The Amazingly Suck Theodore Leonsis Thread

[Black Eyed Sooz]

To figure out whose fault this mess is, I think you have to look at the example of Andray Blatche. Over the past year, the guy has been embarrassingly out of shape, selfish on and off the court to the point of getting in fights with teammates and throwing the coach under the bus after the first game publicly, and routinely puts together these 2 for 11, 4-15 from the field abominations while being taken apart on D and on the boards. Obviously it's on Dray that he hasn't worked to improve his game. But no one is sticking a gun to anyone's head (at least this year) and making the WIzards reward him with playing time- yet the guy continued to start and play 30+ minutes a game as if he were some indispensible rock star whose foibles you just have to swallow-until his shoulder gave out, anyway.

The point is, this is where sense of entitlement is either created or broken, and whoever puts him in the game (Flip) for that many minutes, and whoever signed him to an extension to be on this roster (Grunfeld) are both to blame for this.

But ultimately, the guy that has to take responsibility is, of course, the owner. Ted has to understand that there are times that your job as the boss is to fire people- and this is one of them. Get a GM that will ship Blatche outta here- and maybe get us a couple of shooters while they're at it. And if they can't trade him right away, get a coach that will sit him as long as he is out of shape and not playing the right way and otherwise being poison.

Again, if Ted has any intention of keeping John Wall and helping him reach his potential, it has to be done.

[jivelikenice]

What I want to know is what is the overriding philosophy of this team? I've only heard two things:
1. Building through the draft
2. Cap flexibility

Sorry, that's not enough. Are we going to build around defense, offense....Do we we want to run or play half court? What are the answers?

Are we a defensive team?- No....You can't be when you re-sign Dray and play him 30 minutes a night. You also can't be with a coach like Flip who is not known for his defensive approach.

Are we an offensive team?- No....You can't be if you have no shooters or consistent half court scorers

Can we run? No...Wall can but who could on the opening day starting lineup?

Are we a halfcourt team? No...We look lost & disorganized in half court sets

All I can tell is they like drafting athlets who theoretically can run with Wall. You can't run though if you don't play D and these guys struggle in the halfcourt because with their terrible shooting, teams don't have to play up and it marginalize any athletic advantage we may have. Teams aren't playing up on Wall so when he makes his change of direction move he's going into a defender who's waiting for him.

The bottom line is there is not overriding philosophy except for collect as many young players as we can, throw them out there, and then its sink or swim. That;s pathetic and goes back to ownership. Ted has to make Ernie choose an identity and build towards it.

[jivelikenice]

To figure out whose fault this mess is, I think you have to look at the example of Andray Blatche. Over the past year, the guy has been embarrassingly out of shape, selfish on and off the court to the point of getting in fights with teammates and throwing the coach under the bus after the first game publicly, and routinely puts together these 2 for 11, 4-15 from the field abominations while being taken apart on D and on the boards. Obviously it's on Dray that he hasn't worked to improve his game. But no one is sticking a gun to anyone's head (at least this year) and making the WIzards reward him with playing time- yet the guy continued to start and play 30+ minutes a game as if he were some indispensible rock star whose foibles you just have to swallow-until his shoulder gave out, anyway.

The point is, this is where sense of entitlement is either created or broken, and whoever puts him in the game (Flip) for that many minutes, and whoever signed him to an extension to be on this roster (Grunfeld) are both to blame for this.

But ultimately, the guy that has to take responsibility is, of course, the owner. Ted has to understand that there are times that your job as the boss is to fire people- and this is one of them. Get a GM that will ship Blatche outta here- and maybe get us a couple of shooters while they're at it. And if they can't trade him right away, get a coach that will sit him as long as he is out of shape and not playing the right way and otherwise being poison.

Again, if Ted has any intention of keeping John Wall and helping him reach his potential, it has to be done.

he


I found the whole team meeting thing hilarious and it really wouldn't surprise me if it came from Flip. Flip hates confrontation though which is why he had his vets organize this. Its just funny that he created an environment that fosters to entitlement, then complains about it.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

CCJ, I agree with you that someone has to be held responsible for this mess. Where we disagree is who we think shares most of the blame. I tend to place more of the blame on the guys who actually play the game, and you tend to place the primary blame on the guys that dont.

Flip is basically doing everything you have wanted him to do at this point. He is playing McGee big minutes and not yanking him for every mistake. He is playing the young guys over veterans. He is giving Mack minutes and giving Serpahin minutes. He is playing the entire roster. Yet, its still Flip's fault.

People now blame Flip for the players tuning him out. Well, you know what, I blame the players. I blame the players for tuning out a coach that encourages them to SHARE THE BALL, I blame the players for TAKING DUMB SHOTS WHEN THEIR COACH TELLS THEM NOT TO, I blame the players SULKING AND GETTING DOWN ON THEMSELVES WHEN THE COACH TELLS THEM NOT TO, I blame the players for HAVING A PROBLEM PLAYING WITH ENERGY WHEN THEY ARE 1-10 AND THE LAUGHINGSTOCK OF THE NBA, and I BLAME THE PLAYERS WHEN THEY COME INTO CAMP OUT OF SHAPE (BLATCHE) OR HAVEN'T IMPROVED THEIR JUMP SHOT (WALL).

While I think the talent on this roster sucks, I do think that these players are capable of playing better than they have. I just happen to think that if they would listen to their coach, they would. Its not rocket science that they would play better if they were less selfish and moved the ball. The players have acknowledged that to the press. If players really cared about winning, as opposed to individual stats and glory, they would do it. But, they dont. I blame them.


I want change to. I want new players who care about winning.

If I had a crystal ball and knew other players would improve as McGee has, I'd say keep Flip.

As I'm listening to the Wizards game, the Wizards are rallying 88-98. There's only a minute left but I like the way this game has ended. They were down quite a bit, but it seemed like Wall started playing with more confidence at the end.

dandridge, at this point the season's pretty much a lost cause. The team played harder at the end, but you can't teach experience.

Where we agree is some players really cannot play on this team. The challenge is to weed out the guys who are not keepers. McGee is playing so well now that I have to confess and recall that I am the one who said Flip was ruining Javale.

dandridge, right now I just don't have a strong opinion. I am listening to what you're saying. I just don't know. When Flip loses playiing young guys, I can't get mad at him for that.

I just hope Wall can get it going and the Wizards can help him out with a solid G relieving him.

[dandridge 10]

I hear ya CCJ, I hope all the things you hope. Most of all, I hope that next year we get another solid draft pick and a good FA or two, that McGee, Wall, Singleton, and Vesely continue to improve, and that we finally have something around here that we can be proud of, regardless of whether Flip or EG are here or not.

[DallasShalDune]

EG and Leonsis want to emphasize toughness and D. That is why they drafted Booker and Singleton. Now our offense is putrid and they haven't dealt with that issue, and for that they've failed so far.

But I think they do have an idea what they want this team to look like. We just need a star PF and more talent across the board. But I emphasize PF!!!

[FAH1223]

i would extend JaVale

[Induveca]

http://www.tedstake.com/2012/01/14/coaching-carousel/

Interesting post from Leonsis today about him not opposed to firing coaches. Says pro coaches are "hired to be fired" etc etc.....

Quite obvious he's speaking indirectly to us Wiz fans under yhe guise of hockey, and prepping the organization for a change.

Sounds like to me if our next game is a blowout, pack your bags Flip!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Oh yeah, that wasn't even all that subtle, Induveca!

[Donkey McDonkerton]

I agree, I read it and thought....this is so obvious... I love it.

[closg00]

http://www.tedstake.com/2012/01/14/coaching-carousel/

Interesting post from Leonsis today about him not opposed to firing coaches. Says pro coaches are "hired to be fired" etc etc.....

Quite obvious he's speaking indirectly to us Wiz fans under yhe guise of hockey, and prepping the organization for a change.

Sounds like to me if our next game is a blowout, pack your bags Flip!

Just wait-and-see, so-farTed has out-done the master of spin himself, Ernie Grunfeld.

[nate33]

i would extend JaVale

Easier said than done.

I seriously doubt McGee is interested in signing any extension for anything less than the max, or near-max salary. If I were McGee, I'd demand an extension starting at $12M a year, no less. And if I'm EG, I wouldn't commit to signing him to that much right now. Why take on the risk that he'll get hurt or regress this season? The worst case scenario is that someone else maxes out McGee and we're forced to match a contract starting at $14M, and chances are the best contract offer will be somewhat less than that.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Mike Lee wrote a very unflattering story about Javale's "unacceptable" dunk in the WP.

Flip benched McGee the rest of the game, in what I think was an overreaction. No benching of Blatche or Wall for the technical fouls called against them. No benching for forced shots and poor defensive rotations. But Flip did leave McGee on the bench the rest of the game even though he had 8/10/3 blocks in 22 minutes.

Saunders needs to go. Local media can pander forever to the coaching staff and they can hate on the players, but the biggest disappointment has gone 26-56, 23-59, and now 1-12.

Might not be a bad time to throw 10Mil per at McGee, but he IMO shouldn't take it. McGee's best play would be to leave DC for a better franchise, if guys like Saunders and Grunfeld and he current coaching staff remain.

[Nivek]

I would take my time trying to re-sign McGee. I like what some of what I see when I watch the game -- there are signs of progress. BUT, his offensive efficiency is in the toilet (98 points produced per 100 possessions) and the numbers at Synergy say he's the team's worst man defender. There are signs of progress, but he still has a ways to go.

[nate33]

Might not be a bad time to throw 10Mil per at McGee, but he IMO shouldn't take it. McGee's best play would be to leave DC for a better franchise, if guys like Saunders and Grunfeld and he current coaching staff remain.

I wouldn't be so sure. That argument has been thrown about for every Wizards player looking to play elsewhere, and it has proven false every time.

Did Jamison play better when he left? Did Caron Butler? Haywood? Hinrich? Mike Miller? Going back a while, did Jared Jeffries? Larry Hughes? Antonio Daniels?

[keynote]

^
Good point. You gotta go back to Rip to find the last ex-Wizards player who greatly improved after leaving DC. Rip added three point range and improved his defense (although playing in front of Tayshaun, Sheed and Ben didn't hurt any).

[closg00]

Why is that Wash Wizard defense has been so-horrible through multiple line-up changes and coaches? Even after an influx of guys who were selected for their toughness/defense? Who should get he blame?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Might not be a bad time to throw 10Mil per at McGee, but he IMO shouldn't take it. McGee's best play would be to leave DC for a better franchise, if guys like Saunders and Grunfeld and the current coaching staff remain.

I wouldn't be so sure. That argument has been thrown about for every Wizards player looking to play elsewhere, and it has proven false every time.

Did Jamison play better when he left? Did Caron Butler? Haywood? Hinrich? Mike Miller? Going back a while, did Jared Jeffries? Larry Hughes? Antonio Daniels?

I wasn't saying McGee would play better elsewhere. I said his best play as in his best move regarding how Javale handles free agency would be to go elsewhere, to a better franchise.

Darn near 100% of former Wizard players are better off on teams other than the Wizards.

Ask any of the players who left he Wizards if they aren't better off. All of the ones not matched got more money elsewhere. Hughes bombed in Cleveland, but he was the highest paid player on a team that went to the NBA Finals. Rip, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed got championship rings. Butler, Haywood, and Stevenson all have championship rings. Butler is now on the LA Clippers, soon to be LAs best team, and they've beat the Lakers already once. Randy Foye is a sub who starts when Chris Paul is out for the Clips. Haywood is starting for Dallas. Stevenson earned yet another contract, this time with New Jersey. Larry Hughes got Gil's old spot in Orlando because Otis Smith liked him at Golden State. He's still doing better than if he were a Wizard. Mike Miller will get a ring if the Heat win a championship. It is far better for Miller to languish injured on the Heat roster than be injured for the Wizards. Jared Jeffries isn't hated in New York. He went to New York when Isiah Thomas was coaching. Then he went to Houston. Now he's back in New York--proving he's doing fine not being a Wizard. Dominic McGuire played for the Bobcats and he gets good minutes now in Golden State. Kwame is still ripping teams off for money, no worse off having left the Wizards.

About the only guy not better of was Gilbert Arenas, and that's because the Wizards management made sure to get Gil an arrest record and the worst possible reputation the guy could have. Sure, Arenas is done as a player; but my point is he would have been better off outside of Washington, too.

McGee IMO should leave the Wizards. Saunders with his TERRIBLE coaching record, and fans who don't appreciate Javale need to see McGee leave. Javale's career would be better most likely elsewhere. He's got the reputation here of being an imbecile. He will IMO do better practically anywhere even if he's very much the same player.

Leave the Wizards and no longer be considered a knuckle head is the advice I would give Nick Young, Javale McGee, and Andray Blatche. Does not matter if they've all had immature moments as a Wizard. None of those guys would have been called names or thrown under the bus by a better Wizards coach who had a better record: Eddie Jordan. Flip Saunders is so good at deflecting criticism and surviving on his reputation that I for one have had it with him after he taught Javale McGee a lesson.

McGee did a number of things wrong in the game but the idea of not putting him back in the rest of the game, and yet again exposing a player to national media negativity sucks for me. Mike Lee may be a hack and a Mike Wilbon wannabe, but the reason for the negativity in DC is the organization and this terrible coach.

[Ruzious]

CCJ, whether you like the folks running the Wiz or not, Javale McGee is ENTIRELY responsibe for his reputation. He looks like an imbecile, because he IS an imbecile. The Wiz are a lousy franchise in large part because they have relied on McGee, Blatche, and Young to be the core of the team. They are what they are - not because of anything the Wiz organization has done. Generally, for a human been to change, they have to undergo a traumatic experience. And they're all probably too laid back to have an experience like that.

[Nivek]

Why is that Wash Wizard defense has been so-horrible through multiple line-up changes and coaches? Even after an influx of guys who were selected for their toughness/defense? Who should get he blame?

Back when I was tracking defense, I talked with frigging everybody about defense. Coaches, players, front office guys, stat goobers, scouts, former players. Here's the essence of what they said. Defense is a combination of:

- scheme
- teamwork
- effort

One of my favorite interviews was with Rick Carlisle when he was still in Detroit. I've told this story before, but here goes -- I asked why Rip Hamilton was a terrible defender in DC, but was decent in Detroit. Carlisle said, "Anyone can be a good defender in our system if he follows our rules and plays with effort."

Going back to the three items above. Flip's defensive schemes have been decent in the past, though he's never been lauded as a great defensive coach. Pretty standard stuff for the most part, albeit some over-reliance in the past on zones. Scheme is probably C+/B- range.

Teamwork...big issue here. Working together cohesively is critical for defending screen/roll, for rotating properly, for help D -- for just about everything that goes into defending well in the NBA. And the Wizards suck at the teamwork thing right now. Part of that is the team's youth. And that they've only been together as a group in these roles for a short time. Some of that could go on the coaches, though I suspect they're not teaching anything out of the ordinary.

And effort -- another issue. Not with everyone, but with some of the guys who play significant minutes. And, effort doesn't apply strictly to on-court stuff. It also applies to preparation -- film study, internalizing the scouting report, paying attention in practice.