The recent Kobe for Gilbert trade rumors (shot down yesterday by Ernie Grunfeld — not that that means anything) should give you an indication that the Washington Wizards are at a crossroads season in regards to the franchise’s future. Gilbert Arenas has gone on record saying he will opt out of his contract at the end of the season and Antawn Jamison is in the final year of his deal. Something’s got to give…

Last night at the NBA Draft, the West got better by picking some young talent (Greg Oden to Portland, Kevin Durant to Seattle) and the East got better by trading for talent (Zach Randolph to New York, Ray Allen to Boston). The Wizards got better by selecting USC shooting guard/small forward Nick Young. Young averaged just over 17 points per game last year at SoCal and is known for his mid-range jumper and fearless…

A scant 21 days remain until my favorite day of the entire year, the NBA draft. And while Cleveland and San Antonio start the NBA finals tonight (9:00 p.m. on ABC), the rest of the league, including the Washington Wizards, are firmly entrenched in the off season. What’s in store for Team Zero? Let’s take a look. The Wizards have roughly $38 million in guaranteed salaries committed to the core of the team next…

After getting handled by the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday afternoon, the Wizards did their best to step up their game. It would be hard to argue that last night’s showing was not a step up from Sunday’s dreary performance. The Wizards increased their point total by 20, but the end result was the same: another L in the books as Cleveland rode a strong performance by Drew Gooden (of all people!) for a 109-102 victory. Gooden…

A tumultuous weekend for the Washington Wizards took an unexpected turn for the worse on Sunday when All-Star Caron Butler fractured his right hand in a 121-107 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Bulter was trying to contest a dunk by Ruben Patterson and hit his hand on the backboard. His availability for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs is very much in doubt at this point. “Caron is going to be…

In retrospect, it was inevitable that Saturday’s Wizards / Lakers matchup would be a bit of a letdown when it was all said and done. The game had a media build up more reminiscent of the weekend’s other big game with the Post going as far to call it “Star Wars II” and the most “highly anticipated regular season game since Michael Jordan made his home debut for the Wizards in November 2001.” Chuck…

The Wizards 104-99 win over the Detroit Pistons last night at the Verizon Center evened the season series to 2-2, solidified D.C.’s grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and has rendered it extremely probable that Eddie Jordan will coach the East’s All-Star Team in Vegas. Good news all around then, except for the small matter of Antawn Jamison re-injuring the left knee he tweaked playing Boston on January 20th. Jamison suffered…

For the past two days the media have been wondering why no one double teams Gilbert Arenas when he has the ball. So the Knicks tried it last night to great effect. Agent Zero was held to 16 points on 4-14 shooting, but got the ball in the hands of his teammates consistently, which enabled the Wizards to take down the Knicks 99-98. Yes, it was another wild finish at the Verizon Center last…

Gilbert Arenas left the court at the Verizon Center yesterday as fans serenaded him with chants of “MVP! MVP!” after hitting yet another game winner at the buzzer. The Utah Jazz were Agent Zero’s latest victim, falling 114-111 in an incredible Martin Luther King Day matinée. Arenas, who tied a Verizon Center record with 51 points, traded three pointers with Utah’s Memet Okur down the stretch, but got the ball last and made Utah…

With all the attention Gilbert Arenas has garnered over the last month of the NBA season, it’s easy to forget about his very capable teammates. Luckily for the Wiz, they were ready to pick up the slack last night when Gilbert had an “off” game. A look at the stat sheet might tell you the Bulls defense held Agent Zero to just 16 shots, but it wouldn’t show Gilbert’s determination to get his teammates…