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I'm still in favor of bringing in Nate McMillian. I thought he was unfairly fired in Portland, and he did a good job despite losing his two best players to injuries (Roy and Oden).

I think the coaching staff might be a bigger problem than EG.

B-easy wrote:I think the coaching staff might be a bigger problem than EG.

But the ownership issue has both of those trumped. Terd is a spin doctor of the highest order

payitforward wrote:Finally, if he were humble, he wouldn't have his son heading up "advanced analytics" or "advanced statistics" or whatever it is; he'd have someone with a resume in the field. Again, he think there's nothing to this stuff and that he's been stymied by *chance* rather than by his and his FO's ineptitude.

In my blog post, I didn't address his "Ph.Ds all over the place" line, but... I know they collect a lot of information. I know that a lot of the information they collect is good data. The issue is what they do with it. The essential part is not collecting data, it's having good analysts. Having information overload can be detrimental, especially if the decision-maker doesn't really understand what the information is saying. What can end up happening is that the decision-maker seizes on one particular piece of info -- one data point -- to the exclusion of others. And/or the decision-maker can end up going with his "gut" because there's some much "data" that he can't make sense of it.

I don't know if that's what's happening with Grunfeld. I do have a little experience doing data work with the front office, and I could very easily see this happening with their decision-making group because of their overall approach to numbers and statistical analysis.

Having lots of Ph.Ds around may be a good thing...if they're skilled at interpreting data, determining what it's actually saying, and then communicating it coherently and effectively. There are plenty of smart-as-hell Ph.Ds that struggle with that -- especially the communication part of it.

Nivek wrote:Over at the blog, I wrote this response to the Leonsis Q&A on WTOP.

It still makes me very sad when I think of the lineup this team could have put together this year:

PG Wall/Price
SG Harden/Crawford
SF Webster/Crowder
PF Anderson/Booker
C Nene/Seraphin/Haywood

It is amazingly gratifying that both the Caps and Wiz have the worst records in their respective leagues--well after tonight that'll be the case because it's incredibly unlikely the Wiz beat the Griz in Memphis. I don't know how this isn't gaining more traction locally or nationally. This is a relatively historic moment. I doubt a pro sports owner has ever had the worst professional team in two sports leagues before. For all the crap people pile on Snyder, Ted is a much worse owner.

It's just so frustrating. Ted was supposed to be the beacon of light. The guy who comes in and saves the team from the piss-poor management of the last regime.

If I were a conservative, I'd directly compare this to the current political process.

Upper Decker wrote:It is amazingly gratifying that both the Caps and Wiz have the worst records in their respective leagues--well after tonight that'll be the case because it's incredibly unlikely the Wiz beat the Griz in Memphis. I don't know how this isn't gaining more traction locally or nationally. This is a relatively historic moment. I doubt a pro sports owner has ever had the worst professional team in two sports leagues before. For all the crap people pile on Snyder, Ted is a much worse owner.

dont forget his mystics which may be the worst run sports franchise in sports history

Jay81 wrote:

Upper Decker wrote:It is amazingly gratifying that both the Caps and Wiz have the worst records in their respective leagues--well after tonight that'll be the case because it's incredibly unlikely the Wiz beat the Griz in Memphis. I don't know how this isn't gaining more traction locally or nationally. This is a relatively historic moment. I doubt a pro sports owner has ever had the worst professional team in two sports leagues before. For all the crap people pile on Snyder, Ted is a much worse owner.

dont forget his mystics which may be the worst run sports franchise in sports history

Almost forgot about them. Yup, they finished with the worst record in the WNBA last season, and in a 3-player Draft, somehow got the 4th overall pick. Good lord...

miller31time wrote:It's just so frustrating. Ted was supposed to be the beacon of light. The guy who comes in and saves the team from the piss-poor management of the last regime.

If I were a conservative, I'd directly compare this to the current political process.

miller - meet the new boss, same as the old boss (just younger and possibly more inept)

miller31time wrote:It's just so frustrating. Ted was supposed to be the beacon of light. The guy who comes in and saves the team from the piss-poor management of the last regime.

If I were a conservative, I'd directly compare this to the current political process.

You're on, Popper.

Ted talked a bunch of junk when his Caps were the "gold standard" franchise in D.C. Fast forward a few years and it's amazing how fast things have turned. The non owned Ted teams in D.C. are both looking great, while the Ted teams are the worst in their leagues.

Ted is 100% under the spell of Ernie Grunfeld, when Ted speaks, I hear Ernie whispering in his ear. Read Kevin"s excellent piece and you will be convinced that the Wizards franchise is doomed with Dum & Dummer in-charge.
http://broomonthewarpath.sportsblog.com ... zards.html

Higga wrote:Ted talked a bunch of junk when his Caps were the "gold standard" franchise in D.C. Fast forward a few years and it's amazing how fast things have turned. The non owned Ted teams in D.C. are both looking great, while the Ted teams are the worst in their leagues.

Shows that if you aren't getting better, you're getting worse.

Nivek wrote:Over at the blog, I wrote this response to the Leonsis Q&A on WTOP.

A quote from Ted Leonsis taken from Kevin's blog:

"And the fans, they're bottom-line oriented. They want you to win."

While I agree that fans want to win, I disagree with the notion that they are bottom lined oriented. If that were the case, no one would ever be a Wizards' fan.

An executive for the Los Angeles Clippers is alleged to once have said "teams sell one of two things: success or hope". Right now, the Wizards are selling neither. That is the problem with the injury excuse. The Wizards problems run deeper than injuries, and for us as fans to have hope that success is around the corner, we need to have faith that the Wizards' front office understand that the problems run deeper than injuries, and are taking steps to correct those problems.

Ted's latest post is about injuries. Same old excuses...

The problem with his excuse is Nene had injuries with Denver.

Ted got suckered IMO by Denver's GM. They waited right up to the trade deadline to make the deal with EG and Ted. Denver had "buyer's remorse". The only reason they would re-sign Nene and trade him so quickly is that the guy stays hurt. Nene began experiencing foot problems months before he became a Wizard, but after he signed the deal with Denver. Ted using injuries as an excuse does not seem to be able to reconcile that he acquired that likelihood.

Ted acquired Okafor as Emeka was coming off his worst season ever, many missed games, and downward career production numbers. That gamble is paying off some, as Okafor is putting up better numbers than he has in years. In this case a player is NOT injured.

Beal's injury should not derail a team with him being 19 years old.

Emeka is also a high-injury risk threat. He's playing great now, but he's had a bad back since college. He can go down any time.

Illuminaire wrote:Emeka is also a high-injury risk threat. He's playing great now, but he's had a bad back since college. He can go down any time.

If Okafor played out the two years here at the level he's playing right now, and Nene played at the level he was playing when he got here and earlier this season for most of his contract, and neither suffered appreciable lost time due to injuries, Terd and Ernie would deserve credit for taking a risk and winning. The moves might have hindered maneuverability, but the players came through.

For now, I'll give them credit for Okafor, because he's more than I expected, but they want credit for Okafor without accountability for Nene being injured. He arrived injured, he'd lost time to injury last season with Denver, prior to the trade, he's lost significant time to injury in prior seasons, and he despite that, he was allowed to play in the Olympics. Nene's health issues didn't just fall from the sky. That's on Terd and Ernie.

That's a fair statement, Monte. I agree. They can have credit for Okafor - IF they take proper responsibility for Nene. But they can't have on without the other.