haywood to be more of a rebounding-force in the middle coming off the bench. This would also allow Jamison and Butler to stay at the positions where they have excelled on this team.

> 3. This was certainly a strange season for Gilbert Arenas. Has your
> opinion of him changed at all? How do you feel about the notion that
> “the Wizards are better without him?” If he does indeed opt-out of
> his contract, would you hold onto him, and for how much?

My opinion of Arenas did change for the worse when he announced he was opting out of the last year of his contract; especially when he reinforced that notion even after re-injuring his knee. However, his subsequent statements that he would be willing to take a pay-cut in order to keep Jamison on the team were encouraging. The Wizards can obviously survive in the Eastern conference without him, as evidenced by making the playoffs this season, but I do not believe they are a better team without him. I do believe that he is playing out of position and is more suited for the shooting guard role; especially after injuring his knee repeatedly. I would like to see him begin the transition to the shooting guard position, similar to the way Mitch Richmond did it back in the 90s as he got older. Assuming he is willing to be flexible in terms of playing the SG position, I would re-sign him to a deal which included some playing time incentives in order to protect the organization in the event of another catastrophic injury. I am no cap-space expert so I don’t know how much the contract would be worth, but I would also remind him of his willingness to take less pay to keep Jamison on the roster and factor that in as well.

> 4. What do you do about Antawn Jamison? If you elect to re-sign him,
> what do you think is the appropriate price?

Jamison is the leader of this team and he had an outstanding year; therefore, he should be re-signed.  He would have to be paid a salary comparable to those  power forwards who put up similar numbers, but the real question is the number of years in the contract. He is getting up there in age, so anything more than 4 years would be foolish by the Wizards.

In addition, if the Wizards add a big-man similar to the one I described above, that will allow Jamison to shoot more from the outside and take the slower PFs off the dribble instead of being tied to the low block all the time.
> 5. Eddie Jordan is the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern
> Conference. In his five seasons at the helm, the Wizards have made
> four playoff appearances, making him one of the franchise’s most
> successful coaches. At the same time, he has only made the second
> round once, and that was by defeating a depleted Bulls squad in 2005.
> Do you think it is time for a coaching change? If so, who would be
> your number one candidate to replace him?

If I were Abe Pollin and Ernie Grunfeld, I’d bring in Eddie Jordan for one more year, but with the following warning:
Make better use of your bench and rookies. Grunfeld has selected these players and paid them for a reason, so find a way to get them into the flow of the team. The decisions to play Songalia over Pecherov and barely use the bench in the playoffs are simply unacceptable.

> 6. It was certainly an odd year, with all the injuries, the long
> losing streak, the big wins over Boston and New Orleans, the two
> all-stars, and the trash talking that occurred before the Cleveland
> series. How will you remember this year as a Wizards fan? More
> importantly, what do you think the team needs to take away from the
> way this season transpired?

As a fan, I will remember this season as one in which the Wizards grew together as a team in the absence of Arenas. This is the year that Caron Butler became a star in the NBA and it was a career year for Jamison. The Wizards truly shocked everyone with their depth and are now in a prime position to be a force with a few tweaks to the starting line-up.

In terms of what the team needs to take from this, they should focus on the positives that came out as a result of all the injuries; which allowed players like Blatch, Mason, Young and McGuire to truly blossom and mature. Assuming we keep these players on the roster and make the changes I listed above, the Wizards will be a favorite to win not only their division, but their conference by mid season next year.

Before we get to that, let’s take a look at the last game of this past season and what went wrong. I mentioned three keys to success for game 6; Feed Caron, Use Jolly Wally and Box Out. Let’s see how the Wizards fared in those three areas:

Feeding Caron

Butler only took 14 shots; well below the 20-25 I suggested. He was constantly double teamed so that may have had an impact on how many shots he could put up.

Using Jolly Wally

Well, frankly, this idea did backfire a bit. Wally had his highest scoring total of the series, 26 points. The other side of this equation was not completed by the Wizards though. They did not use his defensive deficiencies to their advantage; thereby allowing him to have fresh legs on the offensive side of the court.

Box Out

The Cavs outrebounded the Wiz once again, 45-42. Even though they came close, the Wiz simply could not match the Cavs scoring prowess and rebounding edge enough to achieve a win.

I still hold to the belief that the Wizards (with a healthy Arenas) are a better team than the Cavs, but the whole back-and-forth drama with Arenas was a killer. Back to the topic of this story: What to do during the offseason. There are a lot of questions to be asked, such as:

Should they re-sign Roger Mason?
Should they re-sign Jamison?
Should they re-sign Arenas?
What free agents will they target in the off-season?
Who should the Wizards draft?

The first two losses in this series were the fault of nobody but the Wizards. They talked too much and did not back it up. They made the NBA think they were afraid of the Cavs and roughing them up would be the only way they could win. That was not the case.

In the end, I think this series could have gone either way. I’m not saying the Wizards would have won it, but the NBA’s disgusting display of overreaction and inconsistent officiating made this series a glaring example of the NBA’s incompetence. Their bias toward their stars has been talked about for decades and it’s no different now. Just watch this series and tell me different. Lebron James is a great, great player. I think he’s the second best player in the league behind Kobe, but his whining and crying about EVERY play takes away from his talent. These observations should be obvious to anyone not residing in Ohio.

It’s a shame that it had to end this way, but now that it has I have a couple of comments regarding the future of the Wizards. First, I’m not convinced quite yet that they cannot win a playoff series as they are currently built. They could use some extra pieces and some continued improvement from their young players, but there is no need to blow anything up.

That being said, it is imperative that they re-sign Antawn Jamison. He is the heart to Caron Butler’s soul. Jamison is our best rebounder and a very gifted scorer. He is not perfect, but he is an all star and deserves whatever he wants. He must stay.

That brings us to Gilbert Arenas. After watching Game 6, I think anyone who says the Wiz are a better team without Gil are crazy. They may have been better this year with Gil not 100%, but with a full strength Gil, they are exceptional. That being said, I think it would be in Arenas’ best interest NOT to opt out of his contract and continue to get paid his large amount. After being absent or nearly absent for 2 straight playoffs, he needs to give the Wizards a break. He needs to take responsibility for his injury problems and go out and prove that he deserves a max contract. He needs to prove that he can be the Gil of old because it would be stupid for ANY team to give him a max contract after his issues of the past few years. I love the guy and what he did during last regular season was unbelieveable. But no player would be giving any money back if they don’t perform, so any player should understand a team would want to protect themselves.

It should be an interesting offseason. This team is good, but something must happen for them to take the next step. I think Ernie Grunfeld has some very big decisions to make and I’m glad I’m not him right now because the decisions he makes this offseason will mean a run to a title or staying just good enough to lose to the Cavs in the 1st round.