Wizards Season Preview
Don't look now, but the NBA season is just two weeks away. When last we saw the Washington Wizards, LeBron James was carving up their defense and talking Gilbert Arenas out of winning games from the line. The Wiz may not have made as much noise this offseason as last, but sure-handed (and recently re-signed) General Manager Ernie Grunfeld did make some moves. They include:
1) Re-upping coach Eddie Jordan for three more years. This was a no-brainer. Jordan has led the team to the playoffs for the last two years and instilled the Wiz with a winning culture not seen in Washington since the late 70's.
2) Letting Jared Jeffries sign with the New York Knicks. Again, something of a no-brainer. Jeffries was underwhelming for his entire stay in D.C. and there was no reason to break the bank to keep him here. He didn't fill a need for the club and his absence will allow Caron Butler to start at small forward.
3) Signing free agents DeShawn Stevenson and Darius Songalia. Stevenson actually turned down more money from the Orlando Magic and comes to D.C. with the rep of a defensive stopper. Hopefully this means no more automatic 40 point games by Dwyane Wade. Signing Songalia for the full MLE (worth roughly $21 million over five years) might be a stretch, but he fills a need for the team down low. He can bang, grab some rebounds and hit the mid-range jumper with consistency.
4) Drafting Oleksiy Pecherov, a 6-11 Ukranian frequently compared to Keith Van Horn, and stashing him away overseas for one more year.
That, combined with a healthy Jarvis Hayes (remember him?) and a relaxed Antonio Daniels should give the Wiz a solid, if perimeter oriented, eight man rotation, meaning no extended minutes for the likes of Mike Ruffin or Awvee Storey this year. Andray Blatche avoided misfortune this off-season, but still figures to be a year away from contributing.
The big "if" regarding the team continues to be their effort on the defensive end. Cleveland exposed the porous defense by the Wiz in the playoffs last year and it's hard to see the team advancing any further until they take as much pleasure in locking someone down as they do running up triple digits on the scoreboard. The addition of Stevenson should help, but big men Etan Thomas and Brendan (aka Brenda) Haywood have to get things started in the paint. Lets all say it together, "no layups."
Obviously, offense won't be a problem. Arenas, Butler and Antawn Jamison will get theirs. Arenas might even be poised to improve upon his impressive 2005-2006 campaign. Undoubtedly he hasn't forgotten how the Cleveland series ended and he has gone on record as threatening to drop 50 on both Phoenix and Portland, whose head coaches were involved in this summer's U.S. Mens National team, of which our beloved Agent Zero was a late cut. Needless to say, he wasn't happy. Arenas was fourth in the league in scoring last year with just over 29 ppg. It's worth noting he's only 25 years old and signed for another three years.
Providing everyone stays relatively healthy, an improvement on last year's 42-40 record and another trip to the playoffs seem to be in order. Songalia and Stevenson fill definite needs for the team, but no one expects them to put the Wiz over the top. Miami seems primed for some sort of a letdown after last year's champioship run, but they should still win the division. Orlando will be better this year with an improved frontline, but are still a ways away from overtaking the Wiz. Atlanta, still lacking point guard play, and Charlotte, full of great college talent but no standout pros, are still two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and aren't much to worry about in their present incarnations. A 45-37 season and the sixth or seventh seed in the playoffs sounds about right.