Interim Head Coach Randy Wittman has, at the very least, made the Wizards a more competitive team; or was that the injury to Andray Blatche that has him out 3-5 weeks?

Since Flip Saunders dismissal four games ago the Wizards are .500 (2-2).  Since Blatche’s injury, younger,and hungrier players are in the lineup and making an impact.  Jan Vesely has had interesting stat lines, piling up steals and blocks as he learns the game.  Trevor Booker provides the spark he always has while playing sound defense.  It’s this young core of the Wizards that needs to develop and it’s in these games, meaningless to some, that they’ll learn how to play at the NBA level.

John Wall has improved on his shaky start to the season, becoming a triple-double threat every night.  Needless to say that’s a rare thing in the NBA.  With him running the show and improving every night, the Wiz’s future actually looks bright.  Watching Derrick Rose torch Wall for 35 points on Monday wasn’t necessarily fun as a Wizards fan, but Wall needs to get knocked around some to improve.

Obviously it’s looking like another lottery season, another year of missing the playoff’s, but there is some hope.  In Wall we have a building block, a guy who should improve into one of the best point guards in the East, possibly the entire NBA.  Now we need to put better more mature pieces around him.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again for good measure.  Andray Blatche needs to go.  His attitude and work ethic are not conducive to a winning basketball team.  Although his trade value has plummeted this season, I’d be inclined to trade him for a bag of nickles if the opportunity arose. 

Building a winning basketball team isn’t easy just ask GM Ernie Grunfeld.  What is easy, at least at this point, is recognizing the right guys you want to build around.  Is Blatche one of those guys?  Is JaVale McGee?  That’s still up for debate.  What isn’t debatable is how important John Wall’s development is to the future of this organization.  If we swing and miss with another #1 overall selection (what’s up Kwame Brown?) it’ll set the franchise back another decade.

Now is the time to look at what you have and make long-term decisions.  Do we overpay for McGee this summer?  Should we?  If Grunfeld is still the GM come free agency our only hope is he makes the right decisions for once, otherwise Wall will be leaving when his contract is up.

Coming up:

The Wiz will visit the struggling Magic in Orlando tonight (Wednesday, Feb. 1st) then travel to Toronto Friday to play the surprisingly surging Raptors and then they’ll return home to face ‘Lob City’, the Clippers.

The Wizards fired Head Coach Flip Saunders Wednesday after starting the season 2-14.

At this time a week ago the Wiz were coming off their best game of the season: a 105-102 home win against the surging Thunder.  After that they lost two close home games against the Nuggets and Celtics.  Things were starting to look better.  John Wall was being more assertive, Andray Blatche was playing less, and Flip looked like he was in control of the team.

Then came Mondays loss in Philly. 

The 76er’s have matched up against the Wiz very favorably this season, beating the Wiz in all three regular season games by at least 13 points (and winning twice during the preseason).  Their ability to run-and-gun combined with the Wizards’ terrible rebounding and defensive skills has led to blowouts.  But after their 103-83 dismantling of the Wiz-kids something needed to change.

Flip was fired by ownership and GM Ernie Grunfeld as they’ve promoted Assistant Coach Randy Wittman to Interim Head Coach.

“I felt like at this time, our players were not responding, and I think we needed a different voice. This doesn’t change our overall plan, which always has been very transparent for us, which is to build through the draft, get salary-cap space going forward and develop our young players,” Wizards president/GM Ernie Grunfeld said. “They probably haven’t developed as quickly as we’d like for them to develop. That’s something we need to continue to work on.”

Throwing the coach under the bus is what happens in the NBA.  No one was surprised by Flip’s firing, most people agreed it was time for him to go, myself included.  Still, none of this is Flip’s fault.  When he signed on to be the Wizards coach we had a playoff caliber roster, a superstar face of the franchise, and a veteran team that knew how to win in the NBA.

Currently the roster the Wiz have assembled is full of:

• Guys who need 20+ shots to be effective, ergo ineffective players.
• Guys who can’t, won’t, or don’t know how to play defense.
• Andray Blatche
• A very raw, developing superstar in John Wall.
• And little to no veteran leadership.

This isn’t what Flip signed up for ad I wish him the best.  My only hope now is that Wizards owner Ted Leonsis comes to his senses and dismisses Ernie Grunfeld.  Yes, Ernie swung for the fences and missed with Arenas, but the roster he had before Arenas broke down/went crazy wasn’t going to contend for a championship anyway.

It’s time for a new direction.  Whoever the new coach is should be able to work with and trust his GM.  When the time comes Ernie needs to go and the Wizards need to move on.

Until then the Wiz will be flat-out terrible.

Coming Up: Bobcats(D.C.), @ Rockets, @ Bobcats

Okay, I know it’s only one game and trust me I know it’s only the teams’ second win of the season, but last night was fun to watch.  As the game unfolded and the Wizards hung in with one of the best teams in the NBA I grew more nervous.  We’re going to screw this up…this can’t end well…

But miraculously it did end well as the Wizards improved to 2-12 on the season squeaking out a win at home 105-102 against the 12-3 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kevin Durant (33 pts, 8 rbs, 7 TO’s) and Russell Westbrook (38 pts, 7 ast, 5 rbs) combined for 71 points for the Thunder as John Wall (25 pts, 7 ast, 8 rbs) led the Wizards with another strong performance.  Durant is from the D.C. area and has always played well when he’s come home.  This time, much to his chagrin, he left a loser.

“It’s not the end of the world. We lost to a hungrier team than us,” Durant said. “It hurts, because we want to win every game, especially me, I want to win at home, but you’ve got to look past it.”

Wall and the Wiz played their best game of the season last night.

The game swung back and forth as the Wizards played collective, cohesive basketball for the first time all season.  Aside from Westbrook and Durant, no other member of the Thunder decided to show up, making it a much easier game for the Wizards to steal.

Nick Young had 24 and Jordan Crawford added 18 for the Wizards.  Andray Blatche heard boo’s as he was announced as a starter (Well done home crowd.)JaVale McGee added 7 points and 11 boards as well. 

These Wizards have proven at least to this point in the season to be one of the worst teams in the league, if not the worst.  The way they played last night raises some interesting questions about how mentally prepared they’ve been for every game and how they need to raise their level of play against lesser opponents, as well as good teams.

Still, we shouldn’t read too far into this win.  The Thunder are tired and in the midst of a three game road trip.  No team is going to win every night, especially on the road during a shortened season.  The Thunder dropped a game, the Wizards picked it up.  Now it’s up to John Wall and his Wiz: Do they turn it around and start stringing together wins, become more respectable through the season?  Or do they fall back into the lackadaisical play that got them to this 2-12 record?

Only time will tell, but for now it feels good to win a close game.

Next Up: Nuggets Friday, Boston Sunday, both games in Washington.

The Washington Wizards are having the worst season in franchise history.  As disappointing as a sentence that is to write, it’s true.  In this lockout shortened season the Wizards have come out of the gate 1-12, they’ve looked immature, dysfunctional, and downright awful throughout the early part of this season.  From the looks of it, it’s only going to get worse from here.

Monday’s game against the Houston Rockets was a microcosm of everything that is wrong with the Wizards, but there is finally a silver lining.  The star of the Wiz, John Wall, played his best game as a pro: 38 points (13/22 from the field, 12/16 from the stripe), 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and only 2 turnovers (granted the turnovers always seem to come at the worst time possible).  But it wasn’t enough as the Wizards fell 114-106 at home.

Wall has spoken up recently about the mindset of his team, about losing and how that has affected his game; he’s mad and on Monday Wizards fans finally saw what he’s capable of doing.  We saw John Wall emerge as a scorer, distributor, and defender.

Another image Wizards fans won’t be able to get out of their heads for some time was a dunk by the young center JaVale McGee.  After a great diving save by Trevor Booker and lead pass from Wall, McGee found himself alone on a fast break.  As the crowd rose to their feet at the Verizon Center McGee threw the ball off of the backboard to himself, grabbed it with both hands and slammed it down, as he celebrated running down the court, Head Coach Flip Saunders could only shake his head.

“I told him that’s unacceptable,” Saunders said.  “…Maybe I’m too old-school, but save that for the all-star game.  Not during the game.”

Flip’s right.  True, McGee’s dunk did get the crowd into the game and perhaps hype the team at first, but it started a 19-4 run by the Rockets.  It was the wrong play and the wrong time, and it summed up everything that’s wrong with the Wizards this season.

“Apparently if you get a fast break and throw it off the backboard in the third quarter and you’re 1-11, you’re not supposed to do stuff like that” McGee added after Flip benched him for the final nine minutes of Mondays game.

Really JaVale?  You’re not supposed to do stuff like that when your team is the worst team in the league, and worst offensive team the NBA has seen in the last ten years…I’m glad you understand that you’re not supposed to do those things.

When asked if he regretted the play McGee very quickly responded “No.”

So the Wizards lost again, what else is new?  As a fan at least we’re beginning to see some development from Wall.  At least Rashard Lewis’s contract is getting closer to being off our books.  Wall’s getting frustrated, can you blame him?  Playing with guys like Andray Blatche, McGee, and Nick Young (who defended Mcgee’s dunk after the game) has to be terrible for the point guard.

Looking Ahead:

The Wiz will play their next 3 games at home: Wednesday night against the Thunder (uh oh), Friday against Denver (yikes), and Sunday against the struggling Celtics (oh no).

Stay tuned for more dysfunction!

After notching their first win Tuesday night against Toronto the Wizards reverted back to their losing ways, falling to the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls 78-64 Wednesday night at the Verizon Center.

John Lucas III filled in for Rose, who sat out due to a turf toe injury, admirably.  Lucas dropped 25 points while nearly going for a triple-double, adding eight boards and assists.  It’s sad that even with Rose sitting out the Bulls, who struggled during the game, still beat the Wiz handily.  The game was a non-contest.

At this point the team needs to start thinking about major changes.  Although Head Coach Flip Saunders mixed up the starting lineup this week,the effort and hustle has not been there.  For a team so young and raw they need to get by on their effort, they need to out work teams, and they don’t do it.  There’s a leadership void on this team.  No one wants to be held accountable, no one wants to stand up and say “OK, we’re 1-9, I’m going to raise my level of play“.

As an ardent Wizards fans I’m far from objective.  All I can do is vent to my readers and ask for feedback. 

First and foremost: Andray Blatche needs to be traded, and traded now.  He’s a black hole offensively, always settling for long 2′s and strange shots around the basket, and his defense is deplorable.  Him calling out his coach after the first game of the season changed everything.  Franky, Trevor Booker and Jan Vesely play with more passion and heart than Blatche is capable of mustering. 

GM Ernie Grunfeld has hung on and waited too long for Blatche to turn into the star he’s never going to be, it’s time to cut and run.

Along with that, the Wiz have no identity.  (What was going to be a game re-cap has turned into my personal feelings on the Wizards, for that i apologize.  For a sound recap of last nights game go here).  John Wall has regressed in his second year, Nick Young and Jordan Crawford are not the answer at 2 guard, Singleton looks like a keeper at the 3 but Rashard Lewis is mailing it in, then there’s Blatche and the always lost and out of control JaVale McGee at center.

Somehow, through a meticulously awful drafting  and scouting system, Ernie has fielded the worst team in the NBA.  He’s traded away draft picks, he went all-in with Gilbert Arenas and got burned, and now Wizards fans are going to suffer through some simply unwatchable basketball.

The team is young but they don’t play with fire.  They’re athletic but they don’t know how to play fast and smart.  They have skill but don’t know how to harness it.  These Wizards are cruising towards one of the worst season’s in franchise history and no one seems to care…

The Wizards are 0-6, that’s the worst start in franchise history.  They’re the only team in the NBA without a win this season, they’ve been blown out by 18+ in three of the six games, and are last in the league in assists (86); those are signs that this young team is lost and however early in the season it is, has given up.

One of the few Wizards players over 30, Mo Evans, has bounced around the NBA.  He’s a journeyman, he knows it and NBA junkies know it.  Still, when an elder statesman calls a team meeting the young guys always listen.  On Thursday Evans called that team meeting before practice to work through whatever problems may be plaguing the team.  In those 15-20 minutes players got to “clear the air” and “talk plainly” about how they feel as individuals and what the team needs to do to improve.

 ”We have to be real with ourselves,” Evans said. “The sense of entitlement that’s here sometimes, I’ve never seen before,” Evans said. ”I almost got a sense of relief from the players that it was finally said…It was almost like something that was taboo or Pandora’s box and no one’s never really touching or addressing the issue. It was just enough dancing around the issues, enough of going through the motions.  You could tell just in our actions that the guys are competing and they want to get better and they want to win … but one thing goes wrong and we’re so fragile at that point that we’re not on the same page.”

Evans may not be the leader the Wizards need for the long-haul, but we’ll take anything right now just to get a win.  He recognized how vital it is to know and trust the people you’re playing with, how important it is for individuals to drop the egos and play for the name on the front of jersey, not the back.

John Wall was quoted in the Washington Post this week saying he was frustrated with how his first year plus in D.C.  has gone.  This is a kid who’s gotten used to winning his whole life, he’s not used to ten game losing streaks and disheartened teammates jogging up and down the court.  He wants to win and he wants the organization to prove that they’re as committed as he is. 

As the season unfolds we have to watch how Wall, who has struggled significantly these first six games, develops and copes with the harsh reality that is growing up in the NBA.  The Wizards are going to lose more games.  They’re going to lose a few back-to-backs, lose at home, lose on the road, it’s inevitable with a team this young.  What matters most at this point is how hard the team plays.  Will they be playing with effort when the season’s lost and there’s nothing to play for but pride?  Can they develop these young players while putting a serviceable product on the court every night?  That remains to be seen.

Simply put: John Wall needs to raise his game, raise the players around him, and lead this team.

John Wall is the future but something needs to be said how he handles adversity.  Can he stand tall and get better when the team struggles?  Or will he pout more as time passes? 

You’ll notice I left Andray Blatche out of the article completely.  Andre was called out in the players-only meeting by more than one Wizard for his selfishness and soft play around the basket.  I don’t need to say anything if his teammates can see it.

The Wizards next three games are as follows: Knicks, T-Wolves, Raptors all at home in Washington.  The Wiz desperately need to take advantage of this home stand and get their first win.  Otherwise, the schedule only gets tougher and wins will be harder to come by.

I’ll keep this as brief as I can for I’m sure, Wizards fan or not, reading about a hapless franchise can’t hold your attention for more than three minutes.

The Wizards lost their first two games of this shortened NBA season in expected fashion.  First, they blew a 24-7 first quarter lead against the Nets at home losing by six in the final minutes.  Then, on the road against Atlanta, they got run out of the gym; losing 101-83, and it wasn’t even that close.

To top it all off we have Andray “trade him now” Blatche whining about not getting his touches in the post, John Wall running really fast everywhere but not really playing basketball, and a smorgasbord or role players who seemingly can’t play with each other.

In short: the Wizards have looked like the Wizards.  A lottery-bound young team with a potential-filled star not quite ready for stardom.

With Milwaukee, Boston twice, Orlando, and New York ahead of them it’s tough to say when the Wiz’s first win will come.  Perhaps tonight (Friday, December 30th) at the Bucks, not likely however.

With Blatche complaining already, Head Coach Flip Saunders needs to set his rotations, stick to his game plans, and start trusting John Wall to do more.  This season, whether is historically awful or surprisingly optimistic, is all about Walls’ development.  Failing with Wall will set the Wizards back another Kwame Brown decade, and for the hungry Washington fan base that’s too damn long.

The Wiz lost by 33 points  in their preseason opener!  I gotta tell you, very seldom does a time come around when I know a team as a whole isn’t trying, but that first game was something to behold.  I’ll write that game off as first-game jitters or something…No where to go but up!

They followed that stinker up with another loss to the 76er’s.  Although the second game was closer the Wiz lost it at the end. These Sixers aren’t world-beaters.  Yes, they made the playoffs last season but to get beaten the way the Wizards did, twice, should make every Wizards fan worried for the upcoming gauntlet of a season.

Anyways, last week I left you guys with the Wizards’ likely starting five.  Now, we’ll take a closer look at the reserves for the Wiz.  Most of these guys are young and inexperienced, old and slightly washed-up, or a complete mystery from Eastern Europe; but I’m going to do my best to give you the low-down.

First Guys Off the Bench:

Jordan Crawford SG (23 years old, 11 ppg, 2 ast, 2 rbs last year): After the Gilbert Arenas trade last season the team was in a state of flux.  One of the unheralded moves GM Ernie Grunfeld made was the trade with the Hawks that got him Crawford, Mo Evens, and a draft pick.  For a team full of young players trying to make a name for themselves it wasn’t clear where Crawford would fit in, but after only a few games with the team he found his niche: gunner.

Crawford has never found a shot he hasn’t liked.  He’s never apologized for jacking up 30-footers or not passing to open teammates.  He’s a scorer first and foremost.  After the trade Crawford averaged 16 points as a Wizard.  He filled the scoring void left by Arenas and took pressure off John Wall and Andray Blatche when they were having off-nights offensively.  The only problem with Crawford is we already have Nick Young who’s a more athletic version of Crawford.  When you have two shooting guards who average less than three assists a game you’re offense will become stagnant; can Crawford expand his game?

Trevor Booker C/PF (24 years old, 5 ppg, 4 rbs):A rookie last year, Booker played with energy and effort.  The Clemson product has better-than-average hops and can finish hard at the basket.  He can block shots, defend better than Blatche, and is a good change-of-pace in the paint when he comes into the game.  Still, his mid-range game is non-existent to date and he brings very little on the offensive side of the ball.  He’s an energy guy and should see more time on the court this season; has he improved his offensive game?

Verteran Role Players:

Maurice Evans SF/SG (33 years old, 9 ppg, 1 ast, 3 rbs): Mo Evens is entering his eleventh season in the NBA and is playing for his seventh team.  He’s a journeyman plain and simple.  Still, he’s got some athleticism left and can defend on the parameter better than most of the players on the Wiz.  With the amount of young talent at his position on the roster he’ll most likely play more minutes early in the season and see his minutes diminish as the young players learn the game.  He’s a strong veteran voice in a locker room that desperately needs one.

Roger Mason Jr. SG (31 years old, 3 ppg, 1 ast, 2 rbs *with NYK last season): Mason last played for the Wizards during the ’07-’08 season.  During that season he averaged 9 ppg and accepted a contract from the Spurs the following season where he had his best year as a pro  (12 ppg).  Since then he’s dealt with injuries and fell out of favor with the Spurs and Knicks.  Now he’s back home in the tail-end of his career.  He’s a knock-down shooter who offers little in terms of defense and rebounding.  Still, he’s been with the organization in the past, he’s a pro, and he’s a welcome addition to the Wiz-kids.

Ronny Turiaf C/PF (28 years old, 4 ppg, 3 rbs, 1 ast *with NYK last season): Turiaf may be best known for his dancing on the sideline during his time with the Lakers at the start of his career.  But he’s been a capable pro since he entered the league.  The Wizards front court will be crowded this year with young players trying to find their way, so Turiaf should be able to find playing time based solely on the fact that he knows what he’s doing and he’s been there before.

The Rookies:

Jan Vesely SF/PF (21 years old rookie 6th overall pick): Vesely is a complete mystery to me and to most Wizards fans.  He known mostly for this kiss and these dunks.  Aside from that, we know he’s athletic, very confident, and many people are high on him being a solid pro in a few years.  Until then we’re going to have to wait and watch him learn how to play in the NBA, and sometimes European players never grasp the speed of the game.

Chris Singleton SG/SF (22 years old rookie, FSU): Singleton played in the ACC at Florida State so anyone on the East coast had a chance to watch him grow into a solid defender and activity player.  He’s still very raw offensively but the moment he steps on the court for the Wiz he’ll be their best defender bar none.  Of all the young players I’m most excited to see what Singleton could turn himself into in a few years.  He’s long, has the defense and athleticism, and has a shot he can improve easily through practice.

Shelvin Mack (21 year old rookie, Butler): The junior left Butler after two straight trips to the national championship game.  He’s quick but small, he has a high motor but lacks great ball handling, and like most second-round picks he’s a project that may never make it in the NBA.  Still, with limited depth behind John Wall at the point, Mack will see ample time on the court this season, what he does with that PT is up to him.

The Two ?’s on the Bench:

Hamady Ndiaye (24, 2nd year player) barely saw the floor as a rookie.  He’s a big guy who can block shots but has a very limited game and is clearly a project the Wizards may never complete.  Kevin Seraphin (22, 3 ppg, 2 rbs last season) saw the court more than he should have last season and led the team in fouls per minute played.  He, like Ndiaye, is a project; but unlike Ndiaye when he got on the floor last season I saw some skill and promise.  Still, for both of these guys the front court may be too crowded for them to get a shot this season.

So there you have it.  This is what the Wizards front office has decided is a team worth putting out there.  They lost both of their preseason games and John Wall has looked rusty.  The season starts against the Nets tonight (Dec. 26th) at home.  We’ll see how far this team comes as the season progresses, but my guess is their too young to win on the road, and just not experienced enough to win enough home games to be in the playoff race by mid-season.

If they stay in the playoff hunt through March it’s a win, but they’ll likely come out of the gate slowly and never recover.

Prediction: 19-47 overall record

If you’re like me you’re ecstatic.  After months of speculation and frustration the NBA season is only11 days away!  And whether Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are playing for their current teams or another…gulp…large market team (David Stern is shaking his head right now) there are 28 other franchises trying to move on and compete in a increasingly competitive NBA.

One of those teams, an afterthought for most, is the Washington Wizards.  A team that went 23-59 last season would normally have little to be excited about going into a lockout-shortened season.  But when games start on Christmas day starved Wizards fans will finally get to see a fully healthy John Wall take the court.

Right now, with free agency and trading in full effect, it’s hard to forecast exactly what we’ll see from the Wizards, but the starting lineup will likely look something like this:

Wall has all sorts of potential, but potential can sometimes be a bad word. Is he ready to lead the Wiz to great heights a' la Derrick Rose? Let's find out.

PG: John Wall (22 years old, 16 ppg, 8 ast. 4 rbs. last year) – The 1st overall pick in last years draft had an up-and-down rookie campaign.  Battling through tendinitis in his knee for most of the season it was clear he wasn’t at full strength, but he still showed his amazing speed and athleticism in the open court.  Questions remain about Walls’ jump shot and half-court game, but he’s one of the most promising young players in the NBA and the Wiz’s building block for the future.

Nick Young *RFA (26 years old, 17 ppg, 1 ast, 2 rbs)– Young had a breakout year for the Wiz last season.  After the Gilbert Arenas trade and the subsequent minutes were split amongst the young Wizards, Young took advantage of his increased playing time.  The problem with Young, for me (and others) is he’s simply only a scorer.  When on the court he’ll be sure to get his shots but he does nothing to get his teammates involved and is dead weight on the defensive end.  If Young returns and starts for the Wiz this season he’ll need to prove that he can be a complete player or he’ll be jacking up shots for another team sometime soon.

Rashard Lewis (32 years old, 11PPG, 5 Ast., 1 Rb.)–Rashard Lewis will make $21 million this season, John Wall will make $5 million; just let that sink in before I explain where Rashard fits with this team.  Got it?  OK…Rashard was awarded possibly the worst contract in NBA history by the Orlando Magic a few years back.  The only way we got rid of Gilbert was to take back this terrible contract.  Wiz GM Ernie Grunfeld has been adamant that he will not use the one-time amnesty clause to clear Rashards’ deal from the books…Why?  I can’t tell you, but I digress…

If you look passed his contract Rashard is a solid spot up shooter, a long defender, a strong leader in the locker room, and a mismatch for most power forwards (if the Wiz play him at the 4 spot).  Assuming he’s with the team this season and assuming he’s healthy he could have a good year.  With Wall setting him up and the young players around him working to his strengths, Lewis actually fits with this team…if only we could forget the fact that he’s the NBA’s 2nd highest paid player.

Andray Blatche (25 years old, 16 ppg, 8 rbs, 2 ast)–If you’re a Wiz fan watching Andray play these last six years has been painful.  He’s got the size and skill set you want in a power forward, he’s just immature and has a very low basketball I.Q.  Looking at his numbers from last season it doesn’t look bad at all, but if you look closer he was one of the least effective players in the NBA per 40 minutes played.  He and Nick Young are the wild cards that could put the Wiz in the race for the 8th or 7th seed this season; but it’s a long shot.

JaVale McGee (23 years old, 10 ppg, 8 rbs, 2 blocks)–JaVale is an enigma.  He can swat shots, run the floor, and dunk from anywhere on the court; then he’ll turn around and commit four fouls in three minutes.  He, like the other wild cards on the team, needs to improve vastly for the Wiz to be successful.  He’s a long, lean center and struggles when isolated against stronger match ups.  He has no post-up game and takes far too many jump shots.  If he settles into his role as a defensive stopper and high-flying put-back guy on offense he’ll be with the Wiz for some time.  If he continues to attempt sky hooks and 17-footers…bye-bye.

McGee (left) and Blatche (right) need to mature on both sides of the ball for the Wiz to make leaps. Are they ready? Or will they just be twenty-something goofs like always?

As you can see, the Wizards are young.  John Wall is exciting as we’re sure to see this season, but everyone else around him is still finding their way as a player.  If this turns out to be the opening day starting five it’s very hard to see this team competing for a playoff spot.  I still think Rashard may be amnestied and Nick Young may be elsewhere when free agency is over.

Coach Flip Saunders has his hands full with these guys, and I haven’t even gotten to the bench yet!

There is no reason for me to break down the embarrassing 117-94 loss to the 76ers on Wednesday night, but the events before and after that debacle in Philly are fascinating. First, Ernie Grunfeld found a way to get a 2011 first round pick from the Atlanta Hawks for Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong. Sure, it is frustrating that Mike Bibby is demanding a buy-out instead of being a potential tutor to John Wall. However, I can’t see why anyone would fault Bibby for being upset with leaving a playoff team for a cellar dweller. Washington is already having issues with Rashard Lewis giving them maximum effort since his arrival from Orlando, so why keep another player on the roster who will just cause more problems.

Andray Baltche is a bum too

But more on team chemistry later. This trade was a great move for Washington. The first round pick, though it will be late in round one, gives them the ability to add more youth to an already young team, while Jordan Crawford could be a decent player off the bench in the future. For those of you who don’t remember, Crawford is the player who dunked over LeBron James, prompting Nike to try and pull the video from the internet. Unfortunately for Wiz fans, Grunfeld couldn’t find a way to off-load Andray Baltche, or Blatche, whichever. Not even the Wizards seem to care what his name is anymore. John Wall definitely doesn’t care. In fact, if Wall had his way, only a hand full of players would join him on the court, and Hinrich would have been one of them.

As good as the trade of Hinrich is for Washington in the future, the future of the Wizards knows Kirk was one of the few reliable assets at his disposal. In Wall’s post-game interview on Wednesday, the rookie voiced his frustrations with Hinrich’s departure and the lack of effort by his teammates still on the roster. Wall may only be 20-years old, but he isn’t afraid to be the undisputed vocal leader for Washington. Again he referenced his team’s lack of rebounding (a shot at Blatche and Lewis), and really other than Nick Young and Wall, no one is playing well for Flip Saunders. I have previously voiced my displeasure with how Flip has handled the team this year, and I still maintain the Wizards need to go in a new direction at head coach. Sadly, Saunders will likely be given the rest of this season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was given a chance to turn things around to begin the 2011-12 campaign. At least now Wizards management has their key asset voicing his frustration with certain players, which should give them the freedom to off-load the dead weight once this disastrous season is over.

For me, as this season winds to an end, Flip needs to let his team run up and down the floor a la the New York Knicks and give younger players like Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin chances to prove themselves in the final 26 games of the year, starting tonight in Miami.