RealGM

EDIT: I changed the title to allow for all types of wallowing, not just irrational rants. -Key.

Perhaps this way, the person-specific "sucky" threads and game threads stay focused.

Anyway:


I don't like rooting for this team. The games aren't fun to watch. I call up my dad after losses, and we end up bickering with each other over nonsense. I convinced my girlfriend to start rooting for the Wizards; she's starting to rethink her decision.

I've been made fun of for rooting for the Wizards for almost my entire life - and I grew up in Maryland. I remember going to high school in Takoma Park, MD during the late 80s/early 90s and getting teased for wearing a Bullets hat.

I hated that my team wasn't good or popular enough to be on those "Lakers vs. Celtics" video games from back in the day.

I feel like the team has had more fat guys pass through the roster than any other team in the league.

I've long nurtured a deep-seated hatred for Michael Jordan (LeBradford Smith! Never Forget!), and I had to watch in horror as he treated my favorite team like a trophy girlfriend during a midlife crisis, while everyone else around me (including my otherwise sensible father) fawned all over him.

I've defended Arenas in more arguments than I can count. But now - I have no retort.

I hate the logo. I'm not living in the past - I don't expect the team to go back to the Bullets - but I hate the logo.

When we start Stevenson, we field arguably the least athletic starting 5 in the league. We give up height at the 2, 3, and 4 most nights, but we don't make up for it with superior speed.

Sigh. Augh. Sigh.


Rats.

This team is a bigger disappointment than the freaking Redskins. That should tell you everything.

It is close, but I think they may have the Redskins beat in terms of finding creative ways to lose. What makes them so annoying is they don't flat out suck the way they did last year. They have the talent to play the good teams close. Yet they also have the inconsistency to let bad teams beat them.

I'll keep a stiff upper lip in the other threads.

But in here: It's time to break out the Sade.

I'm the King of Sorrow.

I try not to think too hard about it, but odds are pretty good that we're stuck with Arenas for most, if not all, of his contract. Even at his absolute prime, it's questionable whether he deserved the money he got. As he is now, he's probably worth a third of that. Even if he improves as the season moves along, say to 80% of his prime, he's still not worth more than maybe half. I really truly do worry that a few years from now, he's going to be looked at around the league as just another Francis or Marbury, a guy with a fat contract who puts up some first-glance-decent numbers but doesn't help the team win and few if any want to touch.

Ed Wood wrote:Don't wanna be breakin' the tables.

They are a freaking unwatchable 4th quarter team. Last night, it was also the last few minutes of the 3rd quarter. When they had the 17 point lead, Gil started turning the ball over - completely unforced. I pretty much new right then they were going to give up the 17 point lead. Then they took him out and had no scorers in the game - other than Jamison. The lead kept shrinking, and by then they were in free fall mode. If this keeps up another few games, blow it all up. Blow it all freaking up. Gil is lost, and the whole team feeds off of him. How can that happen with the most cocky PG ever - Sam Cassell - mentoring him?

in the trade thread, barelyawake wrote:Blowup this team and bring in a new culture. I've said a million times, the first step would be to get us a leader -- a vet who is tough and has been to (or close to -- at least in college) the show. It doesn't matter how he produces now. What matters is he is in place to help develop Blatche, Java and a Favors or whomever we draft. Get me a guy who will lead a team for the next three years (as youth develop). That's step one in rebuilding. Get me a PJ Brown type who hates to lose. To me, the closest I can think of is Shane. Too bad there isn't someone else who commands immediate respect (for instance, Shaq).

Now, hang on him a few pieces that have out of this world potential (Wall, Favors, etc). Keep adding TOUGH vets who have been to the show and have won something (Kurt Thomas types, AD types), until your youth have learned how to play (forget about winning, just get them to understand what it takes to win). Develop a culture of defense. Trade all players who show an ounce of not giving 100%. There is no teaching toughness.

We should get one good young player and one Shanetype out of our big three. Then, draft Favors or Wall. And we shouldn't shoot for the playoffs without two young players in place -- a big and a small (both of whom are leaders). So, keep adding tough, older players to help develop our youth as we build (don't sign guys just to get us into the playoffs). That's how I build a real contender. It starts by trading now and tanking for this great draft coming up.

Pre-java rambling perhaps... But, that's what I've wanted us to do for close to a decade. We kept missing step friggin one -- get a tough, vet leader.

Barely and I butted heads pretty hard over the summer about the direction of the team, and through 22 games it's pretty clear that he, Dat, closg, etc., have been right.

Mea culpa.

When I look at the league's elite right now I see a couple of different things -- LA, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, San Antonio (even though SA's record isnt elite, their 4 titles are). All those teams have a common thread -- a two-way superstar who sets the tone at both ends of the floor and behind whom everyone else falls in line.

Then there's another group: Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix. They're more "team" and less "superstar" oriented. They all are great in either offense or defense, and good in the other (except PHX who is 27th in D).

Gilbert Arenas, god love him, is never going to be a great two way player. He doesn't give a rat's ass about defense, and I don't think he ever will. Miller31time and dandridge10 have pointed this out for some time. That being the case, CCJ was right -- the contract for Gil was a big mistake. You just can't pay first tier superstar money to a guy who doesn't play both ends of the floor and who doesn't provide any leadership or emotional tone-setting. Lebron, KG, Duncan, Kobe, etc simply do not their teammates to take nights off. Gil can't and won't ever be that guy.

So knowing that, what do we do? Do we try to become one of the "A" or "B" group? I think barely's plan above presupposes the ability to figuratively hit the lotto. That said, I agree that we need some emotional tonesetters in here to change the feel of things fast. Maybe all three of the mislabled "Big 3" need to go. Maybe only two or one.

The point is that Ernie worked toward a vision and it didn't materialize. It's looking increasingly likely that the worst will come true -- that we'll have traded the #5 pick in the draft for one-year rentals or that it'll cost us Haywood. If that's the case (and by the way, I've held this all along even though I'm sure some here will paint be as unabashed Ernie defender) the Grunfeld needs to go.

If we're going to suck, I'd rather suck with Ricky RUbio developing overseas or Curry or Jennings or Johnny Flynn to show for it.

This sucks.

This thread should be locked. Many of these rants are specific and rational.

TheSecretWeapon wrote:This thread should be locked. Many of these rants are specific and rational.

Maybe just re-named, smart guy.

fishercob wrote:

TheSecretWeapon wrote:This thread should be locked. Many of these rants are specific and rational.

Maybe just re-named, smart guy.

Agree w/ fish...

Perhaps - 'It's time to blow this s*** up!' should be the thread title (in honor of Ji).

What I don't like is the revisionist history getting put out there about EG really wanting to make a deal but following along with Abe's wishes and trying to win now. That's a load of horesh*t to me. Abe was in really bad shape the last few months by all accounts and I doubt very much he was active in the day to day role of running the team. And EG's moves didn't indicate going all in. They indicated doing everything possible to get back to what they were two years ago when everyone was healthy. The said as much. The 5th pick was not about shooting for the fences in one last try to win it for the gipper (i.e. Pollin). It was simply about getting back to the playoffs. We traded a 5th pick for depth and suffered through an awful 19-63 season to develop Dominic McGuire! At some point someone has to admit that's a disaster! Ernie's last few seasons has been abject failure. He's been frozen by injuries into not making a move, waiting things out and relying on "leaders" whose teams have never won anything of consequence on this level.

TheSecretWeapon wrote:This thread should be locked. Many of these rants are specific and rational.

Yeah, I'm trying to show these guys how to ramble, but some folks tend to stay on topic, thereby straying off topic.

Anyway, here's another one.

I love the Wizards, but I hate being with the Wizards.

I'm very disappointed with Gil, yet I find myself annoyed with Adidas for de-prioritizing their push of Arenas as a spokesman. In the latest round of ads, Rose is getting all of the guard love these days. I understand that Gilbert is coming off of an injury, but Tracy !@#$ McGrady has been virtually irrelevant due to injury for far longer than Gilbert has, yet he's still part of the campaign.

I guess a part of me was hoping that, if Gil was marketed like a superstar, and became truly popular like a superstar, then he would start playing like one.

Ah, well.

fishercob wrote:

TheSecretWeapon wrote:This thread should be locked. Many of these rants are specific and rational.

Maybe just re-named, smart guy.

How about we rename it "Pedantic Grousing On Peripheral Minutia"? One of my specialties really.

"Sticky it", I say, sticky it topside.

fishercob wrote:Barely and I butted heads pretty hard over the summer about the direction of the team, and through 22 games it's pretty clear that he, Dat, closg, etc., have been right.

Mea culpa.

Don't sweat it, Fish. And trust me, I neither like being right about it, nor did even I think it'd get this bad. The problem is I think we may still get in the playoffs, unless someone comes to their senses and blows this up soon (so we can build through the draft). Class act on the mea culpa, though.

The Wizards are only a game(1 game lead on Philly) away from being in the same position(3rd worst) they finished in last year. I am sure the Nets and Twolves will end up with worse records. However it is conceivable that Philly(despite EJ) and Golden State could end up with better records.

On the optimistic side the bottom of the play-offs is not that far either. They are only 2.5 games behind the Bobcats. However they really blew a good chance to make some of the lead up. The bobcats went 1-2 in the last 3 games(against SA, Dallas and NY). The Wizards went 0-3 where 2-1 would have been a reasonable expectation.

[rant] the wizards are playing like a cancerous dog with no hopes of treatment. They're beaten, confused, drained and looking for an identity. There is no identity. Gilbert used to be the identity of the wizards. their record was second to what Gilbert had to offer through his blog and his end of game heroics. now the only focus there is on the team is how they are unable to perform with 3 allstars, 2 6moy, and roy. now their record is their identity. nobody fears the wizards, the wizards fear everything, everyone and most of all...themselves. they now know that no lead is big enough for complacency to take it away and leave the court with a loss.
even the scrubs on championship caliber teams play like champions because they know who they are, no matter how small their part might be. some scrubs become reasonable starters even on these teams. they know who they are, they are going to win, they are winners, they play like winners. put any of these players on the squad like the wizards, they would be buried on the bench and see no PT whatsoever.
the wiz have gotten caught up in trying to figure out roles, flows, ego's, injuries all in spite of finding the identity. we all were elated when Gilbert decided to give up his antics, but what we didn't realize is that he gave up on everything by doing that. he gave up on the team, (it's all about me now, i am serious etc), gave up on himself. they to deep in the shidhole to get them selves out. all that can help us now is luck. we need to get lucky and win one. and then get lucky enough to win another. the identity of 'can do' might resurface' and we can build on that. there should be no reason to trade anyone. we have all the pieces. no way in hell would we have considered trading Caron because of his play before the season. now 25 games into it, he is the problem. i don't know anymore. all i know is, the wizards are what they are (sorry bunch of losers) and do not aspire to get any better nor want to be champions nor act like 'em. act like you're going to hand out ass-kicking and you're most likely to do so. BTW, when you get up by 7-8 points, play as if you're down by 7-8 points and dig your self out of that small lead into a big lead. then when you're up 17 points, act as if you have 17 points to catch up on and win this ****! [/rant]