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.
