Ji may have been right -- sort of.

[fishercob]

As a fan, I can't stomach rooting for my team's players to get hurt. I also have a tough time rooting for them to lose.

However, the "Ji Plan" may end up helping the Wizards in the long run. That plan, whereby injuries force the Wiz to essentially tank a season to get a high lotto pick, seems to already be in motion. The writing seems to be on the wall that -- without Haywood and a fully healthy Arenas -- the Wiz are going to stink.

But that high lotto pick, in addition to some marketable players and contracts, could make the Wiz big-time players in the offseason. Remember that it was just last summer that the Celtics traded expiring contracts and young talent for KG, and a the right to Jeff Green and some salary relief for Ray Allen.

We have other thread's where we can map out all the potential transactions, but the point is that the Wiz may relatively well positioned. They use this year to develop and showcase their young guys -- and lose a lot of games -- while making sure that Gilbert doesn't come back until his knee is 110% (after the team is well out of -- a la Brand and J O'neal last year).

The key will be whether or not Abe will allow Ernie to make these huge moves (possibly trading Jamison) and potentially paying the tax. But I think the ingredients are there for a big summer. In the meantime, I'll dream about the good things lie ahead.

[go'stags]

EG has never had a problem making a Big move. Now he has the pieces to make a trade. A host of young talent, a high lottery pick, expiring contracts, decent to good veterans to make a good team better, and a pick from memhpis that could very well be realized in the next year or so. Not to mention the MLE if we can trade Songailia and/or Stevenson.