Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from rgz
Time July 17, 2008 at 11:32 AM

I’d like to see more of Frank Elegar and Jonathan Wallace. I hope they are at least invited to training camp. I’m not too sure about Veremeenko, he can’t jump over the Sunday paper. Nick Young needs to relax a bit and not hurry his shot, and needs to have a backup plan and pass when he can’t get a clear shot. He commits himself to bad shots too often. But I’m not sure how he could be aggressive and still be poised.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 17, 2008 at 11:40 AM

I think he settles too much rgz, when he’s patient and lets the offense come to him he’s much better. Keeping with that sentiment when he tries to go 1-on-1, two things happen, the ball stops and the defense collapses, which doesnt allow him to penetrate. When the ball got stagnant this offense struggled.

Darius can’t jump that high either Not everyone’s a great athlete, but veeremenko understands the game well and has done a solid job in the minutes he’s been given.

Comment from wizkid034
Time July 17, 2008 at 11:54 AM

Just a few thoughts about last night…

First, from what I have seen from Andray in these first two games, it appears he might be the Sixth Man this year. His aggressiveness and willingness to put the team on his back is good to see. He has hustled big time and made some nice shots. I have seen him pick up some cheap fouls (these refs are struggling!). I did a minutes calculation last night, and I have AB getting 17-20 minutes a night at the 3,4 and 5. He will bring a lot to the table.

Second, NY is dazzling at times and frustrating at others. He needs to find more consistency. I agree he needs to play to his teammates. If his shots are not falling, he tries to force things. I do not like the way he carries his body when he is out there. He looks like he is just slacking at times. His body language is not very good. I think he will get more minutes this year, but not that many. My calculation has him getting 10-12 minutes a night.

Third, I agree with rgz…I want to see more of Frank Elegar. He is very impressing. I wonder if there is a spot for him on the team if we do not add another FA.

Fourth, Dee Brown was much more impressive last night. I envisioned him playing the role he will this season, as a perimeter defender. What I saw, I liked. I think he is relentless on the defensive end. He has tended to bail guys out with a foul too many times. I would like to see him just challenge the shot as best he can without fouling. He can also add the occasional bit of offense.

Finally, I feel you on Veremeenko, rgz…he has a ways to go. I agree he has a good basketball IQ, but he does not seem to be the caliber of athlete that some of the other guys we have in place. Unfortunately for him, he plays the 4. With AB and Pech for the future, and Tawn and D-Song presently, we are loaded at that position. I have a feeling we will send him back overseas and end up dealing his rights sometime during the season. I do not see him in a Wizards uniform for the long haul.

I am not judging this team on Ws and Ls. We have too many scrubs off the bench that do not have a prayer in this league. I am looking at individual players. I am looking forward to seeing Pech over the next few games. I want to see AB keep it going and NY bounce back from the bad performance last night. I feel good about this year…we HAVE to stay healthy!!!!

Comment from wizkid034
Time July 17, 2008 at 12:06 PM

I mentioned in my previous post my minutes calculation. I thought I would post it and see what everyone thinks. Here is goes…

At the 2 guard position, there is a total of 96 minutes a night (48 and each position). I think that Gil will start at 35, and eventually work up to his usual 40. This breakdown is going to consider Gil playing 35, but I fully expect him to take minutes form other at some point.

Gil= 35
DeShawn= 32
AD= 13
NY= 10
Dee Brown= 6

At the 3 spot, you have three guys to split the time. Here is the breakdown.

Caron= 38
AB= 5
Dom= 5

At the 4, there are four guys…
AJ= 30
D-Song= 8
AB= 5
Pech= 5

At the 5 there are three main guys…
Haywood= 32
Etan= 10
AB= 6

These are all assumptions and a lot will depend on certain situations. However, I think all the starters need to get 30+ per game on average. Some games there might be some guys who play more than the average and sometimes less than the average. What do you all think?

Comment from doclinkin
Time July 17, 2008 at 12:42 PM

No point dealing the rights to Veremeenko, there are a dozen players as good or better in the Euroleague, and he’s already got a contract that would be tricky to untangle. I don’t see anyone bidding for him even as a throw-in to a bigger deal. We’ll probably just let him steep in Europe. He becomes at best a contingency plan if we deal Darius and need a smart savvy tough baller off the bench as a replacement.

I like Dominic’s jumper and the development of a baseline move or two. I would have preferred if he tried to build more strength than to drop 10 pounds, he needs finishing power for the putback dunks etc so he doesn’t try to jump high then switch to a finesse move mid-air. It’s tough to see if the dropped weight made him any quicker laterally.

Dray’s conditioning is definitely a bit better. Hopefully that helps in his footspeed so he doesn’t hack and reach on defense. He has put on a _little_ muscle, if he keeps at it he’ll get better and more consistent in the post and –same deal as DMac– get more confidence using his length to go over and through the defender, not try to juke them out the way with crafty ballmoves. Dray still hasn’t found a working go-to move in the post. Every post player needs ONE unstoppable move they can pull off no matter the defense. (Or high percentage, reliable, efficeint move. The all-stars have the ‘unstoppable version’. The rest is just about working to get into position to pull it off and making yourself a target for the entry pass. With Dray’s body control and soft hands he has all the ability to get himself into position, but no idea what to do once he gets there.

It’s gimmicky, but boy do I wish he has Hakeem as a tutor. Dray might could actually pull off the Dream shimmy shake. Come on Wiz brass, send him to the Dream camp. Hire Hakeem as a Big Man tutor.

Nick is Nick. He’ll get real game time minutes anyway since he’s the only answer we got with real size at the back-up 2-guard spot. DeShawn has proven durable, but there’s wear and tear on those wheels — and if we go small, both Gil and Daniels have suffered dings and dents as well. Nick will have to grow up on court. Seems to me he’s an experiential learner anyway. You can tell him to do it, but he’s got to do it and and see it work to really get it. And he’s a gunner, tunnelvision for the basket, he’s only going to get better as a scorer– okay after he adjusts to the scouting reports on him. Nick Young as a better scorer ought to be a scary thought for the league.

But if he loses time to Dee Brown I’ll be ticked off, both at the staff and especially at Nick. He’s got the athleticism to be great, if he plays even decent defense he’ll take minutes and play.

JaVale McGee clearly has more upside than almost any other player in the league. We have solid starters in front of him and the luxury to bring him along as he learns. If he maxes out his potential: all-star center in the East, and a few votes for defensive first team. If he doesn’t, the mystery and promise are still there. The Wiz once upon a time drafted a guy who got traded for both Caron Butler and Pau Gasol, teams will trade for promise and upside. Heck, that’s how this year’s World Championship squad was built.

Banging with Haywood and Etan in practice should only make him better, unless he gets scared of the contact and tries to become a perimeter player fill-time. It’s up to Caron I think to bully him into toughening up, he’s got the frame to build real strength and power.

Frank Elegar knows how to play positional defense. If we had extra roster slots he’d take the Mike Ruffin spot. We don’t so he’ll end up on the Spurs or Europe or something.

We’ve got talent out the wazoo. Somehow we now have to forge that into winning, confidence, production. I like the raw materials, but it ain’t like there’s a ‘veteran pill’ to grow a player up quick-fast. And if there were we’d have hearings in Congress on it.

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 17, 2008 at 1:35 PM

I wasn’t able to watch the game last night… How did AB do? I heard that Speights and Jason Smith were monsters.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 17, 2008 at 1:47 PM

AB looked good. Very aggressive on offense, but still picking up too many ticky tack fouls,

With Speights and Jason Smith they were left open for too many open jumpers and once they got going they were very tough to stop.

Click here to watch the game from last night. The action doesn’t start until the 30 minute mark.

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 17, 2008 at 2:06 PM

Thanks I will check it out… What is going on with NY he should be killing whoever is guarding him… I can see if he isnt playing well on defense but he has to make it up on the offensive end.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 17, 2008 at 2:12 PM

Nick has struggled but it is only two games I wouldn’t get overly worried about it.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time July 17, 2008 at 2:24 PM

i like that Dom got that mid range shot going i see that as a big + because the kid can jump and rebound so well all he needs is that soft shot to be in good shape to take some min…

Comment from neal
Time July 17, 2008 at 2:50 PM

The good news is that McGuire showed some offense and Blatche lowered his fouls per minute rate a bit. Veremeenko doesn’t have his confidence yet, but he’s looking OK. Brown is fine as a third PG. Young isn’t ready. I’m worried about our SG situation.

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 17, 2008 at 3:54 PM

Have you seen any other players from other teams that have excited you? I think Bayless has been unbelievable I didnt know he could do everything that he is doing this summer. It must be my east coast bias b/c i didnt catch a lick of action of him in college.

Comment from rgz
Time July 17, 2008 at 4:41 PM

RDOT51, I thought that the Finnish kid Koponen (Blazers) could shoot at will and he wasn’t bad bringing the ball up either – just as fast as Bayless. Last night the inside/outside division of labor of 76ers forwards Marreese Speights and Jason Smith was impressive.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 17, 2008 at 5:47 PM

I’ve already noted some responses to the game, which I watched pretty closely from beginning to end. I’ll note the positives here:

Javale McGee — sometimes he looked like the best player we had on the floor. He is not just athletic, he is quite agile. I love him, and I think he has a chance to be a very good player in the league. There’s no one I’ve seen in SL so far (and I have watched a bunch of games on nba tv) whom i would have picked over him at 18.

Dom — I like him 10 lbs lighter, and so I disagree w/ doclinkin about that. He has to play the 3 in the league, that’s where he can excel. He had the best night of any Wizard last night (not that that is saying much in this case). He shot well, and he showed that he can really pass the ball. He still gets out of control easily when he attacks the bucket, but that will improve w/ time and coaching.

Andray — I don’t see the extra muscle or improved conditioning, but he looks more in control than he did last year at this time. In his case, and in Dominic’s too, we need more rebounding. That’s discipline and effort; it needs to be there. Obviously, to excel in the league Dray is going to have to stop fouling so much. He is going into his 4th year, so it’s hard not to feel a little impatient, but then you remember that he hasn’t even turned 22 yet! He still has time to improve (but no we should not expect him to turn into the next McHale).

Dee Brown — It’s great that he hit a couple of jumpers, but lets remember that Dee is a 3d point guard. It’s not fair to examine him as if he was a lottery draft choice!

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 17, 2008 at 7:54 PM

Yea i think AB gets tired down the stretch because in each game so far he starts the game hard and aggressive but when its down the stretch he gets sloppy and fouls carelessy (eventhough i think the referees are calling ticky tack fouls). But he has been consistent so far. The person im really puzzled about is Nick Young… I know it is early but i dont see the competitiveness out of his game this summer… It doesnt look like he really cares… Not like Dominic he is blocking shots, rebounding, passing and scoring. But I would like for McGuire to not get away from why he is on the team. Yes The Zards want him to develop a consistent jumpshot but he has to realize your on this team for your defense and your rebounding… Master those skills first and work on the jumper “we do not need another scorer”.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 17, 2008 at 10:50 PM

I really liked watching McGuire. I thought he played a very solid all around game. That one block of his was “special”. It’s nice to see how hard he has worked on his game. Losing 10lbs does not necessarily make you weaker. Trimming body fat and adding muscle isn’t a bad thing. I wish Nick had worked as hard on his game.

The one thing I notice about VDub is as an offensive player you had better secure the ball around him. His hands on defense are blazing fast. If he ever gets his feet to follow those hands he is going to be a defensive force.

Frank Elegar? Who IS Frank Elegar? Wow that guy has game. We need to find a spot for that kid I don’t care if it’s at assistant coach, ball boy, security at the phone booth or something. We need to make room for him somewhere. I’m gessing that kind of game and hustle would be infectous. We need to somehow keep that kid around.

Dee won the battle last night and Wallace won the battle the first game. To be honest neither of them knock my socks off. Like Tom said we shouldn’t look at them as if they were lottery picks. Still I haven’t been real impressed with either one.

It should be an interesting season at 2 guard?

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 18, 2008 at 12:03 AM

you know who i really like….MARTELL WEBSTER. If EG could deal for him i would be happy.

AD, Pecherov, Stevenson, 09 1st
FOR
Blake, Webster, Frye, 09 2nd

I know its random but I know NM loves AD since he had him in Seattle.

Then get Wallace from detroit for Etan and songaila and our 09 2nd and memphis pick

Arenas/Blake/Brown
Webster/Young
Butler/McGuire
Jamison/Wallace/Frye
Haywood/Blatche/McGee

Our bench would become better and we would have good depth at almost every position.

I Am BORED

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2008 at 12:37 AM

I can tell…. LOL. AD and Stevenson in the same trade scenario. Go get some sleep Bud

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2008 at 12:43 AM

Our guards this year are going to be critical. We can’t afford to lose even one of them. We are thin there and nobody really knows how “The Knee” is. Now is not the time to bring guards in unfamiliar with Eddie’s offense.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2008 at 12:48 AM

We need a good 2. Has anybody talked to Phil Chenier?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2008 at 1:03 AM

How cheap could we get Larry Hughes? I know I know, but, if for cheap?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 6:43 AM

Whoa there, team — no one is more consistently critical of Nick Young than I, but we do need to give him a chance. He was our ‘07 first round pick; we can’t give up on him *that* quickly.

Anyway, I don’t really like Martell Webster all that much either.

Now, if we could *trade* Nick for Brandon Roy….

Comment from BruceO
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:52 AM

Sportswiz , I just came here to say that we should sign darius miles. He had a good career, is still 26 and was able to compete against most small forwards. I don’t believe he’s a cancer. I also don’t care if he smokes weed. Plenty of people would take josh howard and he confessed to it, so did brad miller.

He left the clips which wasnt a good organization, he didnt have a good stint in cleveland where apparently he and Lebron were not on good terms which is a really good reason to have him as a wiz, he then went to portland which was full of immature players so no growth could be experienced there. Portland is now making a turnaround and having travis outlaw eliminates the use of darius.

Miles will sign for the minimum. Doing so and playing ten games earns him 8 or nine mill from Portland. He’s had workouts and i’m not sure whether hes injury prone now but he says hes a hundred percent healthy. Not in game shape yet. He still has his vertical.

here is a good article about his comeback:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/07/17/miles/index.html

also elsewhere he caught a ten game drug suspension. Not sure what the drug was. People doubt its weed cause first offense for weed is 5 games apparently. Depending on these circumstances, when he will round off into his game shape without reinjury and his maturity I would take him in. we have high charector guys like caron and jamison who will make sure he won’t be a cancer in the locker room. That affords us a steal or two

Comment from BruceO
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:07 AM

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-33-34/Darius-Miles-and-that-Drug-Test.html

interesting article about the ten game suspension.It limits teams abilities to sign him up for ten day contracts, because he won’t be able to play during that limited time. So for a team to actually get ten games out of him they have to take a flyer on him for a season. Theres alot of stuff going on that if I was the wiz FO i’d look into. Bring him in and work him out. The championship calibre teams in Boston, phoenix and dallas are certainly taking a closer look at him. I think we should as well

Comment from dmac
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:30 AM

Part of what the summer league team does is present each team with candidates who can fit in the player rotation that each coach has for his team for the regular season.
We know from day one that EJ plays the following guys:
Gil, DS, BH, CB and AJ. Off the bench will be AD, AB, DS and ET?
If ET is back and can give us about 12-15 minutes quality time that will be good.
Roger being gone presents a problem because he had learned the league( worked on his game, played defense, did not commit many turnovers and could hit the 3) That is what helped him to get the opportunity he has with San Antonio.
Problem is NY has the physical skills but it is not clicking mentally yet. That is what separates you from setting on the bench and playing. In Pro sports you have to study the game and your opponents to be a real contributor.
The young guy’s really struggle with the learning curve in the NBA.
When you see players come in like KG, LJ, KB come into the league and do well part of it is a special talent and even with those guy’s it has been a process. KG and LJ came in blazing but still it takes time to really blossom.
I am not surprised how well Bayless is doing. from watching him at Arizona I knew he was a special talent. Bayless reminds me of when DWade came in the league he tended to play more consisitently than Melo and LBJ.
The same may be said of Bayless with Rose, Mayo and Beasley. For one thing Bayless is in a special situation with Brandon in the backcourt with him. In fact Portland has a nice young squad.
Which leads me to say that I think some of our young players will perform better when they play with the vets. But unless we sign another veteran sg/sf. Gil will probably get more minutes at the SG with AD in the game.
I agree with Tom that McGee may be potentially the best player on our summer league team. Don’t be surprised if McGee get’s more minutes than NY, DMAC and OP during the regular season.

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:02 AM

I dont think that will happen. Eddie Jordan doesn’t like playing rookies in the first place. He gives vets alot of minutes and I dont think Mcgee will get much time unless someone gets hurt on the front line…

Comment from neal
Time July 18, 2008 at 10:55 AM

I agree, RDOT51. I don’t think he’ll get much time. And I don’t think he deserves it yet, quite apart from being a rookie. He makes mistakes, isn’t strong enough, and isn’t confident enough yet. He’s an excellent prospect for the D league, at least until Thomas gets hurt.

I think Pecherov should go there too. He’s not going to take minutes away from Songaila or Blatche until he shows he’s playing better than he has so far.

Comment from dmac
Time July 18, 2008 at 11:42 AM

I believe the Wiz coaching staff just needs to do a good job of coaching their big men. I believe that sending McGee to the D-League is not going to gurantee that he will get better especially if he does not have a good big man coach in the D-league.
What I see in McGee is someone who seems very coacheable. Also I see some fire in McGee which will help us now. I believe he has more to benefit by practicing against BH and ET everyday and when he get’s in for 7-10 minutes a game from time to time will serve him well. Block a shot here, a dunk shot there and baby hook there. He needs to be around the vets so he can see how to eat, when to get his rest. I mean the whole routine.
I know one thing sending Pedro Ramos to the D-League did not help him.
I say keep McGee on the roster during the season and let him get some good coaching and learn some discipline and how to make yourself a better player from the big 3.

Comment from dmac
Time July 18, 2008 at 11:46 AM

I forgot to say if McGee stays from the club hopping and hanging out like some other guy’s we know he will be fine.
I know Daddy George and Momma Pam done schooled him right.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 12:21 PM

You can put me in that group w/ Darius, Josh and Brad.

Signing Darius Miles at a vet. minimum is not a terrible idea, actually. He certainly has talent. But he has *not* produced, and the best indicator of future production is past production. It’s hard for me to imagine Ernie signing him. On the other hand, if he signs somewhere and has a good season, I won’t be surprised by that either.

The more I see Nick, the clearer it is to me that we need a backup wing player. It’s not going to be Gary Forbes, not if we want a practical alternative who can earn minutes this year. Maurice Evans or Keith Bogans seem possible.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 12:24 PM

About Javale — in the first press conference w/ him, Ernie said “it begins with competing within the team.” If McGee can be productive in those practices, he has a chance to earn minutes. On the other hand, Ernie consistently describes him as “a couple of years away.”

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 1:36 PM

what about trading for ben gordon or luol dang. we could probly trade antonio daniels and sombody else to match up the contracts. i think they would do it because there back court is crowded. plus ad can help rose

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 1:37 PM

antoino daniels for ben gordon

Comment from dmac
Time July 18, 2008 at 1:47 PM

Then we would need another backup point guard. I don’t know if we have enough balls to shoot with if you have Ben and Gil on the court together. Whose going to play defense?
AD is a keeper for us.

Comment from Point Guard
Time July 18, 2008 at 1:56 PM

Mex, Chicago wouldn’t do that trade. Last summer they reportedly wouldn’t put Luol Deng into the proposed deal to get arguably the best player in the league in Kobe Bryant. So I dont see them trading Deng for Daniels or anybody else on our roster not named Caron Butler, Gil Arenas, or Antawn Jamison.

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 2:04 PM

come on hes a restricted free agent if they cared so much about deng they would have sign him. and on espn.com it says that they are looking to trade ben gordon because they just drafted rose

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 2:06 PM

by the way in my eyes besides lebron james and t mac caron is the best SF in the nba. but no way i would trade caron for luol deng even if the offer it. and they said larry hughes contract is to big to move so ben gordon is the odd man out

Comment from neal
Time July 18, 2008 at 2:30 PM

I agree with dmac. Gordon and Arenas is not a good combination. Would Gordon accept a back-up role? Gordon and Daniels would be nice.

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 2:47 PM

i dont think we gonna make any trades this season but i got faith in my team that we can make pass the first round. oh yeah we should try to sign josh childress or shaun livingston

Comment from Reuben
Time July 18, 2008 at 3:26 PM

I wouldn’t try for Gordon because he is not a great fit. I wouldn’t take linigston because he always gets injured.

Even though I dont buy NBA TV will i still be able to watch tonights game?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 4:01 PM

Gordon is an over-rated player. AD for BG would be a huge mistake, but not to worry as Ernie would no way offer that.

So mex was wrong about that, but you’re right, mex, that on a minute by minute productivity basis, Caron is the 3d best 3 in the league — in fact, he is just about tied w/ Paul Peirce for 2d best, behind LeBron. In terms of the total of his productivity, he drops to 6th overall (because he was injured, he played about 550 minutes less than Peirce). Tracy McGrady didn’t make the top 15 in ‘07-08, btw.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 4:02 PM

Reuben, you can watch a webcast of the game, but it’s a pretty small window.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 4:07 PM

Talking about a back-up 3 — by far, the best guy available to us is Bonzi Wells, who is a heck of a player. He may not have a lot of options either. He might sign for the veteran minimum and make an effort to resuscitate his career by being a good citizen (along w/ a good player).

Comment from neal
Time July 18, 2008 at 4:23 PM

Tom, who do you think is the best veteran 2 that’s available for what we can pay?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 4:48 PM

Assuming we can’t treat Bonzi as a 2 — or more generically as a “wing” player, I mean — then Maurice Evans of Orlando has the best productivity numbers among FAs.

What can be done via trade, I don’t know. What are our tradeable resources? Songaila? I might be nervous about trading him until I was sure that Etan was back. None of the young’uns salaries are much help in a trade, Andray a little more than the rest of them but not much.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 18, 2008 at 4:58 PM

MARCO BELLINELLI!!!!!! DID I SPELL HIS NAME RIGHT??????!!!!!!!!

You think they would do pecherov and rights to VV and an 09 2nd for Marco

Arenas/Daniels/Brown
Stevenson/Young/Marco
Butler/McGuire
Jamison/Songaila/Blatche
Haywood/Thomas/McGee

Inactive: Brown, McGee

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2008 at 6:38 PM

wizbulletman – im not so sure that McGee would be sitting im leaning towards Marco, and Brown. Pech would be inactive either way, so its like tradeing and inactive for another inactive and then some…

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 6:40 PM

Tom Mandel i would take t mac over caron butler cause he can shoot and hes more of a playmaker. but ben gordon is better than antoino, a better scorer maybe not passing but at scorer

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 6:41 PM

who is MARCO BELLINELLI

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2008 at 6:52 PM

mex – are you CRAZY. T-Mac doesnt even nearly play with as much intensity. Doesnt play better DEFENSE. They average about the same amount of Points and Assisst. Caron has better rebounding numbers. T-Mac cant even get his team out of the 1st Round. AND he’s injury prone. Im not saying Caron isnt but we already have a playmaker or 2 on his team. That being Arenas and Young if he can step his game up even if its only on the offensive end. He takes too many jumpers. If he drove he would be slammin n jammin on people. PLUS would there be enough balls to go around for Arenas and T-Mac and thats not including Jamison?

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2008 at 6:53 PM

Marco Bellinilli is a scorer and thats about it.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:03 PM

Tom

Bonzo would be great, I like to throw a few names out there myself Maurice Evans, Keith Bogans and Mike Hall. I really like the aspect of a one year deal for Darius Miles as well

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:07 PM

T-Mac, wow I do respect the right to one’s opinion but there is no way T Mac at this stage is better than CB3. And I really hope he lands in Detroit to prove it so CB3 can test this theory on a regular basis.

Comment from neal
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:08 PM

So I’m for signing Maurice Evans as a FA – 15th player.

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:11 PM

what t mac is a monster maybe not at play off time but overall shooting, wise speed, defense, dunking, hes a better finisher when he gets fouled. Caron is my 3rd favorite player in the NBA but Yall are going to far

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:12 PM

I really think that Matt Barnes will go to the Celtics, so we may not be a player with him, no love for Mike Hall?

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:13 PM

Mex,

Will T-Mac make us better? Better than what Caron already brings? Also look at the contracts, we are WAY more flexible with Caron’s and younger. I love McGrady but the injuries of late really hurts him, IMO

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:14 PM

think about this put CARON on the rockets they probly wouldent make the playoffs. earlier i said Caron was the 3 best SF in the nba and i stand by that. dont forget t mac carried the orlando magics to the playoffs with no help at all

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:18 PM

before lebron came along who was the best SF in the NBA. T MAC was, a few years ago people compared him to kobe not they compare lebron to kobe

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:18 PM

Caron had advanced past thr first round of the playoffs (when it counts), T Mac never so I am all in for advancing in the playoffs.

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:19 PM

i wouldent trade cause t mac does get hurt and hes older but overall hes better. T mac has never ben on a team with 2 AllStars

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:22 PM

but last year with out yao mcgrady took that team to the playoffs in the toughest confrence

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:26 PM

Mex

Be honest it was more team play than T Mac, I will gove him credit they are better with him but the team and easpecially the bench play got them into the playoffs. Yao did not take them, I would have to disagree with you there.

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:32 PM

it was team play but they had no other allstars besides t mac. caron had antwan, t mac had nobody really, put caron on that team and i dont see them making the playoffs

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:34 PM

who here is going to watch the game

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 18, 2008 at 7:59 PM

If we got Darius miles to sign for the minimum, i think i would go in shock, because it would be a flat out steal. He seems to have recovered from an injury viewed as “career ending.” He just needs to get back in basketball shape which he has been trying to do.
Also he is 6′9, a FREAK athlete that would be a AWSOME backup to butler.
EG has to do that.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:03 PM

Actually, that wasn’t t-mac who took them to the playoffs. He has had some years when he was terrific, no doubt. But, he is not that player any more, and he was never the superstar some people thought he was. Comparing him to LeBron is ridiculous, forgive my strong statement; LeBron is every bit a superstar and was one from the minute he stepped on an nba court. He is one of the most amazing athletes and basketball players I’ve *ever* seen, and I’ve been watching basketball for 50 years.

mex — the *last* person we need is Ben Gordon, and saying that he shoots better than Antonio is pointless. Antonio is a *point guard* while ben gordon is just a gunner. We only have one basketball to share around the court; we don’t need another gunner.

Marco bellinelli is a 2d year player w/ GS; he came into the league from Italy, and he is a shooter. Another guy we have *no need* for.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:06 PM

The blasted game seems to be on NBA TV at 10:30 instead in real time. I’m gonna tivo it.

The reason Darius might sign for the minimum is that if he plays ten games, he collects about $9m from Portland!! First, however, he has to sit out a 10-day suspension. He really doesn’t seem like Ernie’s kind of guy.

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:12 PM

I kinda like the Songaila for Bonzi idea. Dont know Bonzi’s contract situation but he can def. play the 3, and he’s a good defender/rebounder from that spot

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:22 PM

Something came to my mind that made me really excited. Just think of potentially we would have in McGee if fills out his body and adds muscle, like Dwight Howard did. With his athleticism, we would have Dwight Howard with a jump shot. Patience and waiting is the key.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:33 PM

Bonzi is a FA — no need to trade for him. I don’t see a sign/trade scenario involving him and DS either, although you never know.

Hey, I checked nba tv for the game and, as advertised, they are showing the washington mystics. Guess what? Brendan is doing color on the broadcast, and he is very good at it!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:34 PM

McGee is a very different body type from Howard; he’ll be his own kind of player.

People *were* comparing DeAndre Jordan to Howard when he was a few years younger, however. I’m pretty sure that if he fell to round 2, he ain’t no Dwight Howard!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:41 PM

We’re up 28-22 a few minutes into the 2d quarter. Nick is 1-4, but he has contributed in other ways with a steal and 3 boards, 2 FTs and an assist. Andray is 4-7, starting strong again.

Dee Brown is credited with a blocked shot — alright!

McGee is 0-3 but has blocked 2 shots and has an assist.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:47 PM

andray has 15 mid 2d quarter. dominic playing very well too.

the webcast is here

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 8:53 PM

6 point lead at the half. Nick is now 1-6, lost his man on defense, giving up a dunk, etc.

Dominic looks very good. needs to learn to make free throws.

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:01 PM

Tom Mandel what are u talking about t mac is still as good as he was a few years back. by the way i wasent comparing him to lebron i was comparing him to Caron Butler. lebron is a great player but he gets alot of media coverage. t mac has been getting injuried alot latley but dont say he aint as good as he use to be because he aint been playing much, but when hes healthy he is the second best SF in the nba. thats like saying gilbert aint as good as he was 3 years back. WHY AINT HE ?

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:04 PM

mcgee is having a bad game

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:16 PM

Dom looks real good

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:28 PM

javale got 9 pts 4 rebs. pretty solid

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:34 PM

damn dont let this game slip away

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:53 PM

Im surprised Mcgee’s not getting more minutes

Comment from neal
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:57 PM

Thanks Tom for the link to the webcast. Never done that before.

I just saw a quarter but I was encouraged by what I saw of Blatche and McGuire. Are we better with McGuire in the rotation than Songaila? If so, Blatche backs up Jamison and McGuire backs up Butler. Otherwise, Blatche backs up Butler and Songaila backs up Jamison. McGee needs a lot more experience.

I liked Billy Thomas when he was the last Wizard cut one year (instead of whom?). I still like him. Wouldn’t mind seeing him as the 15th guy.

Comment from mex
Time July 18, 2008 at 9:58 PM

andray mcgee and dom played good

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 10:24 PM

Just looking at the box score, seems like Andray once again lost energy in the 2d half. I’m going to watch the game in the a.m.

mex — you’re a Tmac fan. That’s fine. I don’t mean to critique him; he is a very good player.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2008 at 10:26 PM

Nick better get his act together. He is playing horribly.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time July 18, 2008 at 10:30 PM

Nick has the skill but he lacks so much when it comes to BasketBall IQ and he cant shake off bad shots its like if he missed one he has to make 4 to get even and most of thos are forced and worse than the first one he missed

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2008 at 10:31 PM

Thanks for the heads up on NBATV Tom. Got my recorder set for 10:30.

Neal, why not have all three in the rotation? McGuire behind Caron, Songaila behind Antawn, and Blatche behind Brendan. Etan is the guy this year that is going to have to earn minutes. I’d really like it if Etan could play any 4 at all. The nice part about our current bigs is I think in a year or so (maybe sooner) McGee maybe a 4/5 kind of guy?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2008 at 10:33 PM

Nick has to realize he is in the NBA and not still out on the playground.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 18, 2008 at 11:37 PM

dmac is showing his improved jumpshot. He is shooting with confidence. Also just to let you know we WON. So if your watching at 10 30 like me. I didnt look at the stats but checked before just to see and it said we won 72-69.

2ND HALF COMING UP

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 12:34 AM

WBM.. McGuire is getting me a little excited for October. It’s pretty obvious he has worked hard on his game. He really may be a viable option to Caron this year. My fear right now is at the 2 guard. We have DS and Gil can move over (and really should– nuther story). Past that we have Nick. I don’t know? He doesn’t really have an NBA game yet. We can rotate some of the big guys into the 3 if needed, but, the 2 is a glaring weakness right now.

What do you guys think? Should we do anything to bolser the 2 spot?

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 19, 2008 at 12:52 AM

Now, I know most of you like AD as our backup and I do too, but I am fine as Dee brown as gil’s backup because he showed he can in the playoffs a few years ago, before the neck injury.

So…

We trade: AD, Songaila(using part of Kurt Thomas Trade Exception), 09 1st, memphis pick

suns trade: Barbosa

Arenas/Brown
stevenson/Barbosa/Young
Butler/McGuire
Jamison/Blatche/Pecherov
Haywood/Thomas/McGee

That would sure up our backup 2…

It might also cut into Young’s development. He has to work on his game though. Especially defense.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 19, 2008 at 12:54 AM

Also the suns are looking for a solid backup for Nash, and who better than AD and Songaila is a solid backup to Diaw, if he starts.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:14 AM

Only Brown backing up Gil? I’ll pass.

I wouldn’t make that trade even if I were Wes sr.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:16 AM

We need to find a fair 2 that fits into our finances.. without giving away some our best players.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:18 AM

I was hoping Gary Forbes would fit in a nice back up 2/3. Alas he has shown us very little.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:22 AM

Tom… you devour the internet in search of the players that could help us most. Who do you have on your radar at the (hopefully) 2 or 3?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 19, 2008 at 7:19 AM

Grifonracing — did you finally get to sleep last night?

I’ve suggested Bonzi Wells, who is an excellent player, if he wants to get his career back on track. He wouldn’t be expensive at this point.

Maurice Evans, a FA out of Orlando, is a slightly above average player in the league (which makes him better by the numbers than DS), and I don’t think he is going to be expensive either. Bogans is another choice.

A couple of people have suggested Darius Miles; he is an elite athlete and player, but he may not be motivated enough. Doesn’t seem like an Ernie type of guy.

Not for immediate minutes, but with some hope for the future, we could sign Livingston if the Clippers don’t re-sign him first.

There is a lot of summer ahead of us, and I’m sure Ernie has something in mind. My number 1 hope is that we somehow acquire Josh Childress. I don’t have much hope of that, however.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 19, 2008 at 7:33 AM

One other thing — I still have my eye on Forbes. I said the other day that I didn’t think he could play in the NBA because of lack of athleticism, but all the same he is solid and pretty crafty and he might work his way onto the team depending on who else is available.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 19, 2008 at 9:41 AM

Forbes showed me something last night. He can pass well, shoot, and looks to put in an effort on D. I also like Veremeenko’s hustle. He fought for boards and he had a nice face up-jab step move and scored. I wouldnt mind him or forbes as the 15th man.

Comment from AUNDRA
Time July 19, 2008 at 12:58 PM

Nick Young will definitely need to make adjustments to his game. First of all he is the best freethrow shooter on the team but rarely gets contact and go to the freethrow line.
He should be shooting 12 freethrows a game period. I see one good move and thats the turnaround jumper and thats it. I know Agent Zero taught his pupil more than that! Nick you will need to show me alot move if your going to get me motivated and pumped! D-Mac you have shown steady production each game and thats great so keep the blocked shots coming, keep rebounding and making the high percentage shots. Call Hopla on your technique about your freethrows because we need 80 percent shooters in the game so there will be no Hack A Shaq on you! Andray just stay consistent and lead the team because you are the rock right now!

Comment from AUNDRA
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:15 PM

West Unsels Jr has been using basic defensive assignments so far and the teams endurence has been good the last game. I was wondering if we could use some zones and traps to slow down these fast west coast teams. The team seems enerigized when they block shots but they are gambling less with the steals and thats also our catalyst to start the fast breaks. What I am trying to say is would it be possible to let the team run a little bit more offensively and more pressure defensively!

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:25 PM

Tom I finally did, but, Mr. Sandman was not “my friend” last night LOL. It was one of “those”.

I haven’t watched the game yet WBM, but, you have now given me a great reason to watch it. Forbes looked good last night? GREAT! I still have high hopes for him. He could really fill a need if he gets his game on track. I really like what I’ve seen from VDub especially what I’ve seen of him on the defensive end. The guy has a pair of very fast hands when he sets himself on defense. I can see him getting as many steals and deflections as some of our guards.

Bonzi Wells may be a pretty good fit? He would certainly give us a “grit/sand” upgrade in the frontcourt. We wouldn’t lose any toughness when Deshawn has to sit down.

I don’t know much about Evans. I’ve never been real high on Bogans’ game, but, he would “fit” our team. Isn’t Darius Miles a bit of a “head case”?

Josh Childress is the kind of player that makes us dream (just not last night lol). Is there any realistic chance we could get him without losing a “chunk” of the team? Childress and Caron at the 3 would be pretty sweet.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:41 PM

I was just wondering, who is Vdub, is it veremeenko?

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:43 PM

Here is an idea for a “fair” 2 guard to sure up the position.

Wiz trade: Songaila, memphis pick
grizz trade: Greg Buckner

It would make sure we have a solid backup to deshawn that plays good D and can hit the three and score a little.
Also would allow blatche to be the primary backup to jamison because he wont see the floor this year unless songaila is traded or tears his ACL and is out for the season.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:45 PM

I think Nick will come around Aundra. He has too many skills and too much ability. I hope he continues to pal around with Dominic. Dominic seems to have a good mind set and work ethic. Maybe it, at some point, will rub off a little on Nick?

I’ve noticed Andray too. Steadily from the first summer league game to present his fouls have gone down while his production has gone up. Maybe this is “the” year for him?

With the variety of players we have on summer league and only having 2 days together before summer league started I don’t think we are going to see anything but “milk toast” offense and defense. They just don’t have the time to prepare to run anything a little more advanced.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:55 PM

Yes WBM…. VDub is VV.. Veremeenko. I can’t take credit for it. Someone else said it. I just liked it. I like too that he is playing with a little Farfiegnuugen

At least at the start of the season I would be very surprised if Andray wasn’t backing up Brendan. He will probaly get some time backing up Antawn, but, I think Eddie already has Songaila penciled in there. Here is in hoping Songaila gets a lot of “time on the pine” in the Olympics.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 1:58 PM

WBM… I do like the Buckner thing though.

Comment from jmpalomo
Time July 19, 2008 at 2:08 PM

I don’t know why everyone thinks Antonio Daniels is the backup point guard.
Eddie Jordan does not play AD more than 7 minutes a game when Gilbert Arenas is healthy.
Dwight Stevenson moves down to the point when Gil goes out.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 2:22 PM

Daniels is by far our best guard given the stats. He is right at the top of the league every year in assist to turn over ratio. He always shoots a good percentage and is pretty much money at the free throw line. Others will disagree, but, I think Daniels should have always been our starting point guard with Gil being our starting 2.

IMO…. Ernie gives Eddie great pieces to the puzzle. Eddie just chooses not to use them. I will never understand why? Why would you play Gil, Caron, and Antawn 40 minutes a night when you have some very talented players on the bench playing solitare? Maybe with Gil coming off the two knee surgeries and Caron’s hip thing a light will shine a little this year. There is no reason to run your best players into the ground.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 19, 2008 at 2:59 PM

Dwight Stevenson? Who’s he?

Most basketball fans, Wizards fans included, imagine that the most important thing is how many points does a player score — that’s how they evaluate whether a guy is good or not. “Wow, Joe Blow went off for 30 last night.” Typically, they don’t look at how many shots the guy had to take to hit that number, what his FG% was, and what else he did.

The NBA efficiency measure (usually called EFF) overvalues scoring too. In fact, a rebound or steal contributes as much towards winning the game as taking and making a 2 point shot. Taking and *missing* a shot contributes as much to losing as turning the ball over. An assist or a block or a made free throw helps as much as a personal foul or a missed free throw hurts.

Antonio is one of our best players. He gets lots of assists, he doesn’t turn it over much, he doesn’t foul much, he rebounds well for a guard, and he makes his free throws. He is not a great shooter, but that’s ok, because *he doesn’t shoot much.*

Nick Young — so far — has not been a good player. He turns the ball over a lot, he commits a large number of fouls, he gets very few rebounds for his size and very few assists. He shoots a high percentage from the 3 point line, but overall he doesn’t shoot all that high a %. Yes, he is an excellent free throw shooter, but no he doesn’t get to the line much. Really, I don’t care if he looks cool or if he obviously has great gifts. Until those gifts *produce in the game* he’s not a good NBA player.

That said, he was better in the first half last night than I’d thought. He got his rebounds then, along w/ an assist and at least one steal. In the 2d half, he was a mess.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 19, 2008 at 3:22 PM

Dominic played very well last night, but he needs to make his free throws. Andray played very well except for turning it over 3 times. Javale showed that he is very raw and very gifted. Vdub was good in limited minutes; I haven’t seen anything to indicate that he has a shot, however.

We were badly outrebounded (again) and only won the game because Cleveland shot 54% from the charity stripe. Forbes, who did some things well, played 22plus minutes at forward and got zero rebounds.

Now, the 4 guys who will actually play minutes in the season — AB, NY, DM, and (I hope) JM — got 23 rebounds in 95 minutes, which doesn’t sound bad until you realize that we let their top 4 rebounders get 27 boards in 70 minutes.

Still, a win is a win. I’m cheered by Andray and Dominic looking good and by Javale showing that he is a real (if raw) prospect.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 4:07 PM

On the Head Tom. Mr. Stern has us all thinking offense. It sells. Invent the 3 point shot, don’t allow a defender to touch the offensive guy when is facing the basket, and now fines for flops. Interesting to see what will be next?

If history is any teacher, though, defense feeds the Bull Dog.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 4:12 PM

I’m going to go watch last night’s game before the one tonight starts

Comment from neal
Time July 19, 2008 at 4:31 PM

Who is Vdub?

Tom, will you please give us the link again to the webcast. Thank you.

Comment from mex
Time July 19, 2008 at 5:46 PM

on espn marc stein wrote an article saying that darius miles worked out for dallas, boston, and the spurs and he gonna take the minium because of hes knee problems and he still is getting 18 million for the trail blazers. i think he would be a nice addition at the 3 but we probly wont get em

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 19, 2008 at 6:16 PM

I sure hope Darius Miles would consider ud, especially if he see’s the team as a championship contender. I am sure the Wizards brass would love to have him.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 19, 2008 at 6:17 PM

I also would like to see Wallace get the start and Dee come off the bench, and also start McGee give them both some extended run

Comment from neal
Time July 19, 2008 at 6:37 PM

Both Elegar and McCullough have looked better than Veremeenko. I’m sure V isn’t comfortable. New surroundings, not a familiar face. I hope he comes back every year until his Russian contract is up. By then we’ll have a better idea. Anyone know how many more years on that contract?

Comment from mex
Time July 19, 2008 at 7:58 PM

is tom gonna post the webcast

Comment from mex
Time July 19, 2008 at 8:28 PM

is anybody gonna post anything today

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 19, 2008 at 10:32 PM

The game is already over, but, for Sundays game (it isn’t televised) the “webcast” is in the top left corner at NBA.com. I don’t know how to post that within the thread, but, one of you computer guys might. Since it isn’t a televised game, though, there may not be a webcast of that one.

Box score looks like Andray and Dominic again had good nights. I think NBAtv is televising the game at midnight. I have my dvr set.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 20, 2008 at 2:04 AM

oh, its late and just watched the game from tape delay at 12 am. Dom and blatche were awsome, dee brown had a sick tip in to send it to overtime and mcgee looked like a raw rookie.
I’ll talk more about it tomorrow. And i think the game is live on nba.com’s webcast at 8 pm eastern.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 20, 2008 at 2:07 AM

Also, do you have to have an account on nba.com to see the games or do they just play them on the screen.

Comment from neal
Time July 20, 2008 at 8:06 AM

The play of McGuire and Blatche is endangering Songaila’s minutes. If McGuire becomes Butler’s primary back-up Blatche will revert to his best position, PF. Songaila looks like the odd man out until Thomas gets hurt.

Someone tell me what time the game starts today.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2008 at 8:37 AM

You have to register (it’s free) to see the Webcasts, but they aren’t available once the game is over. I dvr’d the midnight replay and just watched the game this morning.

Hats off to Joey Dorsey who got a technical foul in street clothes at the end of the game, allowing us to take it into overtime — otherwise another loss.

Dominic was the best player on the floor by far. Nick had a few spaced out moments, and his shot wasn’t falling, but he played *a lot* better, and the shots he took were mostly all good ones. Andray dominated but turned the ball over a bit too much. Javale looked raw but very active, strong and agile.

Gary Forbes looks good a lot of the time, but when you look at the statline, he has turned it over and done some other bad things. I guess you have to expect it; this kid wasn’t drafted, after all. He has game, however.

Dee Brown had 6 rebounds and 1 assist — weird.

We dominated the boards against a smaller Houston team whose main rebounder, Joey Dorsey, didn’t dress.

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 20, 2008 at 11:48 AM

thanks tom, but when i tried to register, it wouldnt let me saying they were not able to do it at that time. And ive tried a couple more times and the same thing.

Comment from slwiz
Time July 20, 2008 at 2:18 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01og7N-rm_o

The final minutes of regular play with the “T” and Dee’s tip in.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2008 at 3:39 PM

Well, one more game, this afternoon at 6pm — and it’s not televised, alas, although at least it’s webcast. Timing is not very good for me, so I don’t know how much if any of it I’ll get to watch.

I suppose SportsWiz will put up a new item tomorrow — maybe we should be talking about what we think we saw and learned from Las Vegas.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 20, 2008 at 3:44 PM

Attention to all REDSKINS fan’s — There is a new site up. The OFFICIAL Redskins Blog, its much like this Wizards blog, only that is Redskins talk. — Click Here –

Comment from neal
Time July 20, 2008 at 3:52 PM

Thanks for telling us the time, Tom. I’ll likely watch it. I really hope McGuire and Blatche keep it up and Young has a good game to finish play with.

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 20, 2008 at 4:45 PM

JASON TAYLOR MAY BE A REDSKIN PRETTY SOON….Phillip Daniels went down with an ACL injury today on the 1st day of training camp. Really sad, and I wish the best for him. I think Snyder will have Taylor in Redskins training camp by tuesday.

Back to the Wiz Kids, hopefully Mcgee gets more minutes tonight against Robin Lopez. I’d love to see how he matches up against a guy that went a few picks in front of him.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2008 at 5:19 PM

Yes, it will be fun to watch Javale and Lopez — I hadn’t thought of that.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 5:49 PM

now we need someone to invent a digital webcast recorder

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:05 PM

game’s started == blatche on lopez

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:07 PM

Dominic has *definitely* raised his game a level. Nick has hit his only shot.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:09 PM

Dominic is off to a nice start. Also Dee Brown has actually hit his shot and has 2 assisst.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:10 PM

oops, that’s not Lopez — dang this screen window is small; ants play ball!

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:13 PM

OMG, nba.com wont let me register to watch. I’ll keep trying, but please give me CONSTANT UPDATES…lol

Comment from mex
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:28 PM

javale is 2 for 2 i think

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:37 PM

he’s scored atleast 3 times.

a dunk
an and 1
little turnaround jumper

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:38 PM

Dom looks real good again.

Elegar had 6 straight points, crashin offensive boards

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:42 PM

Nick just lost the ball tryin to do some kinda crazy dunk lol

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:54 PM

good game. I agree guys Dominic is going to be a real player this year.

Tom my bifocals are getting a real workout

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 6:57 PM

Gtown… where did Elegar play? I’ve never heard of him till the summer league

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:00 PM

nice to see Strawberry

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:00 PM

now that was sweet. Blatche to McGuire

Comment from neal
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:02 PM

This ain’t worth it. Why is it in B & W this time?

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:03 PM

Elegar? no idea…he’s played good though

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:03 PM

it isn’t really just almost lol

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:03 PM

he really has. in every game so far too

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:05 PM

the suns summer league team seems to be U of Md west?

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:07 PM

JASON TAYLOR HAS BEEN TRADED TO THE REDSKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:08 PM

man i this kills not to watch, i can only look at a boxscore

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:08 PM

ya the taylor thing is AWSOME

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:11 PM

I wonder why it doesn’t let you sign on WBM?

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:17 PM

congrats to the wiz for winning those last 2 games………… they’re beating phoenix right now…

>>>>>

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:23 PM

SKINS WILL KILL IN 08-09!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:30 PM

wats up with the wiz, my boxscore has them being outscored 16 to 2 in the 4th.

Comment from bassguy4
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:33 PM

Bad shooting and passing this quarter…..

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:36 PM

very sloppy ball by us in the 4th. Wes jr even has the starters in without much difference

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:37 PM

for someone who was supposed to tear summer league up… what the heck has happened to Nick?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:39 PM

2 shot clock violations in the last minute

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:40 PM

84 to 66 them with 1:39 to go

Comment from bassguy4
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:40 PM

Seriously what are they thinking with some of these high passes?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:41 PM

well Dee is proving he can shoot anyway

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:42 PM

88 to 69 end of game

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:43 PM

Dee and Dominic I thought looked good again

Comment from slwiz
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:44 PM

if I read the boxscore correctly, Dee was “high scorer” with 10?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 7:45 PM

Thanks guys. I’ll see ya later.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2008 at 9:14 PM

Well, we obviously went South in the 4th quarter, outscored 30-6. I didn’t get to see much after the first quarter.

Elegar went to Wake Forest.

Forbes found it impossible to put up numbers in the Summer League — he probably doesn’t translate into the NBA. He’ll make a living playing ball, tho, I’m pretty sure of that.

I’m sure we’ll all start talking through the SL experience tomorrow.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 20, 2008 at 9:54 PM

It was a good competetive ball game until the 4th. I have no idea why they just threw away the offense and played sandlot. A few minutes in Wes jr. even put the staters back in but it didn’t help much. Dominic played his third solid all around game in a row. His play is very encouraging. I’m not nearly as worried about the 3 as I was a week ago. I may be a little more worried than I was about the 2 though.

Comment from rgz
Time July 21, 2008 at 7:50 AM

I wasn’t able to watch the webcast last night. For some reason it was really jerky and kept stopping every 10 seconds. Maybe it’s my wireless router. Any way I just wanted to say I was wrong about Veremeenko, the guy can actually jump which I saw in the game against the Rockets. He took a few rebounds. Maybe I was disappointed in the first or was it the second game when he did an under the basket shot, but did not jump at all.

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2008 at 8:12 AM

Speaking of jumping, I’ve never seen a 7-footer jump like McGee. Most just reach their arms up and get on their toes. He needs time to work on his shots and time in the weight room. If a couple of these kids (Blatche, McGuire, Young, McGee, Pecherov) live up to their potential in time to play with the big three we’ll be really good.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 8:23 AM

We’ve talked some about Matt Barnes as a potential 15th guy, backing up the wing, who would be a good fit. He just signed w/ Phoenix for the veteran minimum (less than $1m in his case).

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 8:27 AM

McGuire is already taking steps — he is playing at a much higher level than he did last summer. I think Andray is as well, although he is still held back somewhat by conditioning. I don’t know whether that’s someting he can significantly change, or if it is just a fact of his body that he can’t develop sufficient lung capacity.

As to Pech and Young reaching their ‘potential,’ I don’t know how much potential they really have beyond what they’re showing.

McGee is another story — so far, he looks to have tremendous talent. And his frame would easily absorb another 20 lbs and hardly show it.

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 3:10 PM

um…… i know that this is completely irrelevant, but i just wanted to know what my fellow wiz fans thought of my logo for the OKC team……………..scan001001.jpg (910KB)

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 3:13 PM

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/Desktop/scan.jpg