Truth About It» Watching the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery Through Wizards-Colored Glasses

I should have known that the NBA Draft Lottery was not going to fall in the Washington Wizards favor when I walked into the media area. Two members of the Cleveland Browns, Joshua Cribbs and Joe Haden, who are from Washington, D.C. and Fort Washington, MD respectively, were sitting at a table with former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar.  Maybe under different circumstances Cribbs and Haden would have donned thenew colors of the Washington Wizards,but on this evening, their roles were to be good luck charms for Dan Gilbert. They were ensconced in Cleveland Cavaliers gear - the former pseudo-rival of Washington which also happened to be the team that eliminated the Wizards the last time they were fortunate enough to make the playoffs

Two hours later, Dan Gilbert, his charismatic son Nick, Kosar, Cribbs and Haden were posing for pictures in front of the ESPN camera, and celebrating the fact that the Cavaliers had won the first pick of the 2011 draft. The Wizards, who were represented by last year’s number one selection John Wall, were left with the sixth pick, despite having the fourth-worst record in the NBA.

Despite the disappointing draft position, there were still some positives for the Washington Wizards franchise. As Iwrote for the DCist,in just a short period of time Wall displayed the type of confidence and leadership that the Wizards braintrust probably expected when they drafted him first just one year ago. He worked the room, he joked around with his fellow 2010 draft classmate Greg Monroe, as well as Kyrie Irving, who figures to the first pick of the 2011 draft class.  He was equally comfortable in between Toronto Raptors President Bryan Colangelo and Mayor of Sacramento Kevin Johnson; Wall evenmentioned that he asked Mayor Johnson about his role in keeping the Kings in Sacramento.

Here is Wall speaking confidently on his summer plans, his opinion of some of the players in the draft and his expectations for his fellow teammates among other things:

Kyrie Irving, who figures to gohead-t0-head with John Wallfor at least a decade, if not more, seemed a bit out place at the lottery selection show. Typically the festivities are reserved for individuals who are currently affiliated with the NBA, but the yet-to-be drafted Irving was right there hob-nobbing with players, GMs, owners and writers with the poise of an NBA veteran. When asked why he was at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey for this event, Irving calmly said,“I live 20 minutes from here, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Once the Cavaliers won the lottery and he was flanked by 10-20 writers and reports, Irving handled it in a way that suggested he was much older than 19 years old.  But when he was getting ready to leave the premises, he was told by a member of the NBA staff that sliders and french fries were being served in the media room. Irving’s youthful side surfaced, proving that he is still a kid at heart:  ”For real? There are sliders? Man, I gotta get some of those. I’m hungry!”

Ernie Grunfeld, the man who drafted Wall, and who would probably love the opportunity to draft Irving or a player of his caliber (like Arizona’s Derrick Williams), was also in attendance. Unfortunately his answers were much less exciting than the likes of Irving and Wall.  Both before and after the lottery, Grunfeld spoke in his usual ambiguous, cryptic tone swhen asked about the draft and what the Wizards needed to do to improve:

But as TAI’s Kyle Weidie wrote, the key to the Wizards success in the 2011-2012 season has little to do with the sixth pick in this draft, and everything to do with what happens past the lottery. There are personnel decisions to be made, players who need to be evaluated, a free agent class that needs to be considered, and terms of the yet-to-resolved collective bargaining agreement to be studied before the players who will don the new Wizards uniforms are decided upon.  There will be an entire summer to discuss those types of issues ad nauseum.

In the meantime, it’s more fun to listen and watch a new and improved version of John Wall, as he flexes his new leadership chops:

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Truth About It» Looking Past The Lottery

In the seeming eyes of fans, media, Internet trolls and bar room sports pundits, Ernie Grunfeld should lie awake in his bed at night, restless over what to do with the sixth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. The Wizards slipped two whole spots from where they finished the season to achieve No. 6 on Tuesday night, and the team president of basketball operations better put it to good use.

But it’s not all about this draft and this pick, it’s about the move behind the move which begets two more moves. Grunfeld should be up late into the evening, but not because he’s worried for his job, because he’s doing his homework. Because he and his team are adapting their creativity. Because he must be able to assess players beyond skills and exhaust trust in analysis to the statistical end. Because of course the pressure is still on.

A look across the NBA landscape yields a wide set of diverse circumstances: Aging dynasties, teams close to the next level, teams looking to rebuild, teams wondering where to go, and teams searching for how. Each of these situations must be ready to adapt to what will be a drastically different structure on the other side of the NBA’s pending labor issue.

With hype mounting for the 2011 draft, albeit a deemed weak one, as the last fun act of the league before the current CBA expires on June 30, beads of sweat may develop on Grunfeld’s brow due to the spotlight. But with a relatively secure position to manage the Wizards generally– likely for the next two seasons— it will be all about how Grunfeld can use a post-lockout environment to Washington’s advantage.

The Wizards have young and promising assets (unfortunately, several hold considerably more value to their current team than to others), draft picks and potentially minimal salary on the future books. Impatience toward the way to achieve success should be tempered by the fact that at least Washington has flexibility.

With so much uncertainty, there seems to be a solid known in walking down Ted Leonsis’ path to winning. First, let’s establish a reasonably low definition of winning: make the playoffs for at least five consecutive seasons within the next eight years, get bounced in the first round no more than twice, make the conference finals at least once. Seems humble, yet unimaginable unless you were born a fan of the franchise in the 1960s.

But for discussions on a championship level, the rebuild around John Wall commands another superstar, as many will gladly point out.

Wall is no LeBron James. He’s no Kevin Durant, no Kobe Bryant no Dirk Nowitzki. He might be a Derrick Rose, one day, but even Rose, a League MVP, will never be able to win a championship alone with Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng as his supporting cast. This sentiment could come back to bite me, but I doubt it.

At the very end of the third quarter in Wednesday night’s Heat-Bulls game, when Rose jetted with the ball past Dwyane Wade only to be thwarted by an imposing James while Wade caught up and poked a steal from behind, it was evident that Rose is depended upon too much for his team to win. He needs high-caliber help.

Like Rose, Wall can be“the” leader and a perfectly sensible point guard to put pieces around. Like Rose, he needs someone else who can be trusted with the ball, someone who can make opposing defenses shift their game plan.

A second superstar isn’t on Washington’s roster right now. And unless the Wizards are leaning on having magical luck one day in the NBA lottery again, or are planning to become worse, that second superstar isn’t coming through the draft.

This is where creativity counts. It’s not about the draft pick. It’s about issues such as apotential contract amnesty clausein a new CBA environment. If the Wizards and their ownership feel strongly that they will be able to get out from Rashard Lewis’ remaining contract counting toward the future cap, might they be willing to take on something more reasonable in the interim through a trade?

What about a hard cap? Say it’s set much lower, but implemented on a delay in 12, 24, 36 months. Might some teams be desperate to deal talent? With plenty of cap space, Grunfeld could again take advantage of other teams’ willingness/need to purge (a la the LeBron chase last summer) with a move that could lineup more team-building.

Constructing through the draft is an earnest and admirable concept. It requires patience, diligence and luck. But eventually teams reach a saturation point with youth to develop. The Wizards are teetering close to this point, but still seem far away from the winning prominence necessary to strongly consider other, more veteran options.

Still, with five second year players potentially on the roster next season (if Hamady N’diaye is retained), six and third year players (Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee respectively) who have mostly displayed the mental fortitude and maturity of high-schoolers, a fourth-year player in Nick Young who has displayed nice improvement but is still psychologically fragility, and a creaky-kneed veteran in Rashard Lewis entering his 13th NBA season, can the Wizards really afford to take on two or three more rookies?

To get Kendrick Perkins, the Oklahoma City Thunder had to trade one of their own cultivated draft picks, Jeff Green, and a 2012 first rounder they stock-piled from the L.A. Clippers. To get help for their MVP, the Chicago Bulls had to throw $75 million over five years to Carlos Boozer, which was aided by trading the 17th pick in 2010 and Kirk Hinrich to Washington for next to nothing. To get Pau Gasol, the L.A. Lakers sent Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol and two first round draft picks to Memphis. But yes, those teams also found Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Kobe and Andrew Bynum through the draft.

No need to get in a rush. Patience continues to be key. Ernie Grunfeld has a window of comfort, decent assets and budding opportunity. Again, it’s not all about this one draft and recovering from the disappointment in picking sixth. But if the NBA front-office veteran wants to reestablish a good reputation around the league, his time on the clock starts now, especially if he wants to be around when it’s time to eschew dreams of the draft and put up or shut up.

No franchise wants to field a team middling between barely in the playoffs and barely outside the lottery. If John Wall, whose rookie contract won’t last forever, doesn’t get a legit running mate in the next two or three seasons, that’s exactly where the Wizards will be.

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Truth About It» The Polls Are In On The New Look Wizards

Case closed, people like polls. And various polls about the same subject can all tell a different story. However, not necessarily in the case of the Washington Wizards’ new look, about which we are still discussing with expansive pixels. All signs point to success for the Monumental Sports& Entertainment posse, with much kudos to adidas (thank the basketball gods it wasn’t Reebok, which used to do the NBA jerseys until Reebok was purchased by adidas in 2006). Perusing some comment sections, the general thought is, we love the new look, but…

The color-replacement Wizards logo is bad.Even though the team still owns the intellectual property rights to that trade mark, they should really put it out of commission (as in, don’t throw it on gear and blast it for sale all over the website). But we get it, the team is seeing if anybody bites on sales. I have a feeling that soon the only people wearing the color-replacement wizard with moon logo will be sad little kids with unknowing mothers and those in other counties adding them to their 2004 Carolina Panther SuperBowl Champion and 2000 Indiana Pacers NBA Finals Champion t-shirt collections.

Road jersey sales could be down… depending on availability. There’s something about the road jersey that’s so drastically opposite from how great the home white jersey looks. Some have said a version with more blue would look better, but Ted loves red. The color placement in the top stripes makes organizational sense, but perhaps players will ultimately look like they’re wearing a red strappy onesie jumper set for the summer when actually on the court. Because that’s another thing people have said,‘Let’s see how look in them while playing.’Indeed.Then again, maybe everyone will just get used to them and forget about minor critiques. I’m sure some marketing research has told Monumental Sports this.

Others have wanted more stars, a scoop neck instead of a v-neck, and so on.

So, having already taken a look atwhat some of the pundits have said, let’s take a recap glance at a couple of the most relevant poll results…

The Vote.

Bullets Forever chose to give the full 10-point scale option to voters.Almost 25% of the voters gave the look a perfect’10′. Just under 78% gave an’8′ or above. Under 9% rated the new look a five or worse.

Wizards Insider at the Washington Post wanted a simple answer:Yes or No, no wavering or gray area. The results were 79% yes, somehow 20% no. (No decimals either).

Mr. Irrelevant gave four options:Love, Like, Dislike and Hate. Respectively, the amorous affection went from 44% to 48% to 4% to 2%.

Truth About It.net gave voters six choices,with results in parenthesis: 2 thumbs up (55%); 1 thumb up, 1 thumb kinda up (23%); Nice, but not the Bullets (10%); Shoulder shruggin’ neutral (5%); Don’t care unless they’re the Bullets (4%); 2 thumbs down (3%).

An 80-percent success rate all around is a pretty big win for the Washington pro basketball team— maybe what they expected, maybe more than expected. What Leonsis’ group is probably most interested in for the time being is that simple‘do you like it or not’ poll from the Washington Post, but they are surely keeping other things in mind for possible tweaks down the road (maybe an alternate jersey… it’s all on the table as Greg Bibb, the executive vice president of business operations, told me… after people have digested this initial run, of course).

The small sample size of TAI points to 14-percent of fans still being caught up on the“Bullets” as a team name (the 10-percent of‘nice, but not the Bullets’ added to the 4-percent‘don’t care unless they’re the Bullets’). Maybe this percentage is insignificant to Leonsis& Co. (although they’ll gladly sell some retro Bullets gear to whet appetites), and maybe it will go down over time. Maybe it would be relatively non-existent if the team name wasn’t“Wizards.” Maybe time and winning will make this all go away.

And maybe the Wizards will win back-t0-back number one draft picks in the NBA Draft Lottery (which will take place at around 8:30 PM tonight on ESPN). Who knows…

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Truth About It» ShareBullets: A Wizards/Bullets Draft Lottery Story

NBA Draft Lottery thoughts and links…

{flickr/Lisa Brewster}

The life of a Wizards/Bullets fan has often been predicated on the NBA Draft Lottery.Being a fan of the team since moving to D.C. in 1990, it has generally been‘the’highlight of the season… More than the draft itself, more than peddled hope before a season. A simple flip of a card, the bounce of a ping-pong ball and/or the chance of mathematical equation can change the fate of a franchise for years… in just a brief moment. How exciting, right?

In 1992, with the fifth worst record in the NBA, second worst in the Eastern Conference, Washington fans hoped for Shaquille O’Neal, or even Alonzo Mourning. Instead, the Bullets were jumped by the Charlotte Hornets (who chose Mourning with the second pick), and ended up with the sixth pick and Tom Gugliotta.

With the fifth worst record again in 1994, did the Wizards succeed in landing one of three draft prizes in Glenn Robinson, Jason Kidd or Grant Hill? Nope. Fifth is where they stayed… beginmemories of the Juwan Howard saga.

What about the finishing with the third worst record in 2004? Either Emeka Okafor or Dwight Howard could’ve been the lottery winning targets. Instead, the Wizards dropped two spots to fifth (thanks to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats) and wound up trading the selection, Devin Harris, to the Mavericks for Antawn Jamison.

The gut punch came on May 19, 2009. Coming off a 19-win season, the Wizards had the second best chance to land the top pick, which ultimately became Blake Griffin. Instead, the lottery fate of the team pushed Washington back three spaces to fifth, which led to Ernie Grunfeld trading the pick, Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila to the Minnesota Timberwovles for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Yikes.

Ironically, the Wizards, who were tied for the NBA’s second worst record with the 19-win Los Angeles Clippers at the end of the 2008-09 season, won a tie-breaker to have a better chance at winning the lottery than L.A. But that only led to sincere heartbreak as the Clippers and their awarded less lottery combinations scored the first overall pick.

Then last year… The culmination point of a Wizards/Bullets fan’s conditioning to expect the worst on the day that could be the‘highlight’ of the season (capped by the Wizards, tied with the Golden State Warriors for the fourth worst NBA record in 2009-10, losing the tie-breaker, giving them the fifth best chance to win the lottery). Dan Steinberg expertly captured this with his“Wizards + Draft Lottery = Disaster” piece onthe DC Sports Bog. If any Wizards fan had high hopes for landing John Wall, then those such as Dan and myself were ready to rain on their parade. Not happening, the pessimists insisted.

So there I sat, on the beat up IKEA futon serving as a couch in my old apartment, No. 511, with my blogging cohort Adam McGinnis. No good luck charms, no No. 1 Rod Strickland jersey resting on the floor (as I’d done for the Griffin lottery), no hope whatsoever as the proceedings unfolded. Just a drink and a smirk.

Lo and behold, as you know, the Wizards won the 2010 lottery, subsequently had a crappy 23-win season, and we all complained anyway. So is life, but don’t think for a second that we don’t greatly appreciate that life with John Wall in it.

Adam and I knew something was up last May when Golden State’s card was shown at sixth and then Sacramento’s at the five spot— the Wizards jumped overTWOteams!?!‘Okay, don’t get excited, don’t lose your head,’ I told myself.

And when it was revealed that the Philadelphia 76ers would be picking second, sealing the first pick for Washington, a rush of draft lottery losing gravy escaped from my cranium. I couldn’t really move, couldn’t react. Adam and I exchanged baffled looks, slapped an awkward high-five if I can remember correctly, and then I just slumped back on the futon, exhausted with the departed anticipation. I took some more sips of my drink and the smirk quickly turned into a genuine smile. Over the next couple of days, I had to keep making myself re-believe that the Wizards had landed the top pick and the rights to select Wall.

Now, tonight, we’re ready to do this all over again. Yet, the hope is dead, or just close to dying. Maybe it’s been killed by a looming NBA lockout via an expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement. Perhaps it’s been killed by a very weak draft class mostly due to that hanging CBA issue. Maybe Wizards fans can’t help but to continue to be pessimists. Enjoy what you got last year, because it ain’t happening for another 20 years (much less the anguish that surrounds even thinking the team will be in lottery contention over a majority of the next two decades).

The beginning, the past… The good luck charms, and the folded arms in refusal to believe in luck… Does any of it matter? I’d like to think that it doesn’t… but there I’ll be nonetheless, watching the lottery unfold on ESPN at 8:30 pm with Adam again, a refreshing adult beverage in hand (but on a couch, not a futon… and in apartment No. 601, not 511… same building though), and ready to root for an 11.9-percent chance like it’s nobody’s business.

LINKS.

“It’s horrendous. Every year we always talk about how bad the draft is. This year we really mean it.”-some Western Conference GM via Yahoo! Sports

Adi Joseph of NBA-Draft.net says that Arizona’s Derrick Williams would mesh well with JaVale McGee and Nick Young, and would be a good replacement for Andray Blatche. I’ll take it!
{SB Nation DC}

Pretty cool tool from Ian Levy at Hickory-High.com…it compares prospects in this year’s draft to collegiate players selected in the first round of the draft since 2001 across a number of statistical measurements. For instance, Kenneth Faried of Morehead State, whom many fell in love with during the Eagles’ first round NCAA tournament upset over 4-seed Louisville, which led to a second round loss to Richmond, compares favorably to the likes of Emeka Okafor and Taj Gibson. The 6’8″ Faried totaled 17 rebounds and 12 points against Louisville and 13 boards and 11 points against Richmond. A senior, Faried is currentlymocked by Draft Expressto go 17th to the New York Knicks (the Wizards pick 18th, courtesy of Kirk Hinrich and the Atlanta Hawks). Want a player who will relentlessly hustle after 50-50 balls? Faried could be an option. Check the tool at Hickory High for more good comparisons.
{Hickory High}

Andray Blatche vs. Kevin Garnett, a fun GIF.
{Super Cool Zs}

In 1977 Woody Allen wrote a piece about Earl Monroe for Sport Magazine.It’s pretty much a must-read.
{SportsFeat.com}

If you haven’t heard the story about the greatest deal in pro basketball ever(or perhaps all of sports), then why not? In any case, read up on how the Spirits of St. Louis netted a couple of Latvian brothers millions.
{Forbes}

Should Washington, D.C. allow for taller buildings?Maybe… I’m not sure.
{The Infrastructurist}

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Truth About It» The Washington Wizards New Look& Feel Unveiled

The Washington Wizards unveiled their new look and feel on Tuesday during an event held on the team’s practice court. The feedback on the fresh gearhas been universally positiveand hardly anyone is showing remorse forthe Wizard man logo dying a slow death.While I am more concerned about the team avoiding another bottom five NBA finish for a fourth straight season, I understand the significance of the franchise moving the brand into a modern direction with the Monumental ownership group. The red, white and blue colors will hopefully provide the tormented fan-base a much needed boost.

The following video contains footage of the debut, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis’ comments on the change, Jordan Crawford’s feelings about the uniforms, and an assessment from fans buying new merchandise at the team store on the day of the unveiling. Enjoy.

{Apologies to the fan whose name and info I was unable to gather.}

Pictures.

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Truth About It» ShareBullets: What They Said About The New-Look Wizards

A D.C. picture, what others are saying about the new-look Wizards, and a whole bunch of links…

{Outside of Sportsman's Liquor in Mt. Pleasant - photo: K. Weidie}

What They Said… {About the new-look Wizards}

“I mean, this is a B+/A- at worse, and it just reminds us how horrific the past decade has been.”-Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog, Washington Post

“Other than my minor quibbles with the font on the front, these are great. The color scheme is better. The jerseys are unique, rather than something that seems like it came from a create-a-team in‘NBA Live 2000.’ Even the new“monument ball” logo is really good. High five to whoever came up with these.”-Trey Kerby, The Basketball Jones

“With the dropping of the banner and entrance of models John Wall and Jordan Crawford, the room breathed a sigh of relief. The uniforms aren’t bad. Actually, they’re pretty sharp.”-Sarah Schorno Kogod, Capital Games Blog, NBC Washington

“I personally like the“DC” thing with the arms and the ball, because it reminds me of the logo I grew up on.”-Mike Prada, Bullets Forever

“The throwback look fits the team’s history and locale much better than the most recent dark blue designs, which seemed as contrived as the“Wizards” moniker. Love these new jerseys or hate them, at least they aren’tthese gold disasters. We can all agree on that.”-Ben Golliver, Eye On Basketball, CBSSports.com

“…what I like most about the colors is that the blue isn’t a traditional royal, but rather a sort of true navy blue, and the red is bright, but has a high tint on it that makes it stand out from being a true red or a scarlet or crimson sort. Also, the matte silver is a nice touch…”-Sandy Dover, Style Corner, SLAM Online

“This much is certain: The Wizards’ days of losing in teal are over!”-Dave McKenna, Washington City Paper

“Perhaps the Wizards’ uniforms were not actually teal. Perhaps they were merely a teal-ish fake blue color not of this Earth. The distinction is irrelevant. In their traditionless, quirk-free, focus-grouped, market-tested, perplexingly ahistorical and overwhelmingly generic appearance, they were symbolically teal. Which is to say: They were everything that’s wrong with the sports uniforms of the 1990s.”-Patrick Hruby, Page 2, ESPN.com

>>More Links…

People are today wondering if the Wizards will eventually change their name to“Monuments”… With the Washington Monument integrated into the new look, this seems to be a fresh idea. However, for apost I did about the Wizards name back in June 2010, the Washington Post’s Mike Wise provided this commentary:

“The Washington Justice. Now that’s a name. You just got served. Something tells me it’s going to be Monuments in three years — hence the company name change.”

One of the adidas designers who worked on the new uniforms grew up in the D.C. area, was a fan of Gheorghe Muresan.
{Washington Post}

Truth About It’s Rashad Mobley drops some knowledge about the Celtics and the NBA playoffs.
{5 on 5, ESPN.com}

Is John Wall getting taller?Also, some nonsense about JaVale McGee.
{DC Sports Bog}

Mike Wise on Ernie Grunfeld in his Wizards exit interview column:

You“exceeded expectations” according to Ted, and that’s all that matters. You moved Gilbert and the contract you gave him, which most GMs thought was impossible. You saved Ted money. Good job, basically, pulling egg shells out of the trash, bronzing them and then making someone else think they’re decorations.

Of course, Wise also uses column gimmicks such as politicking for Dwight Howard in 2012 or bust. So there’s that.
{Washington Post}

After all these years, and in an ever-changing environment, it’s safe to say that if one true model to contention as a franchise in the NBA existed, it would have been better documented and followed…Which is all to say, there are a bunch of ways for a team to get good and/or bad, some within control and some not so much. So is life.
{Bullets Forever}

So the zig in the John Wall Reeboks Zag’s are a little less drastic or bulky in the second version of his shoe.While this rendition is aesthetically more pleasing in smoothness, it’s still not receiving high praise for looks pleasing enough to buy. But most curious is if sneaker kinesiologists will rest more assured of Wall’s feet in them.
{SLAM Online}

When John Wall broke the ankles of Serge Ibaka.
{Shaky Ankles}

Orlando Magic CEO Bob Vander Weide said that Gilbert Arenas“kind of let himself go in Washington.”I’m sure baby mother trouble at home and feigning interest in D.C. while the team feigned interest in him probably had something to do with that. But hey, thanks for trading for him Orlando.
{Orlando Sentinel}

Meanwhile, Arenas sounds like he’s gotten into his own head and is unconscionably playing the role of the prankster.Well, at least before the Magic got knocked out of the playoffs.
{SLAM Online}

While we’re at it, Gilbert Arenas burst the Washington Wizards’ status as a Buzz team.
{Carles via GQ}

And more…When Arenas wore John Wall’s Reebok Zig Slash“Capital Blue”in a March match-up versus the Kings in Sacramento— five years to the month from Gil’s“March Flu” in Cowtown— he scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting with three assists and three fouls in 17 minutes off the bench.
{H/T:SLAM}

I often find myself in the midst of Semantic Satiation.
{BuzzFeed}

Yi Jianlian helps teach English?Apparently.

This little 5’6″ dude from Baltimore, who is a sophomore in high school, has evidently beenoffered a contractto play pro ball in Italy.

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Truth About It» A Well-Built Foundation of Color Change Success: The New-Look Washington Wizards

First impression:I like Wizards’ the new digs. I really like them. They were done with a style that lends itself to merchandise that people of various demographics would be proud to sport. And isn’t that what it’s all about? Sure, it’s partially about the money, gladly advertised by the team to‘Buy! Buy! Buy!’, but in order for that to happen, they must look good. People have to want them. I think people will want these.

I attended the unveiling and wrote an onlinearticle for the Washington City Paper. I urge you to check it out, it’s all about how the Wizard is not completely dead, not just yet. I halfway expected both home and away jerseys to say“Washington” on the front (the New York Knicks do this), but“Wizards” stays as a reminder to the home fans— that and the color replacement version of the old Wizards logo you see above on the official reproduction guideline sheet, which is just about the only place you’ll see it going forward, according to the team.

The new branding is modern, it’s retro, it provides the colors people expect. It also is a style that can happily adapt itself to further change down the road. Ted Leonsis will zip his lips slowly back out of a room when the topic of a name change now comes up, but it almost seems inevitable with this well-built foundation of color change success. Only not back to“Bullets.” Not reasonably going to happen.

Still, for those begging for change, this should be more than enough to keep you quiet, which Leonsis and his crew would gladly have you do. Changes to the court and other areas are forthcoming, please digest this phase slowly.

People everywhere will be soliciting all sorts of opinions from anyone with a voice, but I’ll throw up a poll for the readers of Truth About It.net nonetheless. To me, the navy blue at the top of the road jerseys looks a bit off, but expecting all to be perfect to everyone is a bit much. Aside from the particulars, I’m giving one thumb up and one thumb kind of up. So what do you think?

Pictures:

The last of the few remaining Wizards.

{photos by K. Weidie}

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Truth About It» SOMEWHAT-BREAKING: Andray Blatche To Host Other Nights

Look, people sponsor/host things all the time.Jimmy Johnson of Dallas Cowboys fame, for example, once lent his name to apill for your jimmy. And just last week, Andray Blatchesponsored a night for lapdances (also for your jimmy). 

So cheers to Andray,“of the Washington Wizards” for hosting something that would’ve been happening on a Tuesday in Miami anyway. Some have questioned why Blatche would risk the head-smacking PR hit for a meager pittance from a club night. Simple answer: the lockout is a comin’. Can’t blame 7-Day ’Dray for getting his, sadly likely as it may be that all he got in exchange for the use of his good name was free cover, drinks and company for his lap.

Now, in honor of Blatche sponsoring Tuesday as the designated night for lapdances, we here at Truth About It.net have some other nights he could sponsor…

“Misunderstanding Wednesdays”

Has a perplexing interaction with your coach left you benched for the rest of the game?Do you often confuse“boxing out” as a trick to get rebounds instead of what it should be, a habit? Did you get whistled for 11 technical fouls this season, tying you for ninth most in the NBA? Well,‘Misunderstanding Wednesdays!’ is for you… the guy who isn’t unfairly labelled as a vast under-performer in relation to talent, but rather the guy who is just misunderstood. Only on Wednesdays, and only at Club Alizé.

“Shoulder-Shruggin’ Thursdays!”

Look, things be happening.You can’t always control which prostitutes are really cops… You can’t alwaysnotget into a fight with a teammate at the club… You can’t always be expected to care… Sometimes, when brushing dirt off your shoulders can only get you so far, the best choice left is to shrug them. As mentioned, things be happening, and if things be happening to you, join Andray Blatche at‘Shoulder-Shruggin’ Thursdays!’, exclusively at Café Le Neck Scarf.

“Burrito Fridays!”

A man gotta eat, don’t he?Some fool once called pizza the perfect food because it contains mad members of the food pyramid. That fool obviously didn’t meet the burrito. Burritos are actually pretty much like life: can’t control how things come in, can’t control how they come out. And if you enjoy the finer things in life— finer things such as a wardrobe consisting entirely of pleated pants, pleated shorts and pleated jeans— then don’t be afraid to join‘Dray Blatche at‘Burrito Fridays!’ held at The Deuce Lounge. Free shots of Pepto and Vodka from 10:45-11:00 pm.

“Whisper Saturdays!”

Basically,‘Whisper Saturdays!’ is the new White Linen Party.Remember that song the Ying Yang Twins once put out where all they did was whisper? Of course you don’t. Nonetheless, that musical movement of genius equivalent to a headless turkey tasked to play the harp is what inspired‘Whisper Saturdays!’ So join Andray Blatche at Club Shoosh where the only thing that will distract you from hot breath and braces full of leftover burrito lettuce will be trying to hear the sounds coming out.

“Air-It-Out Sundays!”

Been a long week man, time to liberate accumulated smells into the air of the free world.Held exclusively at The Bump Lounge and sponsored by Andray Blatche,‘Air-It-Out Sundays!’ rolls the nightlife party scene, that burrito you ate on Friday, a sweaty sock filled with other sweaty socks and the well-regarded members of your local hazardous materials team all into one extravagant affair. HazMat suits optional, wearing plastic gloves and bird flu masks recommended, colon checks abonus.

“Groinial Massage Mondays!”

If“lapdance” sounds too unsavory, then‘Groinial Massage Mondays!’ is for you.First of all, we all have groins. And yes, sometimes those groins need to be handled in a delicate manner so as to allow the tense muscles to relax. There are a lot of ways one could hurt their groin, but if you’re not really moving laterally on defense, I’m not sure how. Regardless,‘Groinial Massage Mondays!’ at Club Clerb is probably what you need. Now, we can’t exactly guarantee who will potentially be massaging your groin— and no, the security check to get in doesn’t count— but we will guarantee that it will be performed to completion.

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Truth About It» Spread‘Em For John Wall

Critique of the NBA often surrounds the narrative of one player dribbling around then shooting. But when you have a 20-year old athlete whose combination of speed and size is already superior to most at his position, you take advantage of his one-on-one skills. And when that player loves to pass and relishes in the assist while always being a threat to score, it’s called basketball. Flip Saunders is a basketball coach and he often knows exactly what to do with John Wall.

Spread sets usually seem reserved for late-clock situations, and mostly true for the instances in the video below. Still, with Wall they can be implemented at just about any point of the game, depending on his surrounding personnel and the defensive match-ups the Wizards might want to exploit, of course. This clip of four plays all occurred in two games against the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz on the Wizards’ late March west coast road trip, and all came with around 70 seconds or less left in a period. Let’s watch…

Earl Watson, Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis… Sure, intimidating defenders they are not. But also, this is the NBA. Not many rookies can make these moves look so easy— an attack of the rim through trees, finding Yi Jianlian for a bounce pass in the paint, throwing the perfect lob to JaVale McGee, getting to the rim through a big man, making the basket, drawing a foul, and finishing with a muscle flex.

It’s a simple game that can be made even more simple with supreme athletes. And the spread set out of which these plays were run— sometimes with a man in the far right corner (Nick Young), but mostly with the guard extended on the right wing (Jordan Crawford)… depending on the shooting comfort spots of the respective players, I suppose— certainly has some more intricate options. But I won’t blame Wall’s teammates too much for standing around to watch him operate sometimes (as long as the guards remember to cover on defense, and as long as they’re always ready to receive the pass).

Smoke‘em if you got‘em.And sometimes all you need is to spread‘em for John Wall, put the ball in his hands, and let him initiate his point guard instinct. And now, some relatively crudely diagrammed looks at the spread clear-outs run for Wall using the FastDraw software fromFast Model Sports Technology.  

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Truth About It» The Wizards We Knew, A Website Through The Years

A week from today the Washington Wizards will hold a press conference to unveil their new look, which includes a red, white and blue color scheme, a new logo, and new uniforms. Various sites could probably hold various polls until clicking fingers are tired, but I’m guessing that the vast majority would still agree that, while a color change to build more unification around red and the colors of the American flag is a good start,“Wizards” as a franchise nickname continues to be a horrible joke and in no way should be a representation of professional basketball in the capital of the United States.

The vast majority would then probably split between those who want the team to return to being called the“Bullets,” and those who understand that reverting back is not going to happen, and that the franchise is better off moving on with a completely new name. Also in lieu of official polling, I’ll speculate that the team name, and thus its colors, have been the biggest hot-button issue surrounding Ted Leonsis since his ownership group took control of the franchise last June.

Thus, the results of next Tuesday’s unveiling will likely come under a particular amount of scrutiny. Does a color change need to happen? Yes/Sure, why not?

Does a color change, new uniforms, and especially a new logo, likely come at a great cost to the franchise? Re-branding efforts, even if it doesn’t mean a name change, are usually very expensive. So, yes.

Could the timing of this move strike a curious conundrum between a potential name change down the road, the ability of the team to now seek revenue from those flocking for color-changed gear (versus later with, or in addition to, a name change), and whether Leonsis believes this move will appease the masses for some kind of change, any change, while allowing him to gently back away from getting rid of the“Wizards” until many years down the road (at least)? Good questions. Guess next Tuesday’s unveiling better knock some socks off.

So, in anticipation of the Wizards we’ve known soon to arrive at a juncture of difference, let’s use theInternet Archive’s Wayback Machineto take a time-capsuled look at how the current colored version of the Wizards has been marketed online through the years.{Click on a screen-shot image for a larger view.}

October 1999-- www.nba.com/wizards/

Great news Wizards fans of October 1999, Mitch Richmond signed a multi-year deal in August. A 4-year, $40 million contract given to a 34-year old sounds horrible in just about any time period, even worse over a decade ago. By June of 2001, the team bought out the final two years of Richmond’s contract for $10 million. And yes, the other great news includes the Ben Wallace, Terry Davis, Tim Legler and Jeff McInnis-for-Ike Austin trade.Team building!Go!!

November 2001

Hello Michael Jordan creepily looming in the top right corner, sans cigar, cognac, gambling chips and women. Looks like the highlight from this old screen capture is that even though the Wizards lost to the Celtics 104-95, Air Jordan might have found a“co-pilot” in Christian Laettner.

WTF?!?Am I sure I want to travel down this web memory lane of piss-poor pixels? Oh well, I’ve already started.

August 2002

“Re-live Kwame Brown’s rookie year in our exclusive photo gallery.”

No thanks.

…And the basketball gods continue to laugh at how the greatest player in NBA history came into the capital of the free world and aided in setting back an already hapless basketball franchise for years with the drafting of a baby-child with tiny hands. This is a Greek tragedy people.

October 2002

Not much time lapse on this next one, just more Kwame. His face looks like his high school principal just caught him trying to poop into empty banana peels and seal them up with super glue before putting them in the donation basket at church.

June 2003

“Year in Photos: Laettner”

I imagine that in 85-percent of said Laettner photos, Christian could be seen making a“Duke Face”— not exactly sure what that entails, but I imagine it involves a plan to form“Blue Devil Ventures” with another former Dookie, Brian Davis, failing on multiple financial endeavors, andgetting sued by everyone from former NFL steroid-policy violator Shawne Merriman to Chevron, the oil company. That’s the Lord’s work, Christian.

Also notice how the Wizards website was used to hawk MichaelJordan’s Washington, D.C. restaurant, Jordans, enticing folks with a $23, two-course menu and free shuttle service to the game.

May 2004

This is when my 2011 computer failed to update to 2004 version of Flash… but otherwise,Party John Ramos!!!
Enough said.

October 2005

Building on the success of the previous season evidently anticipated to start with a past picture of Jarvis Hayes breezing past a stink-faced Mike Miller. It is what it is.

March 2006

“One Team, One Goal”…

Below I see Gilbert Arenas raising the USA jersey of the team he never really made, and Etan Thomas, probably reading some poetry. By November’06,Etan and Brendan Haywood got to fightingunder their“one team, one goal” motto (they fought again in February’07). And by the end of this’06-07 season was when Arenas stopped worrying about getting revenge against the Team USA coaches whom he believed gave him a slight in suggesting he go home from Olympic tryouts with injury, and when he started worrying about another injury, the initial one he suffered to his knee against Crash Gerald Wallace on March 4, 2007.

The’06-07 season doesn’t get enough credit for its infamy. Guess that whole gun thing in’09-10 overshadows it at this point. Oh well.

August 2006

Now we get less into comical and more into simply looking at the official slogans of team’s past…

“Go All In”  (…to take advantage of the boon in poker interest, I suppose.)

October 2007

“Ready to Rule.”(…with a hard-fought first round playoff defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.May 2, 2008, the last playoff game the Wizards played in their current color scheme. Hey! That was three years ago from yesterday!)

March 2009

“Determined to Deliver”… featuring a February 2009 Gilbert Arenas quote to theWashington Post:“I want the fans to know that next year, when we’re all healthy, we are going to compete for a championship.”

Unfortunately, all that was delivered was a frontward facing backpack of novelty guns to the locker room. Zingers.

 

Well folks, that’s about it. However, so this journey back in web information highway time doesn’t end too anticlimactically (but rather randomly instead), I present the video below found via the Google Share-Bro-ing network. This is pretty much the best. Long, but the best.

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Truth About It» We Hardly Knew Yi

I can readily admit that I was encouraged by the way the Washington Wizards played over the last 10 games of the season.  They went 6-4 during that span,a new big threeof Jordan Crawford, John Wall and Andray Blatche emerged, and the team--led by D-Leaguer Othyus Jeffers--seemed to play with a sense of urgency that had been lacking earlier in the season.  I wasn’t ready to declare the Wizards a playoff-bound team next season likeJohn Wall so boldly did,but I definitely saw the improvement.

Then the 2011 playoffs started and I saw brilliant performances by underdogs like the Memphis Grizzlies, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Indiana Pacers.  I also saw teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics advance by stepping up their play.  Then I thought back to the 10-game flash of brilliance the Wizards showed and I realized that asgood as they looked at certain points, they clearly have a long way to go before they can compete under the hot lights of playoff basketball. The same type of comparison can be made to Yi Jianlian and his 2010-2011 season with Washington.

Last summer at the FIBA Championships held in Turkey, Yi displayed the type of aggression that had been lacking during his three-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and the New Jersey Nets.  He averaged 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, unveiled aquality drop-step move,and emerged as the leader of the Yao Ming-less Chinese National team.  After that FIBA performance,Michael Lee of theWashington Postwrote:

“It’s hard to tell how Yi’s performance will translate to the upcoming season, since he will not be featured with the Wizards as he was with China, which was not good enough to survive a sub-par performance from Yi. But if Yi arrives at training camp healthy, as expected, he should also come with much more confidence in his abilities. There are still flaws that he will have to overcome, and his defense still leaves much to be desired, but the Wizards shouldn’t have any regrets about basically renting Yi’s services for free for a year.”

Lee’s words proved to be prophetic once the season started, because Yi retained none of the brilliance he played with during the FIBA Championships.  Instead of being the focus on offense like he was in China, Yi was often the second or third man off the bench, and his appearances lacked consistency and aggression.  To make matters worse, Yi had recurring knee injuries that further hindered his ability to play effective, even in limited minutes.  A typical Yi appearance would go as follows:

1)Play solid physical defense

2)Get the ball in the post, dribble a bit too much, force a tough shot

3)Abandon the post play, take an elbow jumper. If it hits, force another one the next time down the floor, if it misses, go back to post briefly, then go back to that jumper

In fact, according to82games.com,most of Yi’s shots were from the perimeter, and not in the paint where his services as a 7-footer were sorely needed:

Shot selection

Shot	Att.	eFG%	Ast’d	Blk’d	Pts
Jump	75%	.366	82%	4%	3.0
Close	12%	.381	56%	19%	.5
Dunk	9%	.903	75%	3%	.9
Tips	4%	.538	0%	0%	.2
Inside	25%	.593	59%	10%	1.6

Part of Yi’s decision to shoot from the elbow so often probably to do with his ability to successfully run with the high pick-and-roll/fade/pop, specifically with John Wall. According toSynergy Sports Technology, Yi was much more effective in scoring off that pick and roll than he was when he spotted up or was in the post. This doesn’t totally let Yi off the hook for falling in love with that jumper, but it definitely explains a lot:

P&R Roll Man

% of his offensive plays that ended in FGA, TO or FTs (%Time)= 22.7%
Points Per Possession= 0.82
NBA Rank= 109
% Score = 40.2%

Spot-Up

%Time= 21.3%
PPP= 0.68
NBA Rank= 337
%Score= 35.2%

Post-Up

%Time= 11.7%
PPP= 0.70
NBA Rank= 155
%Score= 36%

Yi did manage to show flashes of what he had previously done for China.  There was a four-game stretch in February when the Wizards played Denver, Oklahoma City, Memphisand Dallas(all playoff teams and all losses for the Wizards) where Yi averaged the following numbers per 36 minutes:

15.9— Points
11.2— Rebounds (3.4 offensive)
2.2— Steals
1.3- Blocks
.464— Field Goal Percentage

Then on March 10th,Rashard Lewiswent to Houston to get a second opinion on his injured knee, which meant Yi was to be inserted in the starting lineup.  Before the first of that nine-game stretch, Coach Flip Saunders had this to say about Yi’s year up to that point:

“He’s had a rough year because he played so well in training camp.  Then he got hurt, and he just hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm. By the time he was able to come back after about his third injury, we had Rashard and so he was on the outside looking in, and Book has played well. The minutes he had were kind of taken away because of somebody else taking advantage.”

Yi chimed in and basically agreed:

“For myself, it’s tough. I think it was pretty good in the beginning of the season. After I got hurt and then got hurt again, I’ve been trying to get better and got out of the rotation. There hasn’t been too much playing time so it’s tough for me. But I’m telling myself every day to work hard, so that I can play for my future.”

During that nine-game stretch as a starter, Yi averaged a respectable 9.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 31 minutes of play.   Although Yi had a 18-point game in a loss to the Blake Griffin and the Clippers, and he grabbed 10 rebounds in a loss to Golden State, the highlight in his brief stint as a starter came against theNew Jersey Nets--his former team.Yi  had nine points, nine rebounds and a season-high three steals, but his shining moment came towards the end of the game when he showed defensive tenacity and some rare emotion:

Yi’s stint in the starting lineup ended with the return of Andray Blatche, although he did average a double-double as a reserve in the Wizards’ last three meaningless games.  Going into the uncertain summer of 2011, Yi is a restricted free agent, and the Wizards have an interesting dilemma.  Do they keep Yi and chalk his uneven season up to injuries and the lack of consistent playing time? Or do they decided that last summer was a mirage, and Yi has peaked as a player at the alleged age of 23? What position do advertising relationships with Chinese-based companies Peak Sports Apparel and Voit Sports Apparel have in potentially picking up the $5.4 million qualifying one-year offer the team holds on Yi? Or the fact that John Wall’s agent, Dan Fegan, has a business relationship with the Yi camp?

Coming off a summer under the tutelage of Team China head coach Bob Donewald and David Thorpe, executive director of the Pro Training Center in Florida and ESPN.com contributor, Yi mentally improved in coachable areas--moving his feet, seeing the ball on defense, running the floor in transition. However, his numbers from a per 36 minutes perspective didn’t greatly improve, and more times than not he didn’t display the hard-nosed toughness that’s part of Ted Leonsis’ plan.

We hardly knew Yi, but part of that reason is that he still seems to be finding himself, his game, and where it all fits.   A return to Washington would show a big step in hope and confidence from the team, which might not seem reasonable at this point. Otherwise, lockout or not, Yi will have to find vast continued improvement for his next NBA chance to be meaningful.

{photos: Kyle Weidie, Truth About It.net}

{The author of this post: Rashad Mobley is from the Washington, D.C. area and has been covering the Washington Wizards with credentials for three years. To learn more about him click here. To follow him on Twitter: @Rashad20.}

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