Jerseys In My Closet

I'm turning September into jersey month here at My Swag Was Phenomenal. Here's the first of three posts on that subject.

After Martell Webster decided to early retire in 2015, I had a conversation with my friend Mike about what jersey I was going to buy now that Martell was gone from the game. Yes, I bought a Martell Webster jersey. And wore it to games. Mike's response was classic, something to the effect of "Why don't you buy a jersey of someone who's good?"

Sound advice, no doubt. I've always had an admiration for the contributing role player on the Wizards and so time after time, it seemed (with the exception of my Arenas gold jersey), I had to that point in my Wizards fandom been clad in a no-way-is-this-guy-ever-making-an-All-Star-game player's jersey every so often at Verizon Center. A couple of months later I took Mike's advice and bought my first John Wall Wizards jersey.

Over my 17 year tenure as a Wizards fan, I've owned (and still own, for that matter) nine Wizards jerseys. Their story is a story of my decade and a half plus journey of me being a member of the Wizards faithful. Here's what I've worn over the years. Try to be gentle with your criticism, especially about halfway through this post. I was misguided. Nothing more.

Brendan Haywood

My first favorite Wizards player ever was Brendan Haywood. The year was 2001 and it was my second year as a Wizards season ticket holder. I'd just sat through parts of an awful inaugural (for me) Wizards season that saw my new favorite team go 19-63 and end up in last place of the Atlantic Division (this was back when there were just four divisions in the league).

Through the first 12 games of the 2001-2002 season, the Wizards didn't look a whole lot better than they did the prior year, winning just three times in 12 tries. Brendan Haywood was a rookie that year and didn't play in the first dozen games due to a hand injury. But when he did play starting in late November he just looked like he was trying way harder than anyone else on our team. And he seemed to be blocking a ton of shots, including seven against Atlanta on December 19 of that year.

Here was a guy I could get behind and follow: a role player who played hard, played D and did things like block shots. Instantly he fit neatly into the category of players I loved in this league. In the first 20 games Brendan played in a Wizards uniform, the team went 15-5. I'm not saying it was all due to B-Wood but there may be a cause and effect.

Over the years, Brendan had some high spots and low spots with the Wizards: fighting with teammate Etan Thomas (yes, literally fighting), some pouting due to loss of playing time, statements about not wanting to teach JaVale McGee how to be a professional (although he may have been really smart here) but also being the defensive anchor and a model of consistency on the court for years for a team that in its prime was really pretty good.

I didn't buy a Brendan Haywood jersey that first season when he wore 3 nor the second season when he wore 00. I finally broke down sometime after that and sprung for an authentic jersey which cost about $160 or something like that back then. I remember getting yelled at by some fan ("Hey Haywood, make your free throws!") after a game in which B-Wood missed some free throws towards the end of the game. I assume the dude could tell the difference between a 5'-11" (basketball height; not actual height) 30 some year old white dude and a 7'-0" black professional athlete but didn't care anyway. Brendan signed both 3s on the back of his jersey at some Washington Auto Show in the mid-aughts which I appreciate.

Gilbert Arenas

I remember being at my parents place watching television when the announcement that the winner of the NBA's 2003 Most Improved Player was Golden State's Gilbert Arenas scrolled across the bottom of the screen. My first reaction was to tell my dad "the Wizards should sign THAT guy." And they did. Gave him everything we had in cap space to sign him. Gilbert pretty much tied B-Wood for my favorite Wizards player that day without ever having played a second in a Wizards jersey.

When he got to D.C., I started hearing more and more stories about Gilbert that proved to me that this guy was not just an ordinary basketball player: the locker room hijinks as a rookie refusing to be hazed, the reason he wore zero as a chip on his shoulder, the gym rat mentality, the hyperbaric chamber, the playoff guarantee from his first press conference, his single parent upbringing. What was not to like about Gilbert?

Then he started playing. The first year in D.C. Gil was good. The next few, he was awesome. We had a guy who could go off for 50 points seemingly when he wanted. And of course there came with it all sorts of nicknames and crazy behaviors: hibachi, Agent Zero, the turning around on buzzer beaters before they hit the bottom of the net to kill the other team, throwing his jersey into the crowd at the end of each game, guaranteeing financial support to a local boy who'd lost his family in a fire, staying and signing autographs at fan events when all his teammates had split when the allocated time was up. Everything about Gilbert Arenas, I loved.

I bought the gold alternate jersey because that was Gil's jersey more than anyone else's. Gilbert made that jersey special. He set the all-time franchise single game scoring mark (60) in that jersey. He was Agent Zero in that thing. And of course I had to get the authentic jersey again which set me back again north of $150.

Gilbert's ending in Washington wasn't special. It was marred by a devastating injury to the best player I'd seen in a Wizards jersey to that point by far and then by a locker room gun showdown that I won't recount here because I just don't want to. Before he got traded to the Orlando Magic and started his farewell tour of other NBA franchises, Gil signed my jersey in the best way possible, with an "Agent 0" signature. I love Gil for that and for his time in D.C.

Caron Butler

OK, so my Caron Butler 2008 NBA All-Star Game jersey is a bit of an oddball in my collection because it was gifted, not bought. The Wizards gave one to each season ticket holder who renewed their full season plan in 2008. That's not to say that I wouldn't buy a Caron Butler jersey (because I totally would; I love Tough Juice), just that I already had my perfectly good Arenas jersey at that time and I didn't need to drop any more money on a new kit.

Of the big three of Butler, Arenas and Antawn Jamison, I appreciate that Caron has been the most vocal about what a missed opportunity his time in D.C. was and how much he genuinely thought that team would achieve greatness before (through no fault of Caron's) the team imploded and collapsed in on itself. The result of all that was Jamison playing with LeBron James and the hated Cleveland Cavaliers (and winning nothing) while Caron, B-Wood and DeShawn Stevenson ended up getting a ring each with the Dallas Mavericks. The Wizards meanwhile rebuilt around rookie John Wall which right now looks like a smart choice.

Of course, just like the other two earlier jerseys in my collection, my CB jersey is autographed. It came that way. Otherwise the Wizards would just be handing out old stock that they couldn't sell to their season ticket holders.

Andray Blatche

I'm a smart guy but sometimes I make silly decisions. Actually sometimes I make really dumb, naïve and ignorant decisions.

At the beginning of the 2009-2010 season, Andray Blatche made a decision. He decided to change his number from 32 to 7 as a signal to the world that he would now be dedicated to becoming a professional basketball player and the best he could be in a Wizards uniform all seven days of every week. This was a guy who was a second round pick of the Wizards right out of high school and had just completed the best season of his four year career, starting more games (32) than any other year, finally averaging double digits in scoring and having increased his scoring and rebounding number each year since his NBA debut. I bought it because I wanted to believe in Andray Blatche and the power of Ernie Grunfeld to pick a unknown gem out of the second round of the draft. I bought it so much that I dropped $170 on an authentic jersey, the last one (to this point) I have bought because the cost is just so freaking out of control now.

So there are some logical questions behind this move, right? The first is why would a professional athlete NOT be dedicated to being a professional seven days a week? What did Dray's number mean before he donned a number 7 jersey? 32 days a year? That answer is not out of the realm of possibility by the way. There were certainly flags about Andray's past that would raise some doubts. Before he even played a minute in the NBA he was shot in some kind of incident with a prior Wizards questionable second round draft pick Peter John Ramos and he'd been famously casual about his diet and work ethic, relying on his natural talents to keep him going despite being questioned seemingly daily on this issue by team captain Antawn Jamsion. As a fan, you could see Dray lacked any sort of real chiseling in his physique.

Of course, all this nonsense didn't work. Andray had his moments in a Wizards jersey after he started working full-time, twice scoring 36 points in a game and combining those two scoring efforts with 19 and 15 rebounds in those two games. But one of those games per year just ain't enough and before the 2012-2013 season the Wizards used the amnesty provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement to part ways with Andray, still having to pay him but not having his salary count against the cap.

After being released by the Wizards, Dray spent two years with the Brooklyn Nets and became one of Wizards' fans favorite targets for booing. He didn't look like he was in any better shape as a Net than he did as a Wizard. I remember one game at Verizon Center when he looked especially winded and was grabbing his shorts while standing on the edge of the lane during a Wizards free throw attempt. Because the arena was especially quiet at that time, I yelled "Hey, Dray! What are you, tired?" from my fifth row seat and I swear he looked right at me and smiled like a kid who didn't know what he'd gotten himself into. I felt bad about yelling that.

To his credit, I guess, Andray signed my jersey gorgeously before a road game in Indiana. I think it's one of the best and clearest signatures I have. Too bad the jersey and the signature are not only worthless but also really pretty embarrassing that I actually have this jersey in my collection. Like I said, sometimes I make silly decisions.

Chris Singleton

At the end of the 2010-2011 season (John Wall's rookie year), the Wizards decided it was time for a re-brand. They rolled out a couple of new logos (while also inexplicably refusing to kill off the Wizard logo for a year or so) and some gorgeous new threads. I still think the home whites are the best unis in the league. I had to get a new jersey. I mean after all, even if I could be seen in public in a signed Andray Blatche jersey, there's really no way I wanted to wear those hideous old blue, black and gold things any more.

Almost inexplicably (although I can and will actually explain), I picked rookie Chris Singleton's 31 as my new jersey. Singleton was the 18th overall pick in the 2011 draft and the Wizards second of three, selected between number six overall pick Jan Vesely and number 34 overall Shelvin Mack. It was a disaster of a draft for the Wizards. Vesely made it through all four years of his rookie deal but only just. Singleton made it just three years. The only one of the trio still playing in the NBA is Mack and the Wizards cut him not once but twice. To make matters worse, the Wizards selected opted for Ves ahead of Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard.

When the Wizards drafted Chris Singleton, I saw that as a commitment by the front office to put someone on the team who might be a defense first guy and I loved that. Chris had alleged he could cover the 1 through 4 positions in college and I supposed he would being some heart and toughness to a team that finished solidly in the bottom ten of the league in defensive rating. It didn't work. Chris proved too slow to cover the 1 through 3 spots at the NBA level and wasn't big enough to cover the power forwards in the league. 

I'm not sorry I bought a Chris Singleton jersey despite the questions I got on it (usually "did I attend Florida State?"). I talked with Chris a couple of times during his tenure with the Wiz and found him relatable and open to talking with a fan of the team and I appreciated that. 

And yes...I do have two Singleton jerseys (I downgraded to the cheaper Swingman version starting with this purchase) as shown in the picture above. I ordered the home white before the season started from the NBA store online. After a couple of weeks of it not showing up, they sent me an email saying the product I had ordered was not available so I ordered a road red one instead. About a day later the original white jersey I ordered showed up. I called the NBA store and ended up with a 2-for-1 deal. So I didn't really buy two Chris Singleton jerseys. I just own two now.

When I handed Chris the white jersey to sign (which you can just make out in silver on the "3", his comment was "Now that's what I'm talking about." I have a feeling the NBA didn't sell too many Wizards 31 jerseys from 2011 to 2014.

Martell Webster

After a couple of misses in the jersey department I was determined to right the ship with the next one I bought. I picked Martell Webster, a guy who was a lottery pick in the draft but had a history of back issues and had struggled to score the ball in his prior contracts with both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Surprisingly, Martell fit into the Wizards' offense perfectly and would become the first of a string of guys who put up gaudy numbers from beyond the three point line by playing on the same team as John Wall.

What I liked most about Martell was his team first attitude and his appreciation for playing in Washington and playing for Randy Wittman (who remains, barely, my favorite Wizards coach of all time). Martell didn't care how many points he scored or how much playing time he received. He (correctly) was concerned with the team winning. If that meant he played zero minutes some days or played 30 minutes and scored nothing, so be it. He was absolutely correct: individual accomplishments are secondary to the team's performance.

I also appreciated Martell's life story. Not that it's unusual for an NBA player to have a difficult upbringing, but his reaction to what he experienced through how he deals with his own family is what impresses me. He was raised by his grandmother after his mom disappeared when he was four years old. And when I say disappeared, that's true. Nobody knows what happened to her, although there are theories that she was a victim of a serial killer. His dad left before he was born but lived nearby in silence until after Martell was drafted and was then predictably and appropriately rejected by his son. Martell's response to his personal history is to put his own family first above all else, determined to not repeat anything like his father's mistakes.

I bought my Webster jersey right after the team eliminated the center horizontal stripe from the back of their uniform (see the jersey below) that made some of the numbers (particularly 2s, 3s and 5s) too difficult to read so when it showed up in my mailbox it was already a throwback. Of course, I got the jersey signed and wore it to games with Martell's ink on the back.

John Wall

Ultimately, I took my friend Mike's advice and made my next jersey someone good by picking up a John Wall jersey. It's been the only jersey I've worn to games for the last two years at Verizon Center and I anticipate it will be the only one I'll wear (although I may need a new one at some point) for the foreseeable future.

John Wall is without question in my mind the best player who has ever pulled on a Wizards jersey. By the time he's done in D.C. he seems pretty determined to be one of the best, if not THE best, who has ever worn a Wizards or Bullets or Zephyrs or Packers jersey. And he may get there, either with or without a championship.

I love that John works constantly to improve his game. I love that he takes every slight anyone in or out of the league throws his way (and there have been a lot) and uses those to push himself to get better. I love that he wants to be in Washington in an era when loyalty doesn't matter much to teams or players or even fans sometimes (the author of this post is definitely excluded). I love that he's deservedly a four time All-Star and has been named to an All-NBA team and an All-NBA Defense team. I love that he's getting better every year. I love his commitment to the community and those less fortunate than himself. And I love watching him throw passes from my seat in Section 105 of Verizon Center and now Capital One Arena. I am proud to wear this jersey each time I slip it over my head. I can't see myself wearing another jersey until John no longer plays for the Wizards.

So I sort of lied. By the time I asked Mike for some advice about my next jersey purchase, I already owned a John Wall jersey (below). I had the extreme good fortune to attend the 2015 NBA All-Star Game in New York a couple of years ago and sprang for a John Wall All-Star jersey as a souvenir of that experience, which coincidentally is the only All-Star Game start of John's career. I have worn this jersey exactly once and that was at the game itself. After that, I had John sign it, which looks great in silver against the blue number, and retired it. I have no idea what I'm going to do with this and my other signed jerseys. For now I'm just holding on to them.

17 years and counting. Nine jerseys and counting. They are some of the most expensive and useless (it's not like I can wear them at time or anywhere other than to games) Wizards souvenirs I own. But collectively they tell a story of my love for the Wizards, as passionate and frustrating and glorious and misguided as it has been since I first ponied up some dough for a full season back in the year 2000. I don't think I need to get my 10th jersey anytime soon but you just never know in this business.

Where's Bradley Beal?

Earlier today, the Wizards finished their first of three straight pre-season games at Verizon Center. This season features the greatest number of preseason games at VC since I've been a season ticket holder. The other two are later this same week, which means I'll be making two more trips down to F Street before the end of the day Friday.

I generally spend very little time around Verizon Center in the summer months since I stopped working downtown seven years or so ago, so the first Wizards game of the season, be it preseason or regular season, brings an opportunity to see how the neighborhood has changed since the previous Wizards season was over. The most dramatic change was some years ago when they finally took the construction scaffolding off the front or south face of the Smithsonian American Art Museum which allowed an uninterrupted view down F Street all the way to Union Station; after years of seeing the American Art Museum under renovation, the change was striking. This year, the only changes I noticed were that the FroZen Yo store on F Street has moved to Chinatown and Souvenir World at the corner of 10th and F has closed. It seems like that place has been there forever.

In addition to changes outside the arena, it's exciting to see what's happened to the inside of Verizon Center over the summer. The most obvious changes this year were the repainted main entrance to the building and a brand new basketball court (shown above) with the Unity Hand logo replacing the Wizards wordmark at center court and solid red lanes beneath the basket. In past seasons, the lanes have generally been striped for the professional game (at 16 feet wide) and the college game (at 12 feet wide); this year, it's just one lane for the NBA game. I love the lane change but I'm a big fan of the Wizards wordmark so I'd rather they just stick with that. I realize I'll be in the minority on that one.

But there's still work to do inside Verizon Center to get ready for opening night on November 1. Let me explain.

A couple of years ago, the team installed a series of photograph panels or billboards, if you will, on the lower concourse of the building. These billboards feature Wizards, Mystics, Capitals and Georgetown University basketball players, in addition to some other acts who play Verizon Center frequently. A little over a year ago, I had a picture of myself taken in front of the picture of Martell Webster for my "About This Blog" page. I was curious to see who would be up on these panels this year, so before the game, I took a quick stroll around the 100 Level of Verizon Center. Here's what I found, starting at the north entrance to the building and walking counterclockwise.

Marcin Gortat

Marcin's our starting center and just signed a new five year, $60 million deal. During the 2013-2014 season he played in all but one of our regular season games and averaged 13.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He poured in 31 points and snagged 16 rebounds in game five of our playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers, the last playoff game we would win before being eliminated by the Pacers. It makes a ton of sense to have Marcin up on the wall. I believe he was placed there after we traded Jan Vesely to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller at the trading deadline last season. It would be nice for Marcin if the Wizards ticket sales table were not blocking most of his picture but whatever.

Nenê

Nenê was the first real building block in the Wizards' culture change that started at the trading deadline of the 2011-2012 season with the team trading goofball center JaVale McGee for a legitimate professional NBA player, in this case Nenê. Critics decried the trade when we made it; most felt the Wizards had traded a player with tremendous upside for a broken down, overpaid, undersized center. A year and a half later, it looks like the Wizards fleeced the Nuggets. Nenê not only brought a sense of professionalism and seriousness to the Wizards, he's actually played in way more games than McGee has since the trade (124 regular season games plus 10 playoff games to McGee's 104 and 13). How could a big picture of Nenê not be on display at VC?

Josh Groban

OK, so Josh Groban doesn't play for the Wizards and never has. Verizon Center has two musicians on display in its lower concourse. One is Bruce Springsteen. I find it curious that Groban is the other.

John Wall

I'll be brief here talking about Wall. Franchise player. Number one overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. 2014 NBA All-Star. 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest winner. Led the NBA in total assists during the 2013-2014 NBA season. John is the only player on the team with a maximum contract and the unquestioned leader of the team. As he goes, quite often, the team goes. The best player deserves his picture up in the building.

Martell Webster

Martell's first season with the Wizards two years ago was his best as a pro as he averaged 11.4 points per game with a 42.2% success rate from beyond the three point arc in 76 games. He parlayed that season into a four year deal for the full mid-level exception or between $5 million and $6 million per year. Coincidentally, the Wizards put his picture up near Section 102 just before he re-signed. Martell's production dropped off last year as a sixth man. I'd love to see him back in the starting lineup with John Wall this year. I feel he really prospers with Wall on the court. You can debate the merits of Martell getting a billboard but the fact that he's my favorite player is good enough for me to keep him there.

Chris Singleton

I like Chris Singleton a lot. I love the interview he gave to ESPN during the lockout before the 2011-2012 season, we've hung out in Vegas together (OK, maybe not so much) and I've always found him one of the most approachable Wizards players in his three years in Washington. But…he doesn't play for the Wizards anymore (he's currently playing as a training camp invitee on a non-guaranteed contract with the Indiana Pacers). 

Now I'm not sure what the Wizards' attitude toward retaining Chris in the off season was but I'm pretty confident considering they didn't pick up his contract option and really made no significant strides to retain him that they probably knew by the end of last season that they had no plans to retain him. So why is his picture in our gorgeous white home uni still up in the building?

I can't imagine how much money it costs to replace the graphics on one of these panels but Chris can't stay here more than like another week, right? And if the Wizards can't think of someone to replace him, I'd suggest they try Bradley Beal because this is the last Wizards related graphic on the lower level of Verizon Center starting at the north entrance and walking counterclockwise. I think Bradley's earned it. The real deadline to get this fixed is November 1 when we open our home slate against the Milwaukee Bucks. Verizon Center spent a bunch of money this summer installing a Capitals hat trick display which is just awesome. They need to fix this next. It's on the east end of the building in case this is just an oversight.

2014 Off Season Priorities

The NBA Finals started tonight, a re-match of last year's seven game Miami Heat - San Antonio Spurs series which the Heat stole after the Spurs absolutely blew it in game six on their home floor. Just like last year, I'll be rooting as hard as I possibly can against the Heat, hoping they have just worn their roster just too thin after last off season's roster cuts, particularly (and I hate to say this based on his time in Washington) Mike Miller. Miami may come to regret that move.

The fact that it's NBA Finals time and I haven't written about the Wizards' off season priorities also means that I am behind in my blogging, so far in fact that one of my priorities or the team has already been resolved. What can I say? I have a full time job and I took vacation the last week or so during the Conference Finals. I'd be right on time if I could just write this blog full time. I'd also be a lot poorer.

The state of the Wizards seems to look a lot brighter this off season than it did last year. Instead of heading back to the Draft Lottery for the sixth consecutive year, the team is coming off its second most regular season victories and its most successful playoff run in the last 35 years. The starting five produced pretty well this year and the bench certainly improved in the second half of the season. Last year I thought a couple of tweaks could get us the seventh or eighth seed in the playoffs. Turns out I shot too low. Yet, as with any team that finished in the five spot in the Eastern Conference in recent years, questions remain and there's a long way to go before the Wizards can be considered a legitimate contender.

This year's off season will look a whole lot different than last year for a number of reasons. Unlike last year when the team held the number three pick in the Draft, this year our only selection comes in the second round, meaning the chance of us snagging a contributor on June 26 seems pretty remote, especially considering our recent track record in the Draft. The Wizards also face two of their five starters (Trevor Ariza and Marcin Gortat) being unrestricted free agents, as opposed to last year's one (Martell Webster). Fortunately the team possesses a good amount of salary cap space to sign free agents and last year's off season signing of Al Harrington, who presumably had other options available to him, is likely a good indicator that free agents might actually want to come play in Washington.

So with all that in mind, here's what I'd do if I were running the show at Verizon Center. I'm not, for which most fans should be eternally grateful.

1. Re-Sign Randy Wittman

I realize this has already happened. The Wizards signed Randy to a new three year deal at a rumored $3 million per year this past Tuesday. The third year is a team option, so it's really just a two year deal guaranteed. I've written a couple of times in this blog that I thought Randy was a key in turning the culture of the franchise from a group of irresponsible knuckleheads to (dare I say it) a model of professionalism. While the Wizards had some significant concentration lapses during the regular season which led to some bad losses, overall the team took their performance seriously and the playoffs were a totally different story. Randy clearly had the team's attention.

The knock on Randy seems to be his past coaching record. Local media seems to delight in trotting out Randy's "worst winning percentage in NBA history of all coaches with a minimum 400 games coached." I think it's safe to say this current year's team is likely the only one other coaches would actually envy, so it's no surprise that the results this year were far better than all his other years as a head coach in the NBA when he was working with rebuilding teams with little talent.

I'm not sure what a realistically better option there is for this team at this time. We have a coach who clearly has the commitment of the entire roster who just led the team to it's most successful season since 1979. I'm not sure what more we could want. Certainly bringing in a rookie coach (which happened a lot this past off season) doesn't seem to make sense. The only other option would be to get a proven winning coach who wants to come to D.C. to coach. George Karl seemed to be the popular choice of some local writers. But there are no guarantees in going that route. I think the players' support for Randy and the job that he has done so far makes him the logical and best choice. Way to go, coach. Well deserved!

2. Maintain the Starting Five…Or Close To It

The Wizards face an offseason where two of their most productive starters are unrestricted free agents, meaning the team has absolutely no control over re-signing Marcin Gortat or Trevor Ariza. Both will likely command large salaries on the open market and I'm sure their agents are salivating over the deals other teams will put in front of these two guys.

For me, the biggest challenge for the Wizards this off season is at the starting center spot. Marcin Gortat is a legitimate NBA starting center. Nobody else on the team is, even if Kevin Seraphin stays with the squad. With the Wizards expected to have more than $15 million in salary cap space there's certainly a lot of cash to hand out this off season. Will Gortat be the team's top priority? What about Ariza? Ariza is clearly the team's best defender and had perhaps the most productive offensive year of his career. He was absolutely deadly from three point range.

For me, the priority is Gortat. There are so few true centers in the NBA these days and I think Gortat values playing in Washington with John Wall with Randy Wittman as coach. The sort of chemistry he has and could have with Wall is difficult to find. I'm hoping there's a hometown discount in there somewhere. After all, what's one or two million dollars less per year? One year of his next contract is going to get him more money than I will make in my lifetime. It's for sure enough to keep him comfortable.

I would also love to see Ariza back next year, but at a sensible price, which in my mind may be the same as he made this year. I love Trevor Ariza's play. If it weren't for Martell Webster on the team, I'd be wearing a number 1 jersey to Verizon Center every game. I love Trevor's ability to shut down opponents and I love his ability to score the three. But I also believe John Wall has something to do with his offensive output. I thought it was a mistake to start Ariza over Webster this year since Martell performed so well last year. But Ariza at the starting three spot worked exceptionally well this year, whereas Martell's production fell off significantly. If we can't retain Trevor next year, I believe Martell will fill in adequately until Otto Porter is ready. And I believe Otto is the real deal.

I'd try to get both Ariza and Gortat back in the fold. But if negotiations proved too difficult, I'd wrap up Marcin first. He's just way tougher to replace.

3. Shop Frugally

The Wizards end of season salary cap number was $70,204,382. Of that about $70 million, $9,140,915 (or so) was spent on four guys in the last year of their rookie deals, specifically Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely (I prorated his salary at 54 of 82 games) and Chris Singleton. Rookie contracts are typically the best bargain going in the NBA, a chance to get relatively high production out of guys whose costs are kept low by the rookie salary scale. John Wall, for example, played a little more than 15% of the team's total minutes and made slightly more than 10% of the team's payroll. Next year John's salary will almost double. His minutes won't.

Seraphin, Booker, Vesely and Singleton occupied about 13% of the team's payroll (again, prorating Vesely's number) but only played 14.5% of the team's minutes. Booker was by far the best bargain here, costing about 3.3% of the salary number and playing about 7.9% of the minutes. The other three actually cost more than they produced, even at the relative bargain that is a rookie contract. Next year we are not going to be able to afford that kind of waste if we want to challenge teams like Miami and Indiana, especially with John Wall's salary increase and potential sizeable contracts for Gortat and Ariza, if the team opts to go that route.

I think it's safe to say Chris Singleton will not be back in Washington next year and I suspect neither will Kevin Seraphin, unless we really can't find anyone else to back up the center spot. I think Booker stands a pretty good shot at getting a multi-year deal at or about his current salary (just less than $2.5 million) and I think if the Wizards can wrap him up at that number, they should. The real trick will be to maximize the value with the money that last year went to Seraphin, Vesely and Booker. Drew Gooden and Al Harrington proved to be great value for veteran minimum deals. I'd love to see Gooden back with the team at a similar price point in addition to some other free agent vets that can still contribute. A couple of former Wizards in Emeka Okafor (assuming his back isn't forcing him into retirement) and Caron Butler seem like guys we should at least take a look at.

4. Improve Free Throw Shooting

I can't tell you how many games the Wizards blew this year because of their free throw shooting but there were a number, enough that some serious thought needs to be given to how the team as a whole improves their performance from the charity stripe. The Wizards shot just 13 of 26 from the free throw line in an overtime loss at Oklahoma City in November and faced similar difficulties (11 for 18) in a home loss to Atlanta the next month. One more free throw in regulation in either of those games would have wiped out the extra session and given the Wizards a regulation victory.

Overall, the Wizards finished 25th out of 30 teams in free throw percentage during the regular season. Jan Vesely was the worst of all the Wizards shooting a pitiful 33.9% from the line, good for 450th in the league (there were 463 players who shot a free throw in the regular season this year). And just in case you believe shipping Ves to Denver cured the team of its free throw woes, the team actually shot worse in the post season. Collectively, the Wizards managed to hit only 69.6% of their free throws in the playoffs, good for dead last among the 16 teams who played beyond the regular season this year.

During the 2007-2008 season, the Wizards hired Dave Hopla to help with free throw troubles they were experiencing during the previous season. Dave managed to get the team's free throw percentage up from 76.5% to 78.2%. That may not seem like a lot of improvement; it represented only about 34 points over the course of the 2007-2008 season. But trust me when I say I'd love to have had a few extra points in some of our games this year.

Over and above the 34 extra points, the biggest difference Hopla made that year was with center Brendan Haywood, whose free throw percentage jumped from 54.8% during the 2006-2007 season to 73.5% one season later. Instead of being a free throw liability at the end of games, Brendan became an asset, allowing him more time on the floor to coordinate the Wizards' defense (the Wiz were pretty much hopeless on D without B Wood those years). That change doesn't show up on the free throw statistics but it made a difference. Unfortunately, the next year Dave was gone and so was Brendan's free throw prowess. He shot 47.6% the following year.

If there's a guy out there who can help Nenê raise his 58.3% free throw shooting mark, I'd sign him up. The difference in that one player alone would be worth a lot of money. Remember, there's no salary cap on the coaching staff.

5. Develop a Developmental League Strategy

The National Basketball Development League started the 2013-2014 season with 17 teams. Of those 17 teams, 14 were in an exclusive relationship with a single NBA franchise. For NBA teams affiliated with a single D-League franchise, this allowed the NBA team to have their personnel run basketball operations, appoint the coaching staff and run the exact same offensive and defensive schemes in the NBDL. This arrangement provides a huge benefit for players that are assigned to the D-League by the NBA team. The value in this type of relationship has been cited as critical to player development by a number of NBA teams.

The other 16 teams without a single D-League affiliation do not have the same benefit. Instead, those 16 teams share the remaining three NBDL franchises but have no control over playing time or playbooks, meaning the development component of D-League assignments is basically a crap shoot. The Wizards, not surprisingly to this fan, are one of the 16 teams without an exclusive relationship.

The 2014-2015 NBDL schedule will feature 18 teams, the highest total in league history, after the New York Knicks established a new franchise in White Plains. The Knicks were single affiliated with the Erie Bayhawks last year; the Orlando Magic have managed to snag the Bayhawks as their D-League team next year. Of the 18 teams which will participate next year, all but one have an exclusive relationship with an NBA team. Over the past year, the Memphis Grizzlies have secured the Iowa Energy as their exclusive partner and the Phoenix Suns did likewise with the Bakersfield Jam. For the other 13 NBA teams, that means all 13 share a single NBDL franchise, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Fort Wayne is about 550 miles from Washington.

So what exactly is the Wizards' plan in relation to the D-League. If there's one area this franchise has struggled with, it's player development. Are the Wizards actively resisting, slow to react, or just executing some other strategy that is just not apparent? It is not unreasonable to envision a D-League with 30 franchises, one per NBA franchise, in the near future. But what happens until that day for the Wizards? Is sharing a Development League franchise with 12 other teams really useful? I'd love to know.

The First Dozen

When the 2013-2014 NBA schedule was released back in August of this year, I highlighted the Wizards' performance in the first 12 games of the season as a critical indicator of the season's success. Eight of the first 12 games were away from Verizon Center but only four of our opponents in those first dozen games made the playoffs last year. For a team last year that struggled on the road and against non-playoff opponents, I saw this first stretch of games as a potential bellwether of how our season might turn out.

Friday's road loss against the Toronto Raptors in Canada marked the twelfth game of the Wizards 2013-2014 season and I'm still not sure what we have. Our record this year is clearly way better at 4-8 than it was last year at 0-12 but my hopes that this year's team can duplicate last year's mid-season form, when we ran off a 21-15 record between January 7 and March 22, haven't been realized. In fact, I'm not sure we are any closer to understanding if this team is the playoff team they want to be after the first 15 percent of the season.

So in my confused fan state right now, and after having watched the Wizards knock off the New York Knicks last night behind a quality second half at Verizon Center, below is a six pack of thoughts about the first dozen games of the current season.

1. The East Is Terrible

OK, so this thought is not so much about the Wizards but about the Eastern Conference in general. But this fact, unless it changes drastically, is going to continue to keep the Wizards in playoff contention even if our record continues to languish below .500. At the close of Friday night's games, only four teams in the Eastern Conference could claim winning records: the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls. Every other team in the conference, including the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors and championship hopefuls the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, had lost more than they had won.

The Conference is almost begging a team or two to take a step forward and fill in behind the four winning teams listed above and I don't see why that can't be the Wizards. Sure, we're not going to win the Eastern Conference title this year. As of this date, that looks like a two team race between the Pacers and Heat. But why not step up and make the playoffs, even if it's as a seven or eight seed? I see an enormous opportunity, especially with the Nets and Knicks in questionable at best shape. Go for it guys!

2. What Happened to the D?

Last year the Wizards managed to finish in the top third in the league in defensive efficiency behind some underrated individual defenders and some solid team defense. This year, the Wizards are hovering around the top of the bottom third of the league in that same category. Better than at the bottom of the bottom third, but not like last year.

I guess I'm hoping that part of this is early season jitters. In the first month of the season teams often struggle to defend more than they do score. Great defense over a long period of time relies on team play and a deep understanding of defensive schemes and responsibilities. Everybody has to be on the same page. Great individual offensive outputs can often be pulled off at the expense of poor defense and thus it's easier to have great individual offensive games than great team defensive success.

But there's no doubt we miss Emeka Okafor and probably to a lesser extent A.J. Price. I'm not knocking the Emeka for Marcin Gortat trade. I completely believe we made the right move to bring someone like Marcin in (we'll talk about the draft pick later) but he's not a premiere rim protector like Emeka. The last line of defense is often missing at the hoop without Okafor. We've been exposed badly in some situations especially by opposing teams' point guards either dribble penetrating or cutting to the rim without the ball. Hopefully with time and commitment from everyone, team D will improve to maybe the low teens.

3. The Team Is Paper Thin

One of the most glaring deficiencies about the Wizards team last year was a noticeable lack of depth. Other than Trevor Ariza, we really lacked dependability when we went beyond the starting five. Four of our roster spots were taken by guys (Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin, Chris Singleton and Jan Vesely) who were inconsistent at best, and that may be really kind, and we had effectively no backcourt depth.

So one of the off season priorities for the front office seemed to be to correct that situation. We re-signed Martell Webster, inked Eric Maynor to back up the point guard position and towards the end of the summer added free agent Al Harrington. I'm not sure that's fixed our lack of depth. Before the game against the Raptors Friday night the Wizards ranked 29th in bench scoring, ahead of only their opponent that night. In the 96-88 loss that night, the Wizards amassed only nine bench points, far behind Toronto's 25.

Admittedly, both Ariza and Harrington missed that game due to injuries, but Jan Vesely being the first man off the bench speaks volumes about the team's depth. Despite Jan's improved play in this first month, he can still only score on fast break and putback opportunities. Maynor as the backup point guard hasn't added much at all so far and I don't think Garrett Temple, while a quality third string guard, is the answer as a first backup in the backcourt. The team has managed to pull off wins in three of the five games both Ariza and Harringon have missed which is encouraging. But eventually somebody needs to step up and become a dependable bench player. Maybe first round draft pick Otto Porter is the guy, if he ever gets over the hip flexor and suits up.

Marcin Gortat's addition has been key through the first 12. I can't imagine where we would be without him.

4. Personnel Decisions Continue to Haunt Us

The Wizards' roster this year consists of four true backcourt players, one true center and ten other frontcourt players. Martell Webster and Trevor Ariza are still being used as shooting guards for periods in some games but they are really small forwards. Who's kidding who there?

One of the reasons for the Wizards being so forward heavy is our draft history. In 2010 we nabbed two forwards in the draft in Kevin Seraphin and Trevor Booker. A year later we selected Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton. Despite middling or lower production over the years each of those guys has been on the team, they are still all under contract and consuming roster spots. At this point in the season, only one of those four is averaging more than 15 minutes per game (Vesely) and the four combined are contributing less than ten points per contest. Singleton's out with an injury so these comments are a little unfair to him, but I'm not sure he's cracking the rotation in a significant way. That's four first round picks taking up almost 30 percent of the roster and contributing less than ten percent of the offense. Ideally, I'd love to have someone more dependable in one of those spots. Fortunately, all four are not under contract next year; that doesn't help us this year.

I see two potential personnel decisions that might loom large in the coming year. First, Eric Maynor has a player option on a second year with the team. I know it's only 12 games in but Maynor does not appear to be the answer at the backup point guard position. There's such a noticeable dropoff between him and John Wall. Second, there's that 2014 first round draft pick we gave to the Phoenix Suns in the Okafor-Gortat trade. I hate trading first round draft picks but if it gets us into the playoffs this year, it's probably worth it. If it doesn't, Gortat's likely gone and so is our draft pick at some point.

5. There Are Concentration Lapses

I know basketball is famously a game of runs. More than any other sport mostly due to just the frequency of scoring in the games, there are going to be periods in the game when teams just outscore the other team by an astounding margin. And it's likely going to happen whether you are the winning team or the losing team. Having said that, the Wizards' scoring droughts in some games have been so obvious and noticeable that it has either put them totally out of the game; put the game out of reach quickly; or almost wasted an outstanding effort.

Most noticeable in the first 12 games were the San Antonio Spurs' 16-0 run after the Wizards had battled back to within three in the third quarter; the Oklahoma City Thunder's ten point comeback to force overtime with less than three and a half minutes to play; and the Cleveland Cavaliers' 36-13 run to almost steal the win after the Wizards led by 27. In each case, the Wizards seemed to lose focus on what it was they were supposed to be doing on the court, and they lapsed into lazy, one-on-one hero ball and it cost them at least the Oklahoma City game and it almost took the Cleveland game from them. We haven't won in San Antonio since 1999, so it's pretty difficult for me to argue that unselfish play would have won that game.

I know this team is young to the point where arguably the two best players on the team are 20 and 23 (in Bradley Beal and John Wall) and I also realize neither of those two has had a veteran to mentor and teach them how to play their positions at the NBA level. But they have got to remember to listen to head coach Randy Wittman. I'm sure Randy is reminding them to share the ball and run the offense. They need to do it. It will save Randy's job and may save the season.

6. We Should Be 7-5

I'll end these observations on a hopeful note. In all honesty, this team should have won seven of the first 12, not four of first 12. We held a double digit lead against both Philadelphia and Cleveland in the second half at home and managed to squander both games and let the visitors walk off with a victory. We also had the Thunder dead to rights in Oklahoma City before Nenê picked up his second technical foul and the team lost all focus. There were also no games we won in the first 12 that we should have lost, so the three additional victories we should have is a true number.

In spite of that optimism, however, we didn't win seven of the first dozen games but the three we threw away should serve as a reminder for the team to realize they can achieve a winning record if they put forth 48 minutes of concentrated effort per game. I know that's going to be difficult for this team. Ideally everyone would like a few games where they can mail them in, but it doesn't appear our team is talented enough to do that. 48 minutes guys, not 36, 40 or even 44. 48! Do that every game and we might be OK.

On to the next 72! I feel better than I did last year.

Summer League 2013

As of this post, NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is in full swing. It started last Friday and runs through next Monday. The Wizards first two games of the summer were this past Saturday and Sunday and I was able to get out to Vegas to see our guys play before heading back to D.C. and back to work. In case I haven't made it obvious in prior posts, let me state once again for the record that I love Summer League. Despite getting back from a European trip just five days before leaving for Vegas, there was no way I was missing this.

The Las Vegas Summer League this year is a tournament, with the championship game on the final day, and that format has completely affected the scheduling of games. In the four prior Summer Leagues I have attended, the Wizards usually completed all five of their games over a seven day span, playing three games and two games on consecutive days sandwiched around two days off. This year, every team plays three games in the first five days with anywhere from two to five additional games in tournament play. This new schedule had the Wizards playing Saturday and Sunday but not again until Tuesday, which didn't allow me to take in three games in the three night stay I typically allocate to a Vegas trip. I'm not going to get upset about missing the third game; it just is what it is. But I might change my philosophy in coming years.

One of the reasons I love Summer League is the opportunity to talk to players, coaches and general managers about the Wizards, the NBA or the game of basketball in general. Last year I was able to bend Wizards' general manager Ernie Grunfeld's ear for five minutes or so after a game and spent some time talking to Chris Singleton. Friday morning, I was sitting at the gate at National Airport when head coach Randy Wittman walked in to the boarding area. The team flew out a day earlier but Randy had another commitment so he ended up flying first class on the 9 a.m. direct flight that I happened to be on.

"Surveillance photo" of me grilling Randy Wittman about the Wizards.

I usually manage to only get a couple of words in with our head coach at Summer League over the aisle between the general admission seats and the roped off VIP coaches and players section so it was great to get a few questions in uninterrupted while we waited to board. And I actually had stuff I wanted to know this year. I always claim that this blog is not about the game of basketball (and it's not) but I have learned a thing or two about our team here and there while writing this and it definitely prepared me to talk hoops with Randy.

We didn't talk long but I managed to ask about turnovers, the Ariza/Okafor for Rashard Lewis trade, the log jam of young players in the frontcourt and Jan Vesely's free throws. Not surprisingly, turnovers drive Randy nuts and the Wizards committed a lot of them last year. He acknowledged that the team is likely to have more turnovers than other teams because of the pace the team wants to play but also credited John Wall with improvement at the end of last year which he hopes (as we all do) will carry over to this year.

I next asked about the difference that Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor made to the team's success last year. Randy pointed out that a lot of people panned the trade to begin with because it added another year of salary cap burden which could have been used to sign free agents but that in the end the team needed veterans who can play. I admitted I was one of the trade's detractors at the beginning of the season and I thought the use of the term "veterans who can play" was interesting. There's no question Trevor and Emeka logged heavy minutes last year and were not just in the locker room for leadership alone. We need these guys to play and contribute in a big way.

On the subject of our young big men, Randy noted that either Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely or Chris Singleton has to start distinguishing themselves from the pack to get heavy minutes. He also acknowledged that there is probably only room for two of those four in the future. Finally, I asked about how Vesely can improve his free throw percentage. Randy confirmed for me that it's all mental, just as we heard from A.J. Price at the end of last season, and that Ves is seeking help from a sports psychologist to improve his performance at the line. What a great start to summer league; I hadn't even left Virginia yet and already had gained the kind of inside information you get sometimes when you hang around the right spot at the right time.

2013 first round draft pick Otto Porter during a timeout in game 1.

As far as the Wizards' play while I was in Las Vegas...well, big picture-wise, we lost both games. We managed to set a Las Vegas NBA Summer League all time record for fewest points scored in a game by both teams (108 points total) in Saturday's turnover filled game against the Golden State Warriors. We followed that effort on Sunday with a close-through-three-quarters affair against the New York Knicks before collapsing in the fourth quarter to the tune of 23-12 and ultimately losing by 13 points. I realize wins and losses don't mean much in Summer League but it's nice to win just the same, especially after traveling 2,000 miles for a game or two.

This year's Summer League team featured four players who are likely to be on the Wizards' 2013-2014 opening day roster and probably nobody else considering we theoretically only have one open roster spot unless we manage to make some adjustments via trade prior to the start of the season. 2011 first round draft picks Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton were back for their second Vegas stint and were joined by this year's draft picks Otto Porter and Glen Rice, Jr., so it was an opportunity to see if Ves and Singleton would fare better against Summer League opponents than they did in the regular season in addition to getting a first look at our two rookies.

Through our first two games, Chris Singleton had another uneven Summer League. He led the team in scoring with 13 points in our 52 point game against the Warriors on 4 of 9 shooting but fared far worse against the Knicks in the second game. It appears the team is once again experimenting with Chris bringing the ball up court just like he did last summer and it's just not working. I am much more nervous with Chris handing the ball in Summer League than I am having Trevor Ariza do it in the regular season and that's saying something. If there was somewhat of a bright spot for me in Chris' first two games, it's that he knocked down some open jump shots in game one after seeming highly reluctant to take those shots at first. No doubt he's still a work in progress. Chris has an uphill climb at the three spot this year so it seems like his best chance for significant playing time is at the power forward position. Knocking down open Js will help his court time.

In contrast to last year's Summer League, I thought Jan Vesely played very well this year. He was fairly aggressive offensively, testing out some post moves with limited success, and played some good defense deflecting passes and blocking some shots inside. While he had an errant pass or two, Ves continued to show in my opinion some strong passing skills, especially when starting the fast break. I also thought he rebounded fairly effectively. It's difficult to gauge the performance of an athletic power forward in Summer League. He needs someone to facilitate his offense too much to flourish in that type of atmosphere. The couple of alley oop attempts thrown Jan's way being clearly off the mark served as a perfect example of his need for quality point guard play for his game to succeed. One really bright spot: he looked very comfortable going two-for-two from the free throw line.



Me in my Jan Vesely t shirt with Vesely himself.

The first two games of Summer League were a mixed bag for number three overall draft pick Otto Porter, who started at shooting guard. I thought his first game was far more effective than his second game. He looked comfortable on the court, unlike Bradley Beal in his first game last year, but he was certainly not an offensive force. He showed his full game on Saturday defending, rebounding, scoring and hustling for loose balls. He played some heads up ball and managed to get out and run on some fast break attempts, finishing efficiently at the rim.

Glen Rice, Jr. on the other hand showed some game. Of our four players likely to be on the roster on opening day, Glen's performance exceeded my expectations by a ton. His shooting was perhaps less than remarkable, making only five of his 15 shots over the first two games. What stood out to me though was the rest of his game, including his ability to rebound the ball and defend his opponent. He also managed the most impressive dunk of the first two days for the Wizards. Hopefully his Summer League performance can translate to the regular season, although I realize that's a lot to ask of a rookie second round draft pick. I noticed Glen looked down at his feet to make sure he was behind the three point line in each of the two games I watched. I wish he wouldn't do that; just catch and shoot in rhythm and learn where to place your feet over time. He missed both shots by the way.

This brief all too short trip to Las Vegas was my fifth Summer League excursion. If there's one thing that's obvious from this past weekend, it's that the event is clearly picking up some momentum. I realize I showed up on the first Saturday in the smaller Cox Pavilion when both the Warriors and Sacramento Kings were playing, but the place was packed. I've only seen it more full than it was Saturday afternoon once and that was during John Wall's first game three years ago. It's great to see people packing the arena even if it was kind of nice to watch hoops in a mostly empty arena in years past.

I also noticed increased visibility in talking with cab drivers. I think every cab driver I've had before this year had no idea what was happening over at the Thomas and Mack Center and getting rides back to the strip was a complete crap shoot. You just had to be there when someone else was dropped off. But this year on both days I exited the arena there was a cab line outside the arena, which is great to see. I've been back only one day and I wish I was still out there. The Wizards' final game of group play is tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

Oh...by the way, the odds of the Wizards finishing with the best record in the NBA: 100 to 1. I didn't place a bet.

Finally! A cab line outside the Thomas and Mack Center.