He’s the one coach that always eats his pregame meal in the media room alongside the very reporters who cover him. At least, it’s what Jerry Sloan used to do before he abruptly resigned from the Utah Jazz last year after 23 seasons.
Sloan is now itching for a return to the NBA sideline, but it doesn’t appear that the Verizon Center is on his list of places to potentially feed his coaching desire and his belly.
In fact, there’s no indication that the Wizards themselves are in the market for a coaching change at all. Instead, while the Charlotte Bobcats try to interview every potential candidate that exists – including Mike Malone, Patrick Ewing, Nate McMillan – and more openings become available, like Orlando, Washington has remained quiet and content since the end of the season.
It’s clear that owner Ted Leonsis and team president Ernie Grunfeld were impressed with Randy Wittman’s handling of the team, going 18-31 after taking over for fired Flip Saunders in January. Washington also has the rest of Wittman’s staff under contract for another season. From the Wizards perspective, they have a coach so there’s no need to search for a coach.
The last time there was this much radio silence, Leonsis re-signed the embattled Grunfeld.
"The way they're acting, one would think they're sticking with Wittman," one league source said.
It doesn’t mean they will. It could be that Indiana assistant Brian Shaw is on their list, and he won’t interview with anyone until the Pacers’ postseason is over. Perhaps they’ve been waiting to see what would happen with Stan Van Gundy.
But it is surprising that there haven’t been more hints of at least a process. The NBA draft lottery is in seven days, and the draft itself is just over a month away. That means that workouts and player evaluations will be a busy part of the next few weeks, the responsibility for which will fall to Wittman, who said when the season ended that he'd assume the job was his until told otherwise.
Here’s a novel thought: If he’s going to stay, the Wizards ought to endorse him and say so.
The Wizards didn't do so well in NBA all-rookie voting. Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack combined for zero votes while Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving picked up one more honor, earning the most first-place votes. The only first-team member still in action is San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard.
The Wizards will learn where they'll draft this year next Wednesday (May 30) when the NBA draft lottery takes place. Washington is guaranteed a top-five pick.
2011-12 NBA ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM
Player Team First Second Total
Kyrie Irving Cleveland 29 - 58
Ricky Rubio Minnesota 21 7 49
Kenneth Faried Denver 19 8 46
Klay Thompson Golden State 16 11 43
Iman Shumpert New York 15 10 40
Kawhi Leonard San Antonio 14 12 40
Brandon Knight Detroit 13 14 40
2011-12 NBA ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM
Player Team First Second Total
Chandler Parsons Houston 10 13 33
Isaiah Thomas Sacramento 5 17 27
MarShon Brooks New Jersey 3 12 18
Derrick Williams Minnesota 2 12 16
Tristan Thompson Cleveland 2 12 16
Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first place votes in parentheses):
Markieff Morris, Phoenix, 7 (1); Kemba Walker, Charlotte 7; Alec Burks, Utah 2; Norris Cole, Miami 2; Bismack Biyombo, Charlotte 2; Enes Kanter, Utah 1; Greg Stiemsma, Boston 1; Gustavo Ayon, New Orleans 1; Nikola Vucevic, Philadelphia 1.
Wizards guard John Wall was named to the USA men’s select team that will compete against the USA men’s basketball team during its training camp in July ahead of the Summer Olympics.
The select team is a first step for many players to getting to the national team itself.
The rest of Wall’s teammates: Ryan Anderson (Orlando Magic / California); DeJuan Blair (San Antonio Spurs / Pittsburgh); DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings / Kentucky); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors / USC); Derrick Favors (Utah Jazz / Georgia Tech); Paul George (Indiana Pacers / Fresno State); Taj Gibson (Chicago Bulls / USC); Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz / Butler); Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers / Duke); Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs / San Diego State); Jeremy Lin (New York Knicks / Harvard); and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors / Washington State).
The team will assemble in Las Vegas and conduct a training session July 5, then train with the USA National Team July 6-11.
It’s really a moot point now whether or not Flip Saunders was the right coach for the Wizards when he was hired in April 2009. Certainly the expectation was that his experience getting the most out of veteran teams was the perfect fit for Washington, which was in “win now” mode at the time. The problem was, the mix of players was volatile and never going to work. Which meant that Saunders had a situation he hadn’t bargained for almost immediately.
He still lasted more than two seasons, and even when he was jettisoned in January with a 2-15 record, it was seen as little more than window dressing on a problem that really came down to players.
As such, Randy Wittman’s relative success as interim coach since taking over for Saunders, along with some pretty ugly and embarrassing games, may matter little to the Wizards front office and owner Ted Leonsis.
Wittman went 18-31 and guided his team to eight wins in their final 10 games of the season but also presided over a number of embarrassing losses. His style was one where he pulled no punches, challenged his guys and never looked beyond the next game. As bad as the roster has looked the past three seasons, the players always seemed to be begging for just that kind of approach.
But the look of the coaching staff next season and beyond will be determined by the team’s longer-term outlook and approach, such as possibly bringing in a younger talent who can grow alongside John Wall and other young draft picks. Or it could stick with the continuity of a coaching staff that is under contract through next season.
What do the Wizards players themselves want? It was hard to find player at the end of last week who wasn’t ready for Wittman return.
“I think we respected him because when he was an assistant coach we respected him then,” Wall said. “He’s an aggressive coach and always right there on us, making sure we‘re doing the right thing. When he took over, he was being honest with us. He said, ‘I think you all can be a better team which you all are.’ He wanted us to play hard, he wanted us play as a team. Once we started doing those things, the season turned around for us and we started winning games.”
Wall finished his second NBA season with 16.3 points, 8.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, nearly identical numbers from his rookie year – aside from horrific 3-point shooting (7.1 percent). But the player who broke out of his shell the most under Wittman was second-year center Kevin Seraphin, who started the final 15 games of the year and averaged 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds after the team traded for Nene.
“I really like this coach, because he gives me my opportunity,” Seraphin said. “And I like Flip, too. He don’t really let me play. So I like Witt. After Flip go, I had a meeting with him. He was like, now you will get your opportunity, you will play. So now you have to get it. That’s how I did, I think so, and I really like this coach, he give me confidence and everything.”
Seraphin’s development was a particular point of pride for Wittman, too.
“It’s just a pleasure to see,” Wittman said. “What every coach has is a whipping boy, and he’s mine. So you always get a little more satisfaction seeing a kid like that succeed. I told him today, ‘I’m going to stay on you even harder now, because I don’t want you to get satisfied.’ He’s got a lot of room to improve and become a better and better player, too.”
Jan Vesely said he didn’t want to comment but enjoyed Wittman, similar to fellow rookie Chris Singleton: “It not my decision, but if they bring him back they bring him back but he’s definitely a mentor to me and a coach.”
Wittman also has been quick to compliment Nene’s presence and the shooting of Jordan Crawford, even when it bordered on excessive. Maurice Evans backed Wittman even though he didn’t get much playing time.
“I fully endorse Randy,” Evans said. “I think that he did a really good job. It wasn’t a smooth transition to start. Once we finally got our team in place, and we got our lineup set, we really contended. We’re a much better team. Statistically, even though we’re second worst in the league, this isn’t the second worst team in the league.”
Wittman also addressed the awkwardness of taking the job in the first place with the rest of Saunders’ coaching staff after beating the Miami Heat in the season finale.
“I told those guys they did a helluva job,” he said. “When you’re dealing with, Ryan Saunders, it was his dad. Z [Don Zierden] was with him a long time. Sam [Cassell] played for him. There was a lot of loyalty that was there when Flip was let go. These guys were jumped on and they helped me so much. I’m so appreciative of them and what they did and they didn’t miss a beat and they dove in even harder and said, ‘Let’s try to make the best that it can.’ And they did that, and I’m appreciative of that.”
Wittman also was pretty certain his resume and experience will ensure that he’s coaching somewhere next season even if it isn’t in Washington.
“Let me tell you something, I’m not an idiot,” he said. “Anytime you lose a job, you’re disappointed. Yeah, I think anybody does not want to lose their job or have to look elsewhere for a job. I can’t worry about it. I get judged by out there [on the court]. Whether it’s fair or not, that’s where a coach gets judged, and that’s all I have to worry about, make sure the team I put out there is ready to play.”
The funny thing is, it remains to be seen how the Wizards judge him, with no guarantee that it matters what he’s done on the court at all.
It didn’t feel like the locker room of a team that just finished the NBA season with the league’s second-worst record. In fact, it didn’t feel like the Wizards locker room at all.
There were smiles.
There was satisfaction.
There was little talk of individual achievement.
There was hope for the future.
It’s destined to be lost in the glory of the Redskins drafting Robert Griffin III, the Nationals winning games at historic pace, the Capitals advancing to the second round of the playoffs, and even D.C. United’s six game unbeaten streak.
But the Wizards, even with the second-worst record in the NBA, might just have something special, and that’s before they add a top-five pick in the NBA Draft in June. And no, they didn’t beat a full-strength Miami Heat in their regular season finale. But they did obliterate their second-teamers, 104-70, with their own less than full-strength squad, earning their sixth straight win.
“I thought this stretch down at the end of the year, even with a couple of losses that we had, was the best stretch that we played as a team together,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.
He was right. The Wizards finished the season winning eight of their last 10 games. They went 11-14 after the trade deadline. They went 7-4 with Nene in the lineup. They made a pretty compelling argument that Wittman deserves to be considered to continue in his role as head coach.
They were at rock bottom three months ago.
“We were in disarray from the moment that I got here, from the moment I stepped off the plane and seen that we were getting blown out by Philly in the preseason,” Wizards guard Mo Evans said. “It wasn’t looking good. I’m happy to say that it’s the total opposite, that we finished with momentum, that we finished with a strong character team on and off the court.”
Evans had a team-high and season-high 18 points against the Heat, finishing off the NBA title favorites with a pair of second half dunks. He didn’t even care, claiming afterward that he’d had a successful season because of what he was able to contribute in the locker room.
Nene was still stunned that he was getting so much credit for helping to transform the team, which Wittman said was no comparison to how bad it had been defensively before he arrived.
“I just play free here,” he said. “What they say, ‘I didn’t know you were so good.’ I been working the last four summer. I couldn’t shoot in Denver. Here I have the green light to shoot it.”
But it’s difficult for the players who weren’t in Washington before the trade to understand the value of addition by subtraction. JaVale McGee and Nick Young were moved while Rashard Lewis and Andray Blatche were shelved, and all of a sudden the Wizards resembled an NBA team again.
“I think it was the right decision,” said guard John Wall when asked about the difference since the trade. “We had a lot of jokes and stuff going around the locker room, but the energy is more serious, everybody is being on time, taking things more serious, being professional about everything. We just interacting more as a team.”
Wall finished the year with 12.4 assists in his last five games. He’s the fastest player (134 games) to reach 2,200 points, 1,000 assists, 600 rebounds, 200 steals and 90 blocks. Now he’s got the counterweight to his point guard presence in the low block, in Nene and Kevin Seraphin, the latter who proved his ability was no fluke by playing solidly for the last month. The difference between he and Blatche, Seraphin isn’t getting a contract extension he hasn’t earned before next season.
As a team, the Wizards aren’t ready to make claims about their potential. But they realize how far they’ve come since the awful start to the season. After the first game of the year, rookie Chris Singleton was probably the angriest guy in the room. At season’s end, the weight he carried that night appeared lifted.
“It definitely feels good,” he said. “For us, you can see the growth of the Washington Wizards, over the past month, we worked our butts off on the court, and the rest is history.”
It wasn’t exactly a celebration today at Verizon Center, where Ernie Grunfeld answered questions following the announcement that he had agreed to a new contract to remain president of the Wizards. Team owner Ted Leonsis was not present, but non-Wizards related tweets did emerge from his personal Twitter account while Grunfeld talked to the media. Here’s what Grunfeld had to say, with some key statements highlighted:
When did you find out that you’d stay on with the team?
“It was official yesterday at some point. I'm excited about it. It’s been a process for us. Obviously, we've been very transparent about what we're trying to do. We had a game plan, and we wanted to rebuild through the draft with younger players, put ourselves in a good position from a salary cap standpoint moving forward, and I think we've really made some good progress. I'm excited about being a part of it moving forward.”
Did you have any angst or concerns about your standing?
“No, I really wasn't focused on that at all as I said. I felt like I had a job to do, and if I did my job well, things would work out. As I said we had a game plan, Ted and I talked all the time about where we are and what we're trying to accomplish and things worked out.”
Is this a case of you staying on because you’ve executed the team’s plan?
“I don't know. I have a history in this league, I've been doing this job, a job like this, for 22 years, and I think we did some good things. I thought we had a game plan. Obviously, I was part of it when Ted took over the team. He had a plan, and we went out and we executed it together, and the plan is not complete yet. We still have a lot of work ahead of us and a lot of work to do, but I think we can really see some progress. Our young players are developing, we've become much more competitive, we've added some veteran players that have really helped us along the way, and I think we have a bright future.”
What is the Wizards’ timetable?
“I think we're a competitive team. Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do, this is year two of a three- year rebuild so we're moving to a direction where we want to be more competitive next year, we want to compete harder on a nightly basis. Our young guys need to continue to develop, we're going to have another high pick that we're going to have to get into the mix so it remains to be seen exactly where we are in that rebuild. But I think that in the last month or so you've seen a lot of progress form our young players, a lot of growth, and you know we also have to remember those players didn't have the benefit of summer league and the benefit of the long training camp so a lot of them have to learn on the fly. But I think they're coming around now, the team is playing harder, our defense is greatly improved, especially in the last month since we made the trade for Nene, and we have flexibility moving forward. I think we're in a nice position to be a competitive ball club next year on a nightly basis, and that's what we have to do. We have to get more consistency as we move forward and our players mature.”
With where the Wizards are now, what is the comparison to earlier years in your tenure, and what are the lessons you’ve learned?
"I think every situation is a different situation. I’ve had all kinds of different situations, not only here but in New York and in Milwaukee. You have a game plan, you try and follow up on the game plan. Usually the game plan is set up by ownership and it’s up to us to carry it out."
What about regrets and disappointments?
"We didn’t win a championship. Everybody always wants to be the best they can possibly be and move forward. You can’t really go back and compare what happened. It’s a whole cast of different characters, the rules were different. The whole situation was different. All we’re doing is moving forward and looking to the future and I think the future looks good for us.”
Does the plan include spending money on free agents?
“We already acquired a free agent the way we look at it in Nene. Last summer he was the most sought after free agent in the market place. We were able to get him via trade instead of having to play the free agent game and going out there not knowing for sure if you were going to get a player of his caliber. We played the free agent game, we just did it a little bit different. We are paying somebody a very nice salary. The games he played for us we’re 5-4 and of the four losses, three of them were by three points or less against some very good teams. Obviously, he makes a difference out there. He knows how to play the game. He’s a very intelligent player. He’s savvy. He’s one of those players that commands respect from the opposition as well as his teammates."
Is the next step adding more veterans this summer?
"I think people don’t give enough credit to veterans like Mo Evans and Roger Mason who did a very nice job with our players all year even though they maybe they didn’t get as much playing time. If the right opportunity is there for us to add better players, then we’ll always going to look at that. But I think the veterans we had this year did a nice job under very tough circumstances because we didn’t have the benefit of having training camp and having summer league. When you have so many young players - we have seven players in their first or second year of their careers who are in our rotation. I think you can say just about every one of them as improved as the season has gone on and has progressed."
How do you evaluate Randy Wittman and what is his status for next season?
“I think Randy’s done a very nice job with this team. The players have responded to him. The players are playing very hard for him, and once the season is over, I’ll sit with Ted, and we’ll evaluate the situation just like we do every year.”
Given your track record, do you believe you deserved an extension?
“The important thing is Ted felt that. There’s a lot of circumstances that go with certain things. We had to pivot and change course in midstream of where we were. We made the playoffs four years in a row, and we went to the second round one time, and two of those playoff rounds, we didn’t have our top scorer playing for us, and one of them we didn’t have our top scorer and Caron Butler playing for us. I think we had some good success, and then we had some injuries that really hurt us. The following year Brendan Haywood and Gilbert [Arenas] went down. We made some trades, and we had a very good ball club, and then we an incident in the locker room, and we decided to go in a different direction then and to get new players and to rebuild. There was also an ownership change, and when Ted came in, he said that what he wanted to do was build through the draft just like he did with the Capitals and obviously, that was our plan, and get young players and develop with them and build with them, get a team that could be competitive for many years to come. And that was our plan, and that’s what we’re in the process of carrying out.”
What is your evaluation of rookies Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack?
“I think they’ve all had some moments. Like most rookies, they haven’t been as consistent as we’d like them to be. Jan is really coming on. I think in his last five games, he’s averaging 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, but he’s more than stats. He’s an outstanding defender. He plays the pick and roll as well as anybody. He’s an energy player. Chris has shown some ability to hit the outside shot and play good, solid defense. Shelvin has a lot of maturity and is very solid and understands how to run the team, but if you look at all of our second year players, they’ve all really taken a bigger jump. That’s how the NBA works. It’s harder for rookies. You need that experience, and our second year players, almost every one of them, has taken a significant jump. Obviously john puts up outstanding numbers every game. He had 14 assists last night and is really looking to pass the basketball more, and his defense has improved. Jordan’s had very good progress, and of course, Kevin Seraphin has come on, and I think he’s had 14 games in a row double-figure scoring. He’s averaging like 14 points a game and seven rebounds since we made the trade, and he’s had an opportunity to play. And Trevor Booker played very well before his injury so I think our second-year players, just like normal, took a bigger jump than our rookies did this year because the rookies don’t have as much experience. They didn’t have the benefit of summer league and training camp like most young players do.”
What specific areas on the team do you intend to address this offseason?
“We’ll evaluate all those situations after the season. We’ll sit down with our staff and our coaches and see what areas we really want to improve on, and we want our young players to improve in the offseason and continue with player development, and then we’ll add pieces here and there where we feel it’s necessary.”
What is Andray Blatche’s status and will he return next season?
“That remains to be seen. It’s going to be a process that we’ll monitor during the summer. Obviously, he’s a very talented player as he’s shown in the past. He got hurt early in the year, and he was just never able to get into the kind of game shape that we needed him to be in to help contribute this year.”
Do you understand why fans might be surprised that you were retained?
“Well, I don’t know. I’m really more concerned about what I think and what my job is at hand. And I think we’ve done some good things here over the years and I think that the things that we’ve done in the last couple of years are very positive and I think if you really look at it, realistically, and see where we are and see that the assets that we’ve accumulated and how we’ve positioned ourselves, I think we’re in a very nice spot to be competitive here for years to come.”
Can you talk more about Ted’s mention of technology in his blog post.
“We have a system. Obviously, we don’t want to let out too much, because it’s our system. Some teams that use it, but it’s a high-tech system with videos and computers that track every movement of the player, track every movement of the ball and we can use that for statistical analysis as the games go on. Obviously, you need X amount of games to get proper evaluation of those kind of things, but we have a system in there that I believe eight or nine teams currently use.”
Where is the team financially and how do you plan to use your money in free agency?
“We will evaluate that, as we move along. We’ll see which free agents are actually going to be available. A lot of players have outs. A lot of players have options to opt into their contracts, so we don’t know who the whole field is going to be yet, and we’ll make decisions on our own players as the summer progresses?”
Given the reception at Verizon Center, is it a non-starter to put Andray Blatche back on the court?
“No. Not necessarily. Players are always forgiven if they come back and perform well.”
What impressing you about this group now?
“I think we have a nice balance. We have good chemistry. We have players that compete on a nightly basis. They play hard. They try to follow the game plan. I think our veterans have done a nice job of keeping everybody grounded and I think we’re playing team basketball. We’re moving the basketball. We’ve played unselfish basketball and we’re playing for one another. We’ve had some nice wins on the road against some really good teams, which only helps your confidence moving forward and I think you could see that the players’ confidence is growing and we’re growing as a team, as a unit. Obviously, there is still a lot of work left and it’s probably taken longer than a lot of people wanted, including me. And I can understand the frustration that some people have with that. But that’s the process you have to go through when you’re dealing with young players and the growth and the maturity process that we have to go through. But when we added Nene, he also had a whole new element of professionalism and team play and savvy, and I think the young players believe in him and I think the young players listen to him and we’re doing a lot of the little things a lot better than we have in the past.”
On media day back in December, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis felt it was appropriate to compare his team to a Ferrari. It wasn’t because of the attributes that are usually associated with the high performance Italian race car, but because he was captivated by the idea that the Ferrari didn’t have rearview mirrors to ensure that the driver was only focused on what’s ahead.
Leonsis has taken the same approach with Ernie Grunfeld, extending the Wizards president of basketball operations and focusing on what Grunfeld has done in the past two years while choosing to overlook his checkered tenure at the helm of a middling to frustrating franchise for nearly a decade.
There can be no disputing the enormous messes that Grunfeld has both created and exacerbated in Washington, even if the Wizards before his arrival in 2003 were far worse and more irrelevant. He got Washington back into the playoffs, but his faith in Gilbert Arenas overreached despite Arenas’ knee problems and questionable behavior, whether it was spurred on by late team owner Abe Pollin or not.
His faith in the potential of the Arenas/Antawn Jamison/Caron Butler trio missed the fact that they weren’t able to coexist and that the team, as a whole, was a .500 playoff squad, not an NBA contender. Instead of drafting a potential franchise guard in 2009 like Ricky Rubio or Stephen Curry, Grunfeld traded for Mike Miller and Randy Foye, who were gone from Washington after one disastrous year. Regardless of however many people told Grunfeld his team had top-four potential in the Eastern Conference, Grunfeld put them together with Flip Saunders, and they were awful. That was even before the terrible events of the 2009-10 season, which also aren’t just things that happened – they happened because Grunfeld created the environment in which they could.
Grunfeld also drafted Nick Young, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche, whose absences have been more or less singled out during the Wizards’ winning streak over the last four games as being crucial reasons why the team has turned the corner of late. Despite what the organization says, they will never be remembered for their development in Washington – they will always be associated with being a distraction during arguably the most disappointing years that the franchise has ever experienced. Oh, and Blatche is still under contract for three more years.
Rashard Lewis, the second-highest paid player in the NBA this season, is also under contract and on the roster despite contributing all but nothing this season.
This is still a better alternative than having Young, McGee or Arenas. Lewis can be disposed of via buyout, and Blatche via amnesty. Grunfeld has wheeled and dealed the last two years in the trade market to clean up the messes that he’s created, and Leonsis has recognized that effort.
Nene isn’t an All-Star. But he was one of the most sought-after free agents last summer, and more important, he’s not McGee. In the long-term, they could’ve cost the same, and bringing on $52 million of salary isn’t the type of move that a general manager does on his way out the door.
Kevin Seraphin looked like another European draft bust last season – right now he’s the best draft pick Grunfeld has made (John Wall was a no-brainer) and gives required pause to anyone that wants to rush to judgment on the potential of Jan Vesely. Jordan Crawford may not be the answer long-term, but he has value – especially when he was acquired for nothing – just like Trevor Booker. Chris Singleton was the one pick everyone agreed was a steal last June. His production this year has been worse than Lewis’, but that may because the Wizards decided to throw him into the starting lineup all season rather than giving a legitimate shot to Maurice Evans.
In fact, the Singleton-Evans dynamic may demonstrate better than anything that Grunfeld and the Wizards knew exactly what was in store this season. It was going to be embarrassing, frustrating and awful. It was also the easiest road to a high pick in a loaded draft and an offseason that the Wizards will enter with crucial salary cap flexibility.
Which means, if you’re able to erase the memory of most of the last four months (or four years), the Wizards are in a better position than they have been in ages, and Grunfeld gets credit for making it happen. It doesn’t matter to Leonsis that he was responsible for the moves that set Washington so far back in the first place. Grunfeld has a knack for rebuilding the Wizards, and he had Leonsis in his corner, evidenced by Grunfeld’s participation in recent NBA Board of Governors meetings in New York and last week by the body language of both as they conversed on the court following a Wizards team photo that reflected just how far they’ve come.
“I give credit to Ernie for putting us in this position so quickly,” Leonsis said on his blog Tuesday morning. “But, like you, I now expect the Wizards to transition from a work-in-progress to a team that competes for a playoff spot.”
Still, a work-in-progress is what the Wizards have been for nine years. But it’s hard to see that without looking backwards.
It’s one of those few times when Randy Wittman can look down the sideline and repeat the mantra from his friend and former leader, Flip Saunders: It can always get worse.
Because as frustrating and bad as this season has been for the Wizards, they’re riding as high as they have all year while Monday’s opponent, the Charlotte Bobcats, under first interim, then full time coach Paul Silas, are struggling to fight off history and still need one victory in their last three games to avoid finishing the season with the worst winning percentage in NBA history. They haven’t won since St. Patrick’s day, having lost their last 20 games.
The Bobcats are so bad that they get confused for tanking to get the No. 1 pick. Similar to the Wizards, however, they’re actually not good enough to do that on purpose. A reminder: they’re owned by Michael Jordan.
"It's been very, very hard for me because I've never been through this before,” Silas said prior to the game. “The losing part kind of eats you up. I can't sleep at night, wondering what we can do to change this thing around. I have to understand who we have, a lot of young people. This team was put together very quickly, didn't have a summer, no training camp, no practice time. We have done about as best as we could do. If we had those things, the practices and the training camps, we'd be a lot better, but starting two rookies and guys who haven't played in this league very much; this league is built on guys who understand this game and the experienced players, and we don't really have that many. Corey Maggette, one of our best players, and he hasn't been there for quite some time. But, it's been a struggle. You always figure out how to get it done, but we haven't been able to."
The Wizards have beaten the Bobcats in all three of the teams’ meetings this season. They’ve also been guilty of taking their foot off the gas in games they’ve come into as favorites. Washington’s most recent loss was the best example, a very winnable game against Cleveland on April 14 in which the Wizards never gave themselves a chance.
“I think this is going to be our toughest game, believe it or not, of the stretch of games that we’ve had,” Wittman said. “This is a Charlotte team that’s coming on a long losing streak, that wants to end it, and they’re going to do everything with two or three games left in the season to try to get that one win. We’ve got to have that focus tonight, or we’re going to be in for a tough contest.”
But ask Silas, and the pressure lies squarely on the visitors.
"If we don't play a perfect game, we have a hard time winning,” Silas said. “We played really good against Memphis, Detroit, Milwaukee, those kind of teams and didn't get the win. It's been hard."
Meanwhile, now having won three in a row and five of the last seven, all of a sudden the Wizards appear to be within legitimate reach of the 20-win threshold that Jordan Crawford suggested after his team was run over in a 112-98 loss to Milwaukee on April 2.
Would that be enough to save Wittman’s job?
“I’m proud of the fact that we’re competing,” Wittman said. “We’ve won games against quality opponents coming down the stretch here, that are fighting for their lives in the playoffs. That means a lot. We’ve gone through a lot of injuries and a lot of roster changes and trades. It’s been a difficult year, no question, but one that I think that our guys have done the best through the circumstances.”
Trevor Booker (plantar fasciitis) will miss his 13th straight game for the Wizards.
It’s like the last week of school with finals done for the Wizards (17-46), who own the longest winning streak in the Eastern Conference and will go for their first four-game winning streak in five years when the lowly Charlotte Bobcats (7-56) visit on Monday night.
As such, Wizards coach Randy Wittman isn’t letting class out early.
“We’re not worried about Charlotte,” he said prior to shootaround Monday morning. “We’ve got to keep focused on what we’re doing. We’ve got three wins in a row. Why do we have three wins in a row? That’s what I’m trying to keep these guys focused at, why are we playing good. It doesn’t matter if it’s Charlotte, Cleveland or Miami. It doesn’t matter who it is. We’ve got to focus on what we’re doing and why we’re being successful. That goes into tonight’s game.”
The Bobcats extended their franchise-record losing streak to 20 games with a 114-88 blowout home loss to Sacramento on Sunday while a number of the Wizards were at Verizon Center cheering on the Capitals in their overtime playoff loss to the Boston Bruins. Among those players was Trevor Booker, who has missed the last 12 games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and hopes not to finish a second straight season with injury. After missing the final 11 games last season with a broken foot, Booker has yet to play an NBA game in the month of April.
“I’m not sure if it’s going to happen this season,” Booker said when asked if he would play again. “Hopefully, at least the last two or three games. I’m going to see how it feels in warm-ups today and go from there.”
Booker was averaging 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds before the injury, both numbers up from his production as a rookie.
“I played for like two months on that injury,” he said. “I really didn’t tell anybody it was hurting. I just figured it would go away and it just started getting worse, so I had to tell somebody and eventually it just popped on me. It’s tough, but at the same time, you’ve got to take care of your body and look forward to next season. The season didn’t end the way I wanted this season. I’ve just got to find a way to stay healthier next year.”
Meanwhile, Wittman said he plans to continue to use Nene off the bench, as he has the last two games.
“It’s easier to control his minutes that way than as a starter,” Wittman said. “He’s fine with it, and I think we’ll probably do that these last three games.”
To the end, Wittman hasn’t yet let his guard down from the awkward circumstances that he faced when he took over a Wizards team that was 2-15 when Flip Saunders was fired as coach on Jan. 24. The Wizards have gone 15-31 since, and Wittman would simply rather not talk about himself. But after school lets out in a few days, this teacher won’t know when or where his next class will be.
“It’s enjoyable for them,” Wittman said. “Listen, that’s what it’s all about, winning and losing. When you lose, it’s miserable, whether you’re a player, coach, a fan. When you win, it’s fun. Absolutely. We’ve had to kind of endure because of who we are as a young team and stuff, taking some good things out of losses and how you’re playing. But obviously when you win, and see the reasons why you’re winning, it is enjoyable.”
Wizards guard Maurice Evans confirmed Friday afternoon that the National Basketball Players Association executive committee is pushing for the resignation of union president and Oklahoma City guard Derek Fisher, who has been involved in an escalating feud with union executive director Billy Hunter that dates back to the NBA lockout.
Here’s what Evans, who is a union vice president, had to say Friday after Wizards practice:
“It’s been a series of calls, starting last week with Derek trying to initiate a business review and audit of the union. But he did that without the consent of the board, and no one player, even the president, has more responsibility or power than the other players. It’s joint decisions that are made, and no one on the board supported that decision, and we feel that we should handle whatever allegations we have against the union, against Billy Hunter, or Derek Fisher for that matter, internally.
“We’ve given Derek that respect in the past. Everything that was alleged during the lockout, we pulled him in and handled those matters internally. We don’t feel like he’s given Billy that proper respect. We welcomed him to a call where he could come and defend himself and whatever allegations he had or concerns for the union, we would address them at that time, because a lot of players had questions of him as well, and he refused to come on the call. He tried to contend with the union call that we had with all the executive members, with the exception of Chris Paul because he had practice. It was disappointing that he refused to come on the call, and he’s trying to chime in multiple times to all of the players.
"Finally, during that call, all of us asked Billy about misappropriation of funds, about nepotism, strategy, lockout strategy, etc. We all took part in the lockout strategy as well so therefore we’re just as much responsible for any decision made during the lockout as well. But as far as the nepotism and the misallocation of funds and any other supposed, alleged questions, Billy answered those questions to our satisfaction, was very open and candid with us, and we were satisfied, and again, the players were disappointed because Derek has yet to address us, the players.
“The general body, the 400 players that we represent, they have no understanding of what’s going on. So we’re doing them a disservice by allowing the situation to drag on or flame up as if there’s really a problem. We should be focusing on the season that we’re having. We have a great season going. In both conferences, there’s a lot of parity and competition for the last spots in the playoffs, and this is exactly what we’re trying to accomplish with the CBA.”
What is the next step with Fisher?
“We sent out a letter on behalf of the entire board to Derek, telling Derek that we have appreciated his leadership up until this point, up until the lockout. From the end of the lockout to now, we have been dissatisfied with his actions. There's been a number of actions that have been questionable, and that have lost him the confidence of the board, not the other players, because the other players are not up to speed with what's going on.
“So we've asked Derek to resign his position and allow us to separate from the union and leave with his integrity, and all the good things that he's done before this thing gets messy, because that's not what we're about.”
Does Fisher have specific charges against Hunter, or is he on a fishing expedition?
“I can't speak on Derek's behalf, but we have conducted an audit as recent as February which did not show any discrepancies. The last time [before February] we conducted a business review was 2006, and they were open to a business review.
“But again, we were more concerned with the procedure, the way this came about. It seems more like a personal vendetta than it does business that needs to be conducted. Again, we're satisfied with the way the union is being run. We do feel like there are some things that can be run more efficiently, but again, we accomplished the goal at hand, which was to get a deal.
“Now at our summer meetings, and even at All-Star weekend, we started to address ways to make the union function more efficiently and better serve the needs of the players. Again, there was no president there. I had to take on those responsibilities, because again he [Fisher] chose not to participate. There have been a number of actions we're trying to handle internally as best we can.
If Fisher refuses to resign, what happens next?
“We will have a board meeting, meet with Mr. Hunter and determine what the next steps are, but again, we're trying to ask Derek to resign rather than trying to force Derek out of his position because we still do have respect for Derek, and we wish nothing but the best for him. He has done a great job up until the negotiations.
Evans said there will be another call on Friday among the union executive committee, a group that includes, according to the union website, Roger Mason Jr., Keyon Dooling (Celtics), James Jones (Heat), Matt Bonner (Spurs), Chris Paul (Clippers), Theo Ratliff and Etan Thomas.
