Washington Wizards Blog

UPDATE: SportzWiz checking in… Just wanted to let you know Ernie Grunfeld will be speaking with the media live at 2pm regarding the 2009 NBA draft. You can watch the press conference on WashingtonWizards.com and we will provide a link prior to the press conference.

7:01 AM EDT…Dave Johnson checking in…remember I will be inside the Draft Room Thursday night blogging live….wish I could be at the ESPN Zone BLOG Party…a couple of comments from yesterday say it all…
Comment from ta1ent
Time June 22, 2009 at 3:54 PM
I love this blog! How do u all know so much? Does everyone on here work for the wizards?
That’s a tip of the hat to the knowledge of our BLOG group and also as one of our veteran BLOGGERS put it…

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time June 22, 2009 at 10:46 PM

I love this time of year. So many interesting rumors. So many things we could do at our spot.

Just got my NBA daily in my e-mail..thought this was an interesting comment
Blake Griffin heads a power forward class that is the second-best position group in the draft, behind point guard. There is size, strength, versatility, potential, strong work ethic and class throughout..
Jordan Hill who worked out last week is ranked just behind Griffin….check back later on..and keep those comments coming…

5:32 AM EDT….A big hello from your humble BLOGCASTER Dave Johnson  and from my partner Glen Consor as we get set for Thursday’s draft…Once again we will take you inside the DRAFT ROOM… I will be blogging in the room with SportsWiz as the draft goes down….we have had a lot of fun the last three years and I hope you help spread the word that this will be the place to really know what is happening…..Obviously we will not be giving out information that would compromise the team but we have been able to get a real indication of what is going on—and we have been able to get reaction from President Ernie Grunfeld and his others.

As for the question about the who the Wizards will take—just don’t know…..I think there are too many variables and yes I think a trade is possible but the pick will not just be given away….With Flip Saunders last week and he told a great story about Kevin Garnett with the fifth pick in what was supposed to be a four player draft…I don’t see the next Garnett out there but it is what makes the draft fun–just never know who we will be talking about in a few years….on the subject of Saunders–did says he has been pleased with the off season workouts of the current players especiallyAndray Blatche…..

On today’s workout schedule:

UPDATE: A few small changes to the workout schedule today. Below are the five participants.

Tyrese Rice G Boston College Chesterfield, VA 6’0”/183 lbs.
Nick Calathes G Florida Winter Park, FL 6’5”/185 lbs.
Sergii Gladyr G Ukraine Mykolayiv, Ukraine 6’6”/190 lbs.
Ryan Ayers SG/SF Notre Dame Blue Bell, PA 6’7”/210 lbs.
Alex Ruoff SG West Virginia Spring Hill, FLA 6′6″/220 lbs

The Washington Wizards will conduct pre-draft workouts on Monday, June 22nd at 11:00 am at Verizon Center. Tomorrow’s workout will be the final pre-draft workout with media availability prior to Thursday’s NBA Draft. The following players are currently scheduled to participate in tomorrow’s workout:

Tyrese Rice G Boston College Chesterfield, VA 6’0”/183 lbs.
Nick Calathes G Florida Winter Park, FL 6’5”/185 lbs.
Sergii Gladyr G Ukraine Mykolayiv, Ukraine 6’6”/190 lbs.
Juwann James SF James Madison Jacksonville, FL 6’6”/225 lbs.
Ryan Ayers SG/SF Notre Dame Blue Bell, PA 6’7”/210 lbs.
Lawrence Hill SF Stanford Glendale, AZ 6’8”/220 lbs

The Washington Wizards conducted pre-draft workouts on Thursday, June 18th at 11:30 am at Verizon Center. Jordan Hill (Arizona) was the lone participant in the workout.

Jordan Hill F Arizona Atlanta, GA 6’10”/235 lbs.
* Averaged 18.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game last season as a junior at Arizona
* Tallied 15.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game during Arizona’s 2009 NCAA Tournament run to the Sweet Sixteen

SportzWiz checking in…Great draft/player development discussion yesterday on the blog. The draft is now just a week from tomorrow and here is a quick rundown of several mock drafts from around the net.

Also as a reminder to all, Dave Johnson will be blogging live from the Wizards Draft Room in Verizon Center and will be in the room with Ernie Grunfeld and the rest of the Wizards front office. So make sure to mark your calendars if you haven’t already and join us on the blog on June 25th at 7pm for the 2009 NBA Draft.

ESPN – James Harden
REALGm – Jordan Hill
DraftExpress – Stephen Curry
NBADraft.net – Jordan Hill
Hoops World- James Harden
Basketball Rundown- James Harden
The Inside Scoop-Tyreke Evans
DC Pro Sports Report- James Harden
Flagrant Fouls- Jordan Hill
Court Visionaries- Hasheem Thabeet
College Hoops Update- James Harden
College Hoops Net- Jordan Hill
Hoops Addict- James Harden
NBA Draft Depot- Stephen Curry
DRAFTTEK- Stephen Curry
MY NBA Draft- Jordan Hill
Draft Empire- James Harden
Sports2Debate- James Harden
NBA Draft Press- Stephen Curry
The Hoops Report- James Harden
NBA Draft Guru- Stephen Curry
NBA-Draft.com- James Harden