Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from LilGil
Time May 17, 2007 at 4:41 PM

I really like Andray. He proved this year that with some time on the court he could be really good to DC. For me he’s like Donnell (not as a player) he needs some good minutes and he’ll show everyone that it’s worth it to keep him. I’d really like to see him in da team next year, he gets quite well along with the other guys. For me he’s definitly one of the guys we HAVE to keep on our side.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time May 17, 2007 at 4:44 PM

he was one good drft pick cant wait to see his future i bet that he will be at least an All Star if not a all NBA first team player with all his skill

Comment from kg
Time May 17, 2007 at 5:31 PM

I’m only worried that he needs to follow a right pioneer like Gil or Caron or Antawn if u know what i mean

Comment from Telvis
Time May 17, 2007 at 5:54 PM

Gil’s philosphy in practicing should be eveyone’s ritual. I have to admit though, Andray has talent and I still see him as the future Garnett. With more practice in shooting, etc…He will be incredible! Also, Eddie Jordan must have faith in him…The more he sends on the court the better he will be…Just look already how many rebounds, blocks and his agility. Please Ernie! Don’t trade him…YOu’ll regret it! Just like the past regrets…you know what players I’m talkin about.

Comment from suzie-qwiz
Time May 17, 2007 at 8:58 PM

I think AB is the future of this team, he plays hard and he wants to learn. The sky is the limit for this young man.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time May 17, 2007 at 11:37 PM

Hmmm, let’s see. A seven footer (if not now he is still growing) that moves like an off guard in the open court or driving to the basket, a natural defender with a large span and feet that are learning, a sweet shooting touch when he feels comfortable, and Everyone on the team, bar none, seems to like him quite a bit. In a way, i’m glad Eddie “didn’t” give him more minutes in the playoffs. Other teams already see his potential. For us not to keep this promising young man would be a very large mistake.

Comment from middletonss
Time May 18, 2007 at 7:03 AM

I like Blatche, but I’m afraid the Wizards will lose him to free agency. We all know that he is a very talented player, but he has to get playing time to be good. He has to play behind Jamison, Butler, Songaila, and possible Pecherov (according to how Jordan decides to use Pecherov in the rotation). If the Wizards decides to resign Hayes before Blatche that’s just less playing time for him. If I was him I would be looking for a team with less forwards. With the coach Jordan the Wizards only play a eight man rotation.

Comment from maggicman11
Time May 18, 2007 at 7:26 AM

Blatche, did really good this season! his numbers aren’t all that great but what he showed out on the court is very impressive. Coach Jordan just needs to provide him with enough playing time out on the court so that he can really flourish. He definitely should have seen more playing time in the playoffs. I don’t know what the deal with that was. Was he in the dog house along side Haywood? Anyhow, he needs a great mentor down in washington if he is going to be great himself. Jamison has definitely Up’d his quality in the trading world with the way he took over the playoffs. i would try to send him and Haywood to Minnesota for Garnett. Then the Wizard would have that great mentor Blatche needs to excel his game to the highest level. We could have a superior twin tower tandem in the paint. go from no defense to exceptional defense in a season without losing any points on the offensive side. Andray can definitely score more than Haywood and Garnett can easily pick up where Antwan left off. Ernie, Jordan… think about it.

Comment from aznzero
Time May 18, 2007 at 10:38 AM

im a huge fan of andray! i think he is the only guy who can stop the star players of our opponents on our team. i really wanted jordan to put him in more in the cavs and wiz series to play lebron. he showed he can slow him down. he creates a hard match up. with his tall and lengthy form shyows he can get rebounds and blocks. and with his size showed he can dribble at full court and push a fastbreak and finish. he is definitely a keeper.

Comment from aznzero
Time May 18, 2007 at 10:40 AM

did anybody see caron butler on BET Ballers the other day?

Comment from neal
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:44 AM

He’s a good prospect but let’s not get carried away. It’s not even clear whether he’s going to be in the regular rotation next year. I was especially impressed by his rebounding.

I also would have liked to see him take more minutes as Butler’s backup, rather than Hayes. EJ seems to have been living in hope that Hayes would finally live up to his potential. I hope Blatche can handle the ball well enough and develop his shot to where he can play SF. Then he won’t be competing against Jamison, Songaila and Pecherov (who will also have trouble getting into the rotation).

Comment from krobison33
Time May 18, 2007 at 1:41 PM

Everytime eddie put andray in to play he was always ready. he never gripped about his role and wants to learn and help as much as possible. With all the bicthing that went on about defense from eddie, it suprises me and im almost dumfounded to the fact that andray didnt play more. EDDIE ARE YOU MENTALLY DISABLED. he likes to play d, he can get rebounds unlike any of our other bigger guys, and he has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor. If they dont sign him its a huge mistake. I dont see him as an all star, but i see him right on the borderline of that list if he is allowed to play on a nightly basis. He played maybe 10 min a game every 2 weeks and he was completely ready everytime he stepped out there. hes got long arms for blocks and rebounds and gets fiesty and fights for the loose balls. That is exactly the type of player the wizards need on a nightly basis. NOT every 2 weeks.
i personally am not a fan of eddie jordan and i think he rotations suck. he is a product of his players and not the players are a product of him. fire him and use the money to sign this young guy who can do it all.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time May 18, 2007 at 1:42 PM

If they resign Mr. Hayes over Mr. Blatche I’m going to start rooting for the Grizzles! Mr. Grunfeld, in his short time as GM, has made us a true competitor. My wife is tired of hearing me say ” He is The MAN!… we got Caron Butler for Kwame Brown!”. I doubt he is going to let Andray go anywhere. I’m not even a little worried about the rotation. An agile 7 footer that can shoot, handle the ball, defend, and rebound won’t be that hard to find a spot for. Let the others play forward. Blatche is the same size as Haywood, but, moves, defends, rebounds, and shoots better than Haywood. Not to mention is a much better team player. In my opinion it’s a no-brainer. With the addition of Songaila and the imminent addition of Pecherov if I were in Etan’s shoes I may be a little worried.

Comment from wizkid034
Time May 18, 2007 at 2:26 PM

Andray Blatche was amazing this year. Number did not show it, but every time he played he was a high energy guy. He hustled, played tough defense and rebounded the basketball. He does need to add a little more weight and learn to play under more control consistently on offense. Regardless, this kid’s future is bright!

I personally do not think there is any way Jarvis returns, mainly because of Blatche. Grunfeld will sign back Blatche, Stevenson and then bring over OP. I agree with the saying that Blatche is the future of this team. He most certainly is. He will get more PT next year and will give us more than Jarvis ever has or ever will.

Comment from neal
Time May 18, 2007 at 3:28 PM

I can’t disagree with anything said above. Blatche looks good to me too.

But I don’t see Pecherov as competing with Etan for minutes at center in the NBA. It would be wonderful if he could, but he would have to learn a whole new way of playing. He’s tall but he’s thin and I doubt if he can jump like Blatche. Now playing Blatche at center …… There’s an interesting idea. He’d be the skinniest center since Bol. But he got more rebounds per minute played than Haywood.

Comment from AUNDRA2007
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:31 PM

We match up well with Detroit because we have length and skills at every position.PG Arenas versusBillups,SG Stevenson versus Hamilton,SF Butler/Blatche versus Prince,PF Antaawn versus Walllace,C Haywood/Thomas versus Webber our bench Daniels,Songalia,Pech,Vereem,Don Juan and bench versus Mcdyess,Maxiell,Delphino and there bench.If we get luck in the draft then a big 7 footer who can play with there back to the basket is very much need who can also play physical and rebound will definitely take us to the next level!!So I feel Andray will definitely be in the Wizards future plans unless the deal of the century is thrown in our hands!!!!

Comment from ChenierFan
Time May 19, 2007 at 2:56 PM

For what was, for all intents and purposes, his rookie year (his first year started with him being shot and nearly killed, if you recall), Andray was one of the best things about the Wizards this year. It was a lot of fun to see him develop into a competent pro by the end of the year. Unlike one of the other writers, I do believe he can be an all-star. He obviously has a lot of tools (length, speed, quickness, ball handling, shooting, above the rim rebounding, shot blocking) but one thing I noticed that goes unmentioned is that he has great hands. Quick hands. Nearly everything in his vicinity he catches. Etan and Brendan do not. I think Grunfeld will sign him to a pretty substantial long-term contract (4yrs @ $3 MM/yr). Blatche will probably be about 10 pounds heavier next year as he matures. He’s still has a coltish physique, which will change as he gets older. I also think he may be a starter next year with Butler moving to the backcourt with Arenas. That’s what I would seriously consider doing. The big teams rule in the NBA. Look at who are in the finals. No “small ball” teams to be seen.

Comment from neal
Time May 19, 2007 at 10:30 PM

An interesting idea ChenierFan but I’d bet a lot of money against Blatche starting next year. I just hope he develops his shooting enough to be the primary backup to Butler. Beyond that is too speculative.

Comment from neal
Time May 20, 2007 at 4:19 PM

I don’t think Butler could stay up with a lot of shooting guards, and I don’t know if Blatche can stay up with the quicker small forwards …… don’t remember seeing him try.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time May 21, 2007 at 2:25 PM

Caron doesn’t handle well enough either.

Andray is a power forward in the league — the heir apparent to Antawn.

Comment from neal
Time May 21, 2007 at 8:42 PM

Tom, why don’t you think Blatche can be a SF?

Especially since we have so many power forwards.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time May 21, 2007 at 11:18 PM

I think Blatche can play three positions… SF, PF, and C. If you really want to screw with other teams heads… do what they did with Jeffries and play Blatche at the 2 on occasion??? Hmmmm. He has one advantage over Jeffries too. He can make lay ups…….

Comment from neal
Time May 22, 2007 at 9:00 AM

I’d be surprised if Blatche could handle the ball well enough or stay with opposing guards in order to play SG.

If Grunfeld isn’t successful in getting a good center to replace Haywood, what are the possibilities of Blatche or Pecherov playing backup to Thomas?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time May 22, 2007 at 1:57 PM

The SG comment was put out there more for the humor value, but, on occasion it could work.

To answer your “serious” question…. I think you will see the team play center as a group. Kind of the way the old Bulls used to do it. Blatche, Pecherov, Songaila, and Thomas will all get time in the middle. I say Thomas with a grain of salt because if we are going to try to resign Mr. Stevenson the money will have to come from somewhere. They will probably also try to work out an extension this summer with Mr. Arenas. Is it a possibility we could trade for Mark Cuban? Sorry Abe… just kidding.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time May 22, 2007 at 2:13 PM

Aaron Gray, the center out of Pittsburgh, may also be available at #16. I don’t see any other good centers falling that far.

Comment from Agent0
Time May 28, 2007 at 6:11 PM

For one, Andray has alot of skill for a guy his size. Not only can he dribble well, but can make the finish. It was only a matter of time before the beast inside of him came out. Coming to the of the season, we saw what he could really do. But the one thing that Andray has that NO ONE ELSE on the ENTIRE Wizards team has, is the ability to get offensive rebounds, not to mention defensive. I allways keep tract of the amount of Offensive Rebounds we get as a team, and it is nearly as good as any other team. We lack in that, so I say that we give Andray more playing time, seeing as how he can get the job done. I am afraid we may lose him. being a free agent. Hopefully, they make the right decision by keeping Andray, and Drafting a big man, such as Pecherov, or Veremeenko.

Comment from ricklevinenyc
Time May 30, 2007 at 6:04 PM

like i posted at the beginning of the season, blatche must play! the reason he has personality issues is becasue he is not getting enough time. the thing to do is to trade jamison for some draft picks. unload his salary and make sure that we lock up gilbert, deshawn, and blatche thru the end of butler’s contract and free up some cap room at the same time to sign some of the juicy picks we can get for jamison. i like antawn but he is not worth 16M next year for the wizards. blatch will get as many rebounds, more assists, more blocks and not take as many shots. we dont need 3 twenty point scorers to win ballgames. we need to be able to guard people and jamison doesnt have the size to guard 4’s or the speed to guard 3’s.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time May 31, 2007 at 6:38 PM

Off his work this season, Andray - right now - contributes most on hustle, disruption, rebounding and opportunity buckets. We don’t know what he *can* do in the future, of course, but I’d be extending his minutes doing what he has shown talent for.

He’s done all this good work as a 4.

Barring a completely surprising draft, Aaron Gray will *definitely* be available to us. I don’t know whether he’s worth a #16 pick. We need to get the best basketball player we can grab.

Comment from floydanthony
Time July 4, 2007 at 7:47 PM

sizn this man now he the real deal!! he will be a all star one day & he like to blck shot aand play defense and thats rare in the nba these day !! siizn him soon don,t let him hit he market, he a keeper now and later…….