Wizards Reach Deal With Saunders - 4yr/19mil

[clubbing_caveman]

At this point, I am interested to see who the assistant coaches (defensive coach especially) will be. Given the teams current composition, there is little doubt that at worst, this is a middle of the pack team on offense, and at best it is among the top 3 on offense. The type of offensive scheme we run does matter, but given the players we have, there's no reason to believe that we're not a top 10 offensive team. In fact, we should be in the top 5 on offense, given our current team when healthy. What we lack are:
1. defense
2. player development (big man and PG).

I'd like to see how this is addressed via the coaches we hire.
After that, I'd like to see how we address our crack medical staff.

Imagine where we would be with a top 5 offense and a top 10 defense!

[kenneth9265]

saunders will be the best coach the wiz have had in a decade, but if the wiz don't bet the yearly injury bug...the best coaches in the world will not be able to save them from another bad dissappointing season....

[miller31time]

Press Conference is on ESPN now.

Link to the full press conference

[closg00]

At this point, I am interested to see who the assistant coaches (defensive coach especially) will be. Given the teams current composition, there is little doubt that at worst, this is a middle of the pack team on offense, and at best it is among the top 3 on offense. The type of offensive scheme we run does matter, but given the players we have, there's no reason to believe that we're not a top 10 offensive team. In fact, we should be in the top 5 on offense, given our current team when healthy. What we lack are:
1. defense
2. player development (big man and PG).

I'd like to see how this is addressed via the coaches we hire.
After that, I'd like to see how we address our crack medical staff.

Imagine where we would be with a top 5 offense and a top 10 defense!

Show me the assistants

[miller31time]

Abe looked really bad today. He sounded in very good spirits, but man did he look rough.

[WizBiz]

Press Conference is on ESPN now.

Link to the full press conference

Thanks!

[miller31time]

Watching the press conference for the first time (only about 2/3rds through)

Flip says the right things and sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

He talked about not changing the way you play basketball going from the regular season to the playoffs. He said the regular season is about perfecting how you play in the post-season -- maybe that's why he wasn't able to get past the first round (except for once) with the Wolves and not get to the NBA Finals with the Pistons -- because his formula only works for so long until you really do need to make changes to the way you play, which he doesn't do apparently. Just talking out loud, though. That may have nothing to do with it.

[Zerocious]

just watched the press conference and i am trying to find the excitement the hopes of a great season bring, but man it's tough. All i can think of is "i believe it when i see it". and i was even going to start an argument against alot of the posters here that are perpetually negative and hopeless. in the likes of; What are you?, a fan with all best hopes and intentions or a critic with no good news to bring or just criticize the good news anyway. just tired of the negativity ir maybe realistic outlook. be a fan for gods sake, but now, i dont know what happened. maybe i'm just tired and ranting.
I have been a fan of flip for years, i remember when he took detroit to the finals the first time how bad i wanted to have someone like him as a coach. but now, with all the wiz have put us through, seemingly for years now, i have a real hard time believing a change is on the horizon. it seems the deficiencies are to much and to many. i still love having flip around, maybe even a dream come true, but even if they worked em all out: good offense with players playing the right position, good offense with the proper height match-ups, good defense and most of all good coaching, i will still sit and watch games holding my breath until the buzzer sounds in fear of some freak incident injuring someone.

I dont know what to say, it seems i was very excited throughout the entire year because of the knowledge of a team being so much better next year, but somehow i caught the negativity bug too.
i hope the draft will change it, a good draft will maybe ease the fear of losing a player during the regular season next year because there are enough players to pick up the slack, but once again, i'll believe it when i see it.

[newslowsad]

Flip is going to do great things for this team.

[Rafael122]

Flip doesn't have to say anything. His resume speaks for itself.

Sorry to say this but Abe looked HORRIBLE. I wish him well, but man...he does not look good.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The press conference gave me the impression that Flip will come in and make tough decisions.

-Spoke of "Sometimes making hard decisions with the veterans." ... That when coach wants one thing and veterans want another "Coach is going to come out on top".

-He will demand trust, defense, and team first over individual agendas.

-Another interesting line "How you carry yourself off the court will carry over to how you perform on the court".

-Says of his "big playbook" that "60% of it is defense" and that opposing coaches never say his teams don't play defense.

Flip seems to me to be real sensitive to the nature of conflicting agendas between coach, players, and team agendas.

Flip's also been with teams that had injuries. Billups and Rasheed had playoff injuries.

ALL IN ALL, I'm cautiously optimistic. Zero, I see why you're a bit cynical. Personally, I'm thinking this could be the perfect storm of EVERYTHING FALLING INTO PLACE--if they stay healthy. Flip's going to demand they play defense. Team's going to be motivated to win. Guys will definitely be healthier than this season. The coach will not play veterans huge minutes just because they're the resident shot takers. Guys will have to defend.

Time will tell, but I'm happy with this hire and I think Flip has at least said all the right things.

[newslowsad]

The press conference gave me the impression that Flip will come in and make tough decisions.

-Spoke of "Sometimes making hard decisions with the veterans." ... That when coach wants one thing and veterans want another "Coach is going to come out on top".

Really glad you mentioned that. I was most impressed when he said this.

[DaRealHibachi]

After seeing the PC, I can't help but imagine the succes we'll have next year... especially seeing how much they want to win before Abe "goes"...

After all these years of bad luck, we might see something special next year...

[fishercob]

I really liked Flip's emphasis on sacrifice in his press conference -- very Phil Jacksonian from Sacred Hoops. I think it's a good message for a veteran team where guys are used to things being a certain way and "getting theirs."

I think specifically of Deshawn, who (while overpriced for the role -- but I dont think Abe cares about that right now) would help this team a lot by accepting a reduced role as a 10th or 11th man, pushing the guys ahead of him in practice, generally being a team guy, and staying ready.

[closg00]

Flips comments about the vets gives me hope that he will be flexible with the rotations if it favors us.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Yeah, the incoming coach has GOT to look at the minutes Butler and Jamison got, and Arenas got when he was healthy, and say, you know what, I'm not gonna do that. So the first message he gives is sacrifice. You are going to sacrifice some minutes. That means your point totals and rebounding totals are going down.

[Zerocious]

i was surprised to hear abe say what he said about being in a wheel chair. he knows his days are numbered and that he is more willing to lay it all out to win another championship!