Ted's been approved, it's official!

[Hoopalotta]

PS: I still think Arenas can be part of a Wizards run at a championship, no matter what you think of him.

I agree, it's not absolutely out of the realms of the possible, especially if our eventual big ticket acquisition is a defensive center. I'm not saying it's the best course, but there are reasons as to why it could potentially work. But the Paul Pierce argument laid out by Go-Stag's is pretty much the foundation for the Ye's.

[fishercob]

You do realize this is a business right? These owners are in the business of Entertainment. There is many an owner in this league that would trade all the championships in the world for a profitable team. You people with your championship dreams are the joke. It made sense as a dying old man's wish, but now it's just ridiculous. Go talk all this Washington Wizard NBA Champion talk on the General Board and see how serious anybody takes you.

Wow, just because you embrace a loser's mentality doesn't mean the rest of us have to.

Your not sounding realistic, your sounding pathetic.

Right. The team is one of the jokes of this league and always has been, and me being realistic about Championship opportunities gets me run off the board.

You are all a bunch delusional idiots. I get suspended on this forum for much less than I have to put up with in response to any of my posts. I'm done here for now, continue on with your playground fantasies of Championship banners where WNBA Attendance banners used to hang in the rafters.

[barelyawake]

Jesus Christ, ok Dikembe type. Dikembe means an allstar. Dikembe means better than Blatche. Both things, I hate to say again, I've been saying all along. Dikembe would also be the leader in the post -- that Blatche isn't. Blatche as a role player I have no problem with. I have a prblem with us drafting a point guard and relying on Blatche to be the other bookend. Btw, I seriously doubt Ted has that in mind. He wants to build the way OKC did. check the way they did for our immediate future.

[Hoopalotta]

Blatche would still be our best scoring big if he were paired with Dikembe, though.

Anyway, I think pretty well everyone is in agreement that we need a serious defensive interior presence.

[montestewart]

Blatche would still be our best scoring big if he were paired with Dikembe, though.

Anyway, I think pretty well everyone is in agreement that we need a serious defensive interior presence.

And eventually a tall, long-armed SF too (or Carmelo), but Blatche won't be such the weak link in that front line as Jamison was. With defensive effort from Wall, nice 2-way reserves and hungry, young players, we could quickly have a top-third defense more through an approach to defense and acquisition of appropriate players to fulfill that vision, with no additional home run required to get back into the game (well, Carmelo would be nice).

[Hoopalotta]

So I guess it was a pretty good scrum in here then.

Anyone got an accurate body count yet?

[fishercob]

Anyone go to the former ticket-holder roundtable with Ted last night?

Steinberg just posted about it. Must read: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... ard_f.html

Have I mentioned that I love Ted Leonsis?

[montestewart]

Anyone go to the former ticket-holder roundtable with Ted last night?

Steinberg just posted about it. Must read: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... ard_f.html

Have I mentioned that I love Ted Leonsis?

I think the current planholder event is tomorrow night. I got an email but can't attend. Anyone going?

[dobrojim]

Interesting comments on the blog re Queenie

gotta agree again with Fish. I luv me some Ted Leonsis.

I really wish I could go to the Town Hall tomorrow. Probably not
in the cards though.

edit to add - love to meet you MS - probably not going to happen
tomorrow though.

[montestewart]

I like Leonsis' Lebron comment too. Taking away my personal feelings about Le's personality and his team beating the Wizards three years running, there's no denying his talent, but I would worry that a team built around that talent would have to take the personality with it, would not be able to fully use Wall's talent, would be very good but never good enough to win it all, and, if it bent to his will, might end up with a team of overpriced, overhyped veterans that surrounded him, minus him. Could be a real mess. Easy call. I'm sure money has a lot to do with Leonsis' position, but I'm glad he's out front about that.

I like his reaching out to the old Bullets. On Phil Chenier's 25th anniversary of broadcasting, Dandridge, Unseld, etc. reminded me how important those old timers are for a team without much of a winning tradition in recent years. It would be nice for them to be able to witness a renaissance in DC basketball.

[Ruzious]

I think the good news for most of us is that Ted's goal is not to be a playoff contender; it's to be a championship contender and hopefully a champion. And if he's reading this thread, I'm guessing he's thinking Guys - the decisions will play themselves out. If our young players don't take steps up, and if Arenas doesn't blend with Wall, that will tell us we need to hit bottom again - and we will hit bottom again. If everything works well, we take the steps up and use the cap room to acquire an outstanding veteran. The facts and circumstances rule the strategies used to eventually reach the goal.

[nate33]

I think the good news for most of us is that Ted's goal is not to be a playoff contender; it's to be a championship contender and hopefully a champion.

Ted Leonsis - 1
Krisko Zero - 0

[fishercob]

OK guys, I need to talk to everyone. I've been coming here for eight years, and those eight have been the most intense of my Wizards fandom. I love this team 10 times more now than I did eight years ago. There's just something about basketball and Washington and all the hope and potential that I saw in this team and what it could do for the city. I (along with some of you here) am among the few of a very small breed that cares for about Wizards basketball than any other sports team -- and more than anything else in my life outside of the normal big stuff (family, friends, career, etc).

Well, my life is changing -- all of ours are. Since it became public that Ted was in negotiations to buy the team, he and I have been corresponding relatively regularly. I write about 10 times as much as he does, but he clearly reads everything, knows who I am, etc. He cares about my opinions when they're well argued and thought out. He pokes holes in ideas that haven't been thought through. He's funny, smart as all hell, and pretty damn humble given who he is and what he's achieved.

The guy actually inspires me. It's no secret to me that he's achieved so much in business and sports and in life -- people who work for him must be ready to run through a brick wall for him.

The reason I'm saying this is that as much as I initially liked Ted, there was a part of me that expected to like him a lot less as I interacted with him more. Maybe I expected him to eventually get bored, or dismissive or not really be that nice a guy.

Well, last night I had the good fortune of meeting the man in person. There was a ticketholder "town meeting" of sorts, and thanks to a fellow board member who couldn't even make it, I got to go to a VIP reception beforehand. There must have been 50 or so fans as well as a few dozen members of management and ownership. Peter Biche, Raul Fernandez, Buck (nice friggin guy), were all there along with Ted. Our chat was very brief; he needed to work the room after all. But he had an authenticity about him that is just disarming.

The "town meeting" portion lasted an hour or 90 minutes in the lower bowl. There were a couple hundred fans there, total. There were some great questions and some idiotic ones. But Ted answered everything with thought and detail and honesty. I'm pretty ADD, okay. I don't sit still well for that long. But I was honestly captivated by the guy.

He gets it. He gets what it's like to spend your hard earned money and then not feel respected or listened to. He understands the transformative powers that sports have over cities and families. So many people here forget that sensation because it's been so long -- really almost 20 years since the city was united in celebration (I know MD was big deal, but it's different. The Terps don't belong to everyone here).

He also gets that he's sitting on a gold mine -- "sleeping giant" was the term he used. There are so many people here that love basketball. They played it growing up -- organized or not -- and still do -- organized or not. Or they wish they still could. I know this is "a football town." I really only think that's because the Redskins have had so much success over the years. It's not like close to as many people play football recreationally as they do basketball. If the Wizards even had a period of sustained excellence like the Skins of last generation did, I think this place would go ape$hit bananas over it.

And so here's where I'm at. I don't know how long it's going to take or exactly how it's going to take shape. But I believe in my heart of hearts that with Ted leading the organization the Wiz are going to become a great team -- a sustained force in the league. It's a totally different feeling than the wishful confidence of the past few years, where believing we were a good team made you an optimist by definition. It's not going to be a matter of perspective, we're going to be great by any measure. We're being led by a guy who has succeeded in everything he's done. It's not an accident -- it's who the man is.

So I just wanted you guys to know that. Things are going to get really good here. I'll post a more detailed report of what he actually said later on and what kind of changes are coming, but the long and the short of it is there's an unbelievably bright future for the franchise. Go Ted. Go Wiz.

[Benjammin]

Wow fisher, I think Ted had you at "hello".

[dobrojim]

I've yet to meet the man. Looking forward to it. He has now repsonded, personally, to
2 different emails I've sent.

Oh yeah, he gets it for sure.

I am SO glad I am in on the 'ground floor" so to speak with season tix.

He is a very impressive man.

I wanted to go to the Town Hall but couldn't since my younger one,
the HUGE wiz fan, had hoops practice. I'm getting excited about her
development as a player. She is on a "travel' team this summer and
playing for the first time in a league where there will probably not
be any girls who are slouches. So that had to take priority. Sorry Ted.
I'm sure you understand family comes first.

[montestewart]

Thanks for the report fishercob. REPRESENT! I was going to ask if anyone went. Sorry I had to miss it. The question I would have asked if I was there (and because I haven't heard it asked yet) would have been some sort of address to the issue of medical staff and fan perception of past shortcomings. Anyone raise that issue? Maybe it's been covered already and I missed it?

[bulletproof_32]

Fish and Ted
sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
First comes love
Then comes marriage
then comes Luke Babbitt
in a BOYD carriage...

---------

Thanks for the update, Fish. I'm loving your rediscovered enthusiasm!

I really wanted to make it to the event last night but I had other obligations.

[fishercob]

[fishercob]

OK, highlights of the Q & A, all paraphrased from memory with my inferences and editorializing sprinkled in:

Q: What stats are important to you besides basic box score stats? Do you think +/- means as much in hoops as it does in hockey.

A: If you're interested, Ted suggested some great books out there (Stumbling into Wins, Simmons 700-page bible, etc). He and his partners are super metric-driven people, and advanced analytics clearly have a high value in the NBA. "We're going to invest heaviliy" (I remember that verbatim) in stats research. He gave the example that Boston has a color-coded computer screen of Kobe's shooting percentage from each pixel on the floor. If they can get him to move just a pixel or two, and his shooting percentage drops a few points, could well be difference in W & L. Ted also noted that "Ernie believes in this stuff too," and I sensed that perhaps ownership wasnt as willing to spend on it previously.

Q: Are you going to be a player in free agency.

A: Technically, Ted can't comment on any player not on our team until July 1 or gets fined. That said, there's an institutional belief in young players -- and in playing young players. Gave the example for "grizzled vets" on the Caps like Brooks Laich who are all of 25 and have played 100's of games and are now culture-enforcing tone setters for the kids that come up. He said the draft is going to be the focus. They're going to try to add a pick, trade up or both and sign a couple of veteran FA's. If I had to guess they'll end up with 4 rookies on draft night and sign two James Singleton types.

Q: If you're going young, who is going to set the example for young players and keep guys in line?

A: Basically, I don't know yet, but we're going to have clearly communicated standards. We'll reward and punish behaviors that do and don't adhere to those standards.

One way we achieve this in hockey is through our farm club, who has won three titles included back to backs. We run the same system down there, the players nap at the same time, have pre-game meals at the same time, etc., so when they come up the transition is as seamless as possible. The NBDL situation is different than in hockey and our farm team in Dakota isnt exactly a bus ride a way. That said, we're going look into ways to get more out of the minor league. My read is that within a few years we'll have a dedicated farm club somewhere close by.

Q: When will there be food "fit for human consumption" on the 400 level?

A: We've received consistent feedback on the need to improve the food options. I can't make promises on time lines, but we're going to have kosher, vegeterian, organic and local options. Details are important to us. I've received 8 or 9 emails from women complaining that the latches on the stalls in the women's bathrooms are broken and so the stalls don't lock. I spent the morning walking the 100 level, personally inspecting every latch to make sure this gets addressed immediately.

Q: Ted, you talk a lot about the draft and young players, but that's not Ernie's MO. Are you on the same page as the front office?

A: GM's are generally reflections of their owners and their owners' wishes (another hat tip to hands11 for making this point first). Ernie drafted Pat Ewing. The trade of last summer was built on the belief that we were a tipping point away from being a contender in the east (my read: sick old owner says get me a winner right now). If Ted had been in charge we'd have taken Rubio or Curry or Jennings, but what's done is done and we're moving forward. Ted has full confidence in Ernie to execute our plans and vision.

Q: Are you changing the colors?

A: Not right away, but basically yes. This is the nation's capital. This franchise won a championship in red white and blue. My sense is that they have SO much work to do on the basketball side that this isn't a primary focus at the moment, but they have general plans to do what the caps did -- change to some sort of past-inspired, yet modern incarnation. No mention of team name change. Personally, I doubt it happens.

One other note: I spoke with someone who would know (deliberately not saying who, but it wasn't Ted) and he promised me there would be a lockout. Gave the example that Kobe is slated to make $30M in the final year of his deal and the cap is currently $57M or something. Players get 57% of the pie and it should (and will) be 50/50.

That's all I got for now. WIll post more later if I recall more. BUt basically, I was beyond pleased with every answer.

[LyricalRico]

Q: What stats are important to you besides basic box score stats? Do you think +/- means as much in hoops as it does in hockey.

A: If you're interested, Ted suggested some great books out there (Stumbling into Wins, Simmons 700-page bible, etc). He and his partners are super metric-driven people, and advanced analytics clearly have a high value in the NBA. "We're going to invest heaviliy" (I remember that verbatim) in stats research. He gave the example that Boston has a color-coded computer screen of Kobe's shooting percentage from each pixel on the floor. If they can get him to move just a pixel or two, and his shooting percentage drops a few points, could well be difference in W & L. Ted also noted that "Ernie believes in this stuff too," and I sensed that perhaps ownership wasnt as willing to spend on it previously.

Q: Ted, you talk a lot about the draft and young players, but that's not Ernie's MO. Are you on the same page as the front office?

A: GM's are generally reflections of their owners and their owners' wishes (another hat tip to hands11 for making this point first). Ernie drafted Pat Ewing. The trade of last summer was built on the belief that we were a tipping point away from being a contender in the east (my read: sick old owner says get me a winner right now). If Ted had been in charge we'd have taken Rubio or Curry or Jennings, but what's done is done and we're moving forward. Ted has full confidence in Ernie to execute our plans and vision.

A little repetition for emphasis.