Wizards in the Media Thread

[LyricalRico]

Oh yeah, Haywood! Get BIG! EJ is suck!

[closg00]

^^^

Hey Rico, you are a big Grunfeld booster. At what point should Ernie also get some of the heat for allowing the Haywood vs EJ feud fester, and for allowing all of the other crap to continue as-long as it did? (EJ grinding the vets, playing injured players needlessly,etc)

Ernie deserve some blame along with EJ. EJ should have been fired for matching Etan up with Z during the playoffs. Ernie also unnecessarily renewed EJ's contract early(to the surprise of EJ), again locking someone up who didn't need to be locked-up.

[fishercob]

Brendan points the the correct example. Not playing Haywood that series against the Cavs was EJ's most unforgivable sin in my mind.

[Wizards2Lottery]

^^^

Hey Rico, you are a big Grunfeld booster. At what point should Ernie also get some of the heat for allowing the Haywood vs EJ feud fester, and for allowing all of the other crap to continue as-long as it did? (EJ grinding the vets, playing injured players needlessly,etc)

Ernie deserve some blame along with EJ. EJ should have been fired for matching Etan up with Z during the playoffs. Ernie also unnecessarily renewed EJ's contract early(to the surprise of EJ), again locking someone up who didn't need to be locked-up.

It's not that easy firing or trading people. Firing EJ at that time would have been a PR disaster. Plus, you can't just fire a coach for one players sake. You do this at the risk of alienating the rest of your team and having a bunch of sour grapes in the locker room. Firing him after 2006 also would have cut down on a lot of our choices on who wanted to coach here. Which respectable coach would come to DC knowing that his predecessor was fired after an injury plagued disastrous season?

Ernie handled this the best he could. If anything, I have a feeling Ernie did tell EJ to make things work with Haywood as seen by what happened in 2007 after the disastrous 06 seeason.

Where as Brendan's comments, that is what all of us in the Pro Brendan camp had been saying all along. The man produced when given consistent minutes but EJ let his personal feelings and favoritism get in the way. That has to be discouraging for a player no matter what the situation.

[Wizardspride]

^^^

Hey Rico, you are a big Grunfeld booster. At what point should Ernie also get some of the heat for allowing the Haywood vs EJ feud fester, and for allowing all of the other crap to continue as-long as it did? (EJ grinding the vets, playing injured players needlessly,etc)

Ernie deserve some blame along with EJ. EJ should have been fired for matching Etan up with Z during the playoffs. Ernie also unnecessarily renewed EJ's contract early(to the surprise of EJ), again locking someone up who didn't need to be locked-up.

For all we know EG wanted to fire EJ but was overruled by Mr. Pollin.

[keynote]

Brendan points the the correct example. Not playing Haywood that series against the Cavs was EJ's most unforgivable sin in my mind.

Agreed. BTH's comments are particularly pointed: he doesn't say that Eddie benched him because he thought that the other guys would fare better against CLE (a defensible position, albeit based on a horribly misguided premise), but that Eddie let *spite* cloud his judgment. And that, if true, is indefensible.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I MISS Arenas' blog. I've always looked forward to reading what he had to say.

I'm actually glad he's not blogging. Hopefully it's a sign that "Gilbertology" is a thing of the past and that he's going to be a better leader.

+1

Sometimes I think Gil and/or his dad read this forum...

I bitched and moaned about Arenas' blogging even though he'd been out of the lineup for a year. Mentioned that talk is cheap and it's all about the guys who are playing. I questioned his leadership and (indirectly) the character of Arenas, hater that I've been on Gil.

Not to delude myself to thinking he'd respond to me, but to say that guys get word when lots of folks are saying stuff about them ... seems like Arenas changed for the better while out last season.

I AM SERIOUSLY IMPRESSED WITH ARENAS' TURNAROUND!

First, he shut down the blog and distanced himself from the media. Great move IMO.

Another good move IMO is he took all the time in the world to come back last season and he shut it down after only a couple games. I'd rather see him healthy. Those two games he played Gil obviously didn't have his legs for the deep ball, yet, and I think he did a real smart thing. Wizards weren't going to the playoffs and there was no sense pushing it trying to be competitive. Very wise for Gil to shut it down. (Despite any grumbling or us fans wanting another win over Cleveland).

His best move of all was that he came back not with the mentality of a great scorer, but with that of a distributor. Twenty assists with one turnover to me is more impressive than the 60 he dropped on LAL. If Gil's 85-90% of what he was, he'll shock the league this season with his playmaking.

Who needs Gilbertology if his play does the talking? He's going to get plenty air time if he's healthy. I look forward to a healthy, quirky Gilbert talking about the Wizards wins this season and hopefully their 30-win improvement from last season.

Even if Gil never gets his game back (injuies happen) I'm pulling for him to succeed.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

^ Here's a quote from the article:

In order to step up his game, Stevenson first has to get healthy, which is why he is in Vancouver, B.C., completing a week-long training session with renowned physical therapist Alex McKechnie, who is the athletic performance coordinator for the Los Angeles Lakers and has helped players such as Shaquille O'Neal, Grant Hill, Pau Gasol and Mo Williams come back from serious injuries.

Stevenson maintains an offseason home in Orlando, and his financial planner set up a meeting between the two when the Lakers were in central Florida for the NBA Finals. After a 45-minute conversation, Stevenson agreed to train with McKechnie, one-on-one, for a full week. Wizards head athletic trainer Eric Waters observed Stevenson in Vancouver, taking note of his routine so that Stevenson can continue the exercises when he returns to Washington.

So now our guys are being treated by other team's doctors, and our medical staff is there taking notes on what to do? How these guys still have jobs is beyond me.

What's great is that DeShawn's getting good medical advice somewhere.

Stevenson strikes me as far more intelligent than his personna from last season. He said all the right things about not being upset about Foye and Miller being added to the team, because the Wizards felt they needed to upgrade the SG position. Adding that he knows he has to raise his game. Nothing but proactive, personally-responsible, team-first stuff with him doing his part. I like that from DeShawn. Lots of ego-driven guys would pout or want a trade.

That his financial planner hooks him up with a renowned physical therapist shows me DeShawn wants to not only take good care of his money, but that he's smartly taking care of his money-earning basketball body (and not just leaving it up to the Wizards' medical staff).

DeShawn's nobody's fool as far as I'm concened.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Nice Mike Lee piece on Deshawn, what went down last year, and his mindframe:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01571.html

Of note:

His reaction to the trade:

"My reaction was, 'Step your game up,' " Stevenson said in a recent telephone interview. "You can't get mad. It's a business. We had the same team for three years and didn't get out of the first round of the playoffs. They had to make a move.

"I feel that they felt that they wasn't strong at the 2-guard spot. I've been in the league for 10 years. When people make moves like that, I understand what you got to do. I don't take it as disrespect."

On last year:

Ed Tapscott, the Wizards' interim coach after Eddie Jordan was fired 11 games into the season, noticed Stevenson's struggles and sat down with him in late December. Stevenson said Tapscott gave him three options: to simply rest, take some time off to get his back checked out or accept a role coming off the bench. Stevenson agreed to the latter and said Tapscott told him he would cover up the benching by telling reporters it was Stevenson who suggested the move.

Class move by Tap.

On this year:

"Everybody that knows DeShawn knows I'm going to compete. I'm going to be -- I don't want to say arrogant -- but I'm not one of those people that's going to let my job go," Stevenson said. "In life, you get pushed and I just think I'm getting pushed right now. If I don't start, I'm going to be a helluva backup and if I start, I'm going to be a helluva starter. It's all about winning."

The article as a whole really makes me want to like the guy. I would, were it not for his gesticulations after making a shot down 20 in Cleveland to go with the incessant yapping two years ago. And while I don't see him getting much time with Miller, Foye, Young and possibly D-Mac in front of him, the fact is that he does bring a unique element to this team if healthy. Here's hoping that he stays ready and is a good locker room guy this year. We could probably use him harassing Kobe for 10 MPG in the FInals.

Makes me hope DeShawn regains his form of two seasons ago.

[nate33]

Brendan points the the correct example. Not playing Haywood that series against the Cavs was EJ's most unforgivable sin in my mind.

Agreed. BTH's comments are particularly pointed: he doesn't say that Eddie benched him because he thought that the other guys would fare better against CLE (a defensible position, albeit based on a horribly misguided premise), but that Eddie let *spite* cloud his judgment. And that, if true, is indefensible.

Haywood also deserves credit for keeping his mouth shut for the past 2 years. Obviously, he's kept this bottled up for a while but never opened his mouth about it (despite being so clearly on the right side of the argument). It wasn't until long after EJ left that Haywood finally vented his feelings - and only after Wise prodded him.

[nate33]

He said all the right things about not being upset about Foye and Miller being added to the team, because the Wizards felt they needed to upgrade the SG position. Adding that he knows he has to raise his game. Nothing but proactive, personally-responsible, team-first stuff with him doing his part. I like that from DeShawn. Lots of ego-driven guys would pout or want a trade.

I think Deshawn read my devastating statistical analysis of his game and took it to heart. Objectively, there's simply no justification to blame management for trying to replace him.

[fishercob]

Brendan points the the correct example. Not playing Haywood that series against the Cavs was EJ's most unforgivable sin in my mind.

Agreed. BTH's comments are particularly pointed: he doesn't say that Eddie benched him because he thought that the other guys would fare better against CLE (a defensible position, albeit based on a horribly misguided premise), but that Eddie let *spite* cloud his judgment. And that, if true, is indefensible.

Haywood also deserves credit for keeping his mouth shut for the past 2 years. Obviously, he's kept this bottled up for a while but never opened his mouth about it (despite being so clearly on the right side of the argument). It wasn't until long after EJ left that Haywood finally vented his feelings - and only after Wise prodded him.

What does everyone make of the fact that Haywood is now "everywhere"? His blog, regular radio interviews, now his own weekly show. If Gil's blogging was a distraction, doesn't Haywood's various media stand to be as well? IS he doing it just because it's fun? Is he trying to prep for a career after basketball? Anything to do with his impending free agency (I wouldn't think this makes me any more attractive to potential suitors). I'm curious, because Brendan was failt inconspicuos in the media and now he's decidedly not...

[fishercob]

He said all the right things about not being upset about Foye and Miller being added to the team, because the Wizards felt they needed to upgrade the SG position. Adding that he knows he has to raise his game. Nothing but proactive, personally-responsible, team-first stuff with him doing his part. I like that from DeShawn. Lots of ego-driven guys would pout or want a trade.

I think Deshawn read my devastating statistical analysis of his game and took it to heart. Objectively, there's simply no justification to blame management for trying to replace him.

I don't think Deshawn would dispute that his play was indeed amazingly sucky last year. And while many here like to take the silly faux-macho "no excuses" tack when it comes to injuries at times, the amount of pain he was playing in likely explains his performance.

As long as he's willing to be a good soldier -- and all signs so far are that he is -- he's a great depth guy to have out of the rotation. I'd trust him to fill in ably if his number was called. All it takes is an injury to Butler or Miller and Deshawn is back in the mix for minutes. He'd likely be less effective than Young would with the second unit -- coming off screens and scoring, but I'd rather have him on the court in a late game situation where he was gaurding the opposition's best perimeter guy.

And this is the beauty of the Flip Saunders world tour. He's building reputational capital and getting "buy-in" right now, because he's going to need guys to sacrifice in order to achieve team goals. It makes it that much more likely that Deshawn will be ready when called upon. It's really the great thing about team sports -- basketball in particular. Makes me want to re-read Sacred Hoops...

[MJG]

What does everyone make of the fact that Haywood is now "everywhere"? His blog, regular radio interviews, now his own weekly show. If Gil's blogging was a distraction, doesn't Haywood's various media stand to be as well? IS he doing it just because it's fun? Is he trying to prep for a career after basketball? Anything to do with his impending free agency (I wouldn't think this makes me any more attractive to potential suitors). I'm curious, because Brendan was failt inconspicuos in the media and now he's decidedly not...

One possibility: maybe he's just been unhappy in his job up to this point. Working with people (EJ, Etan) that you dislike or that dislike you, it can be a big drain. Now that he's finally free of it, he's coming out of his shell a bit.

[XsamhainX_999]

What does everyone make of the fact that Haywood is now "everywhere"? His blog, regular radio interviews, now his own weekly show. If Gil's blogging was a distraction, doesn't Haywood's various media stand to be as well? IS he doing it just because it's fun? Is he trying to prep for a career after basketball? Anything to do with his impending free agency (I wouldn't think this makes me any more attractive to potential suitors). I'm curious, because Brendan was failt inconspicuos in the media and now he's decidedly not...

As long as he's not giving motivation to our opponents by making asanine comments before we play them, then I don't see this as a problem. Haywood is a good study & a hard worker so I don't think doing this in his free time will hurt his play either.

Hopefully, having his own show here in the area will make it that much easier to re-sign him at a less inflated price.

[BigA]

Brendan talking to Dan Steinberg about the show:

http://fwix.com/share/11_08fe89a7b7

[keynote]

Let's see if Wood provides any bulletin board material before a big game.

[BigA]

I suspect he's just going to do this until training camp starts. He's pretty frank that it's a good opportunity to build his resume.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

What happens if there's a game on Friday night? Does he broadcast live from the game?

[fishercob]

What happens if there's a game on Friday night? Does he broadcast live from the game?

Duh. Obviously, he'd skip the game and do his radio show.