Stop Going to Games -- Crawford for Nothing Protest Rant

[jivelikenice]

I'm going tonight....I love my bball and want to see the young backcourt grow. This protest nonsense doesn't work. Losing Jordan Crawford, who I wasn't a fan of and didn't have any value around the league isn't going to break me....LOL His greatest value was to this team. If he wasn't going to accept a 6th man type role and play behind Beal, it was good to get him out. You don't want destructive forces around your yr 19 yr old building blocks. We have our upcoming lotto pick, we have the ability to take on salary in a deal because Beal is on his rookie deal, and we have two big expirings. I'm giving it one more yr. If they re-boot again (i.e. trade Wall & tank the next couple of yrs), I'll reconsider.

[Illuminaire]

As I posted yesterday in the Random Thoughts thread yesterday, I'm going one step further CCJ. I've officially broken up with the Wizards. If they want me back as a fan, they'll need to prove that they've made a real change on the inside.

Firing EG and hiring someone with a clue would be a solid first step.

Dear Former Team,

Washington Wizards, you were fun for a while. We had some really good years. I mean, I always suspected that you weren't as into us as I was... I was always looking to make a long term commitment, and you were always trying to shave salary or trade away our best young players. Still, I will always remember how you looked when Gilbert was draining threes and making swag an everyday word. Those were special times.

Part of me will always love you. I know that. But I also know that you're just no good for me anymore. You don't care about me the way I used to care about you, and you don't want to change. You're happy being the laughingstock of the NBA... and I'm not.

I can do better than you, Wizards. I always could. I stuck by you when I thought you could change, when I thought you could BE the team I wanted you to be. But I know better now. You're no good for me, and I'm done with that.

We'll still be friends. I'll watch Beal and Wall. Hell, I'll finally be able to enjoy it when the team wins games it shouldn't, pushing them away from a draft pick they desperately need to actually be relevant. I'll be able to appreciate what's good about you when I don't have to care about the bad.

One last thing - thank you. Without the torment of living with such a screwed up team, I never would have found such an amazing community of people to share my pain with. I'm going to keep on with them. In a very real way, they've become more important to me than the team that brought us together in the first place.

See you later, Wizards. I'm sure you'll find some other fan to fill my place. As for me, I'll be playing the field. I have a date with the Spurs tonight, and maybe the Rockets later in the week... I've always wanted to spend time with a smart franchise... not that you would know anything about that, right?

- Sincerely,

[jivelikenice]

Let me clarify, I do think the organization screwed up here. The screw up was not getting rid of Jordan sooner. I wrote Ted after the deadline last year and told him one knucklehead was left. He tried to defend Jordan and said I read to much into some of his comments but anyone with common sense could have seen this coming for a long time. Jordan, while more efficient now than before, is a ball stopper who doesn't make those around him better and is terrible on D. He's also too smal to play the 3, so I don't get how they ever envisioned this 3 guard lineup working considering none of them could share the court together. Did anyone think that Jordan would accept being a 19 yr olds backup? The FO should have identified these issues up front and moved in on draft day or in this past offseason.

[pancakes3]

I think one of Whitman's greatest shortcomings is not motivating Crawford to become a more judicious shooter. Crawford is a ball of talent, no doubt. However, his ego and decisionmaking is severely lacking. I think with the proper coaching, he would have made for a 6th man candidate.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Let me clarify, I do think the organization screwed up here. The screw up was not getting rid of Jordan sooner. I wrote Ted after the deadline last year and told him one knucklehead was left. He tried to defend Jordan and said I read to much into some of his comments but anyone with common sense could have seen this coming for a long time. Jordan, while more efficient now than before, is a ball stopper who doesn't make those around him better and is terrible on D. He's also too smal to play the 3, so I don't get how they ever envisioned this 3 guard lineup working considering none of them could share the court together. Did anyone think that Jordan would accept being a 19 yr olds backup? The FO should have identified these issues up front and moved in on draft day or in this past offseason.

+1

When the Wizards drafted Beal it was obvious they were heading in a different direction. What they did was raise Jordan's numbers and his game early this season. However, instead of getting something for him when they might have (when Wall returned), they got nothing in a forced move just to get rid of Crawford (at the deadline).

This GM and owner are losers who always come out on the short end of trades. This went the way their deals go.

[miller31time]

Way ahead of you, CCJ. I haven't gone to a Wizards game this season and will not attend one until Ernie is fired.

Normally, I go to 5 games a year minimum.

[Halcyon]

Ted is really the problem. Ernie staying for so long is just a symptom of that ineptitude and cluelessness that starts from the very top. Ernie isn't the best GM, but Ted really needs to look at himself in the mirror and realize that something has to change ACROSS THE BOARD. It's no coincidence that all his teams are bottom feeders now.

[bgroban]

Ted is the boss. He makes the final decisions. And if he leaves the final decisions to Ernie, it is still on Ted.

[AFM]

Anyone down for a RealGM group buy?


We ca all go to the Wiz games and wear these on camera

[Wizards2Lottery]

I have boycotted games on TV as well. Primarily because I've been busy but I've had time where I could have watched games. But I chose to do better things like vacuuming the apartment.

A middle finder to Ted Leonsis and his butt buddy Ernie Grunfeld.

[bgroban]

http://tedstake.monumentalnetwork.com/w ... /index.jsp

Today's Ted's Take. Sounds like it was written by Ernie himself.

[pancakes3]

I haven't actively boycotted but more or less subconsciously I tune out. This board is my only wizards interaction. My friends all only talk college ball or Caps. The only NBA that I seek out are Houston Rockets highlights and schadenfreud in the Lakers circus season.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Ted is the boss. He makes the final decisions. And if he leaves the final decisions to Ernie, it is still on Ted.

On the general board I started a thread that asks, "Can the League Force Ted Leonsis to Sell?"

I hope just one person who has media exposure, like Bill Simmons, sees that. Ted really is the worst professional sports owner (I included your rankings post, bgroban, in my post). Ernie Grunfeld is hands down the worst GM in the NBA.

I wish both were not a part of the Washington basketball franchise.

[queridiculo]

Oh Lord a coup d'etat over Jordan Crawford. The only thing I have left to say is best expressed in face palms.

[Illuminaire]

Ted thinks that this trade created roster flexibility.

What is this even... wh... TROLOLOLOL. The joke, as always, is on the fans.