On a holiday weekend, where you will no doubt be eating in some sort of gluttonous manner, let’s take a quick look at just one of the rotund members of the Wizards/Bullets franchise’s past … Ledell Eackles.
I won’t be getting into too much of my own historical research and perspective on the player in this post … mostly because several great pieces on Eackles have already been written. Let’s take a look …
As offense off the bench, the late ’80s/early ’90s Detroit Pistons had “The Microwave,” Vinnie Johnson. The Washington Bullets had a 240 lb., 6’5 shooting guard who was never in shape, frequently disinterested in defense, and missed more practice than Allen Iverson.
While Dwyane Wade is living it up on South Beach, probably wondering like Shaq and Bubs how the Heat managed to win that ’06 title while they were all partying their STDs off …
While LeBron is trying to determine which city will most make him a global icon (for the record, it’s NYC #1, Brooklyn #2 and D.C. #3) …
While Joe Johnson is dribbling around at age 30, preparing to be the pre-1999 Susan Lucci of free-agency …
Don’t forget, Carmelo Anthony is a celebrity too. Just because he won’t be a free-agent until summer ’011, don’t you dare forget. And guys, can’t he at least come and hang out with the Quartet Council Meeting of Big Free Agents (not including Dirk Nowitzki)?
If I were doing things in a better manner (blog-wise), I’d make a separate post for each and every little bit of John Wall-related news emerging on the world-wide-web … there’d be a thousand of them. Instead, I’m throwing the best of the recent best in this post … with commentary. Enjoy.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post discusses the possibility of an Arenas-Wall backcourt. Lee touches on the idea that Arenas might actually relish not having to lead the offense under Flip Saunders. Remember, much of his struggles in ’09-10 weren’t necessarily due to having to overcome physical obstacles, but rather how to get the ball to others within the offense while balancing the idea that he needs to attack himself in order to create for others. Now, perhaps simplifying the necessity of Arenas’ talent could create a better team-wide dynamic. Lee writes:
My point is, Arenas could easily switch to shooting guard and be effective playing with Wall. He was a shooting guard in his two seasons at Arizona. And, when he shared the backcourt with Larry Hughes in his first two seasons in Washington, Hughes led the team in assists both seasons. Arenas actually enjoyed not being the lone playmaker on the team. At times, the responsibility frustrated him last season under Saunders’s system.
We all know that Flip Saunders is already ecstatic at the opportunity to coach Wall, but getting a 20-year old to effectively run a major NBA playbook while integrating the rest of the team isn’t going to be easy. Flip better get those video breakdowns and iPod Touches ready.
Did you know that basketball players are evidently harder to “maintain” than football players? …. Whatever that means.
Okay, let’s step back for a second. If you live in the DMV area, you’ve undoubtedly seen commercials for Eastern Motors. They usually feature Washington Redskins but more recently have branched out to include the likes of Alex Ovechkin. The commercials have reached cult status around these parts, just check out the Easterns YouTube channel.
Combine famous athletes doing silly things with a catchy jingle and you get plenty of blog-worthy instances, along with genius branding efforts which have netted Easterns a lot of money.
Feeding into the John Wall mania … “What about John Wall!?!?,” was asked by Steinberg to Robert Bassam, founder/CEO of the automotive group. Bassam said: Read more »
There’s been a bit of inactivity on this here blog because I’ve been out of town. But now that I’m back, let the John Wall mania re-commence … because us Wizards fans need to hype the guy up so much that madness will ensue should something crazy happen like Ernie Grunfeld taking Evan Turner or Derrick Favors with the first overall pick. Anything is possible, right?
Actually, let’s take a break from getting all Wall-Nuts for a second and check out some Wizards interviews from late last season … specifically when I asked a handful of players which sports teams they rooted for growing up and now.
Watch the video below to find out:
Which Wizard didn’t like Michael Jordan growing up.
Who is from Cleveland but continued to follow the Browns when they moved to Baltimore and now considers himself a Ravens fan.
Who has a dad who’s a diehard Redskins fan but chose to go against him and root for the Eagles.
Which Wizard only really roots for Brazil soccer as far as sports teams go.
Feeding into the frenzy, here’s a run-down of John Wall-related web content and a wonderment about Wall’s agent, Dan Fegan.
What Does Wall Want?
Amongst the Gilbert Arenas poison pill accusations from within the organization (via John Mitchell’s article), I’d feel remiss if I didn’t point out that some angles have been developing over several months. Things change, feelings change. Keep that in mind.
For instance, the ‘word on the street’ that Arenas told confidants he felt the franchise turned its back on him came out in a Mike Wise/Michael Lee Washington Post piece in mid-January. In early March while handing out fur coats to the homeless, Arenas said he’d have no problem playing in Washington. So, it’s important to have a perspective of the time-line (at least this part of it) and how certain hurt feelings expressed early on might have died down in the considerable amount of time since.
Who knows. Maybe Arenas was just playing nice for the same reason that Ernie Grunfeld could be playing nice, because the two sides know they are likely stuck with each other … at least until Arenas gets back on the court and proves that he has a semblance of trade value.
I recently took part in a Wizards-related round-table at the DC Pro Sports Report. You should go check out the whole thing, but one question in particular got me pondering … What should the Wizards do with their cap space next season?
[Which, by my calculations, factoring in the salaries of the 1st, 30th and 35th picks, assuming that Quinton Ross takes his player option and that the Wizards do not extend Randy Foye a qualifying offer, will be around $21.4 million. Sham Sports used for salary info.]
Here’s what I wrote:
In a perfect world, the Wizards take their six current players (Arenas, Young, Ross, Thornton, Blatche & McGee), draft Wall, sign Livingston, Howard and Singleton (to around $11-14 million total between the three of them — could be auspicious pricing here), draft a couple promising big men with the 30th and 35th picks (Larry Sanders and Jarvis Varnado anyone?), and sign whomever else for the minimum to fill out the roster.
Wale … Washington, D.C.’s first rapper with nationwide worldwide appeal. Some people were a little ‘comme ci, comme ca’ on his debut studio album, Attention Deficit, but I thought it was pretty damn good. Count me a fan of Wale’s music.
The other thing you gotta appreciate about Wale is that he passionately represents the District of Columbia … well, almost.
You’ll often find him talking about the Redskins or using Ovechkin in one of his raps or wearing a Nationals ‘Curly W’ hat. He even sat in the “celebrity” seats at a handful of Wizards games last season. But that’s where Wale’s fandom of the Wizards kinda comes to a halt, at a courtesy attendance via free court-side seats … until now.
John Mitchell has covered the Washington NBA franchise for a long time now. He used to work the team’s beat for the Washington Times and in the present day can often be found writing about league matters, and the Wizards, on NBA.com. Mitchell lives in the area and attended many games this past season.
According to one source with intimate knowledge of the team’s plans, the Wizards front office, headed up by President Ernie Grunfeld, doesn’t want Arenas – released earlier this month from a Washington DC halfway house after serving 30 days for a felony gun conviction – anywhere near Wall, whom the team has already decided it will select with the top pick in the June draft. After Arenas was convicted Grunfeld traded away four starters.
One source tagged Arenas as “the reason why a core of players that reached the playoffs” on multiple occasions had to be broken up, “and it was entirely due to what he did. He poisoned the team. He is a cancer.”
“I know Mr. Pollin had his finger in this pie some place.”
-Ted Leonsis
While talking about pies, you might as well remember the Wizards’ draft lottery color pie and how red was the big winner. And speaking of the red, shall we begin to discuss a team color change?
Here’s a run-down of what was said about the Wizards winning the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery … with some commentary.
Flip’s Preference & The ESPN Lottery Machine
When asked if he had a preference between John Wall and Evan Turner at his Wednesday press conference (with the disclaimer that he didn’t have to share), Flip Saunders said yes. When asked to share it, he wouldn’t … with a smile. But it’s clear that Saunders wants the opportunity to coach a special player like John Wall.
Some are saying that John Wall in a Wizards uniform should mean the end of Gilbert Arena. They assume the two are incapable of co-existing.
Matt Moore of Pro Basketball Talk and Hardwood Paroxysm makes a solid argument using statistics. On PBT Moore cites Arenas’ high usage rate, and on HP he uses Synergy Sports to outline the types of solo offensive plays involving Arenas last season. Both pieces highlight valid concerns that a Wall-Arenas backcourt will not work because they both need the ball in their hands.
Moore also alludes that the Wizards’ locker room is likely still poisoned and assumes there’s little chance Arenas will emerge from his mess a man changed for the better … and that this would obviously be a bad situation to bring Wall into.
“…rest assured that the Wizards will work harder than ever to find a trade for Arenas. It won’t be easy with the $80 million left on Arenas’ contract; they’ll have to take back someone else’s issues. Philadelphia’s Elton Brand, perhaps? Nevertheless, the Wizards will give Wall a locker on one side of the room with Arenas completely across the way. Truth be told, there will be tension between the old and new guard until Arenas is moved.”
I will continue to be dumbfounded for an indeterminate amount of time, but will hold the right, as a Wizards fan, to still be skeptical about the future … even after getting the #1 overall pick.
Alright, screw that. I’m happy. I’m not yelling at the top of my lungs/doing jumping jacks happy — I’m still too shocked to show physical elation — But man … it feels good to finally be “that” team.
When was the last time all other NBA teams were envious of the Washington Wizards? I can’t remember. And I’m conveniently not counting the lottery the Wizards won which afforded them the “opportunity” to select Kwame Brown in a crappy draft. I was away in college back then and this John Wall opportunity is worlds away from a meek Georgia boy with tiny hands.
Sure, I was somewhat skeptical about Irene Pollin being the Wizards’ representative at the NBA Draft Lottery. I was wrong. I’m even more skeptical about saying any good luck charms or superstitions worked (even though I sometimes practice superstitions because it’s really no skin off my butt to do so … I didn’t tonight).
I watched the draft lottery at my apartment, like I did last year (sans the #1 Rod Strickland jersey on the floor). Just a plain vanilla viewing with a couple of beverages.
If you eat and breathe the Washington Wizards as much as I do, you’ve considered the slim chance of crazy scenarios like the Wizards getting John Wall (via winning the draft lottery) followed by LeBron coming to play with his boy Wall in front of President Obama in D.C., along with Gil, ‘Dray, ‘Vale, Quinton, Nick and Al, and also joined by some veteran free-agents willing to sign for cheap within the remaining cap space*.
After all, LeBron is boys with Caps/Wizards owner Ted Leonsis (well, at least LBJ offered a testimonial on the back of Leonsis’ book, The Business of Happiness) and he just might realize the potential benefits of playing in an international city and forming a basketball/hockey MVP conglomerate with Alex Ovechkin. It’s not like these three parties have met or anything like that though … oh wait, the picture above.
Then again, Delonte West is from the DMV area — and I won’t even speculate what that means. Read more »
The Wizards have zero chance of landing the fourth overall pick in tonight’s draft lottery. But the last time the team did have the fourth was in 1995 when they used it to select Rasheed Wallace out of North Carolina.
Those were the days when dreams were big and aims were high — ‘Sheed, Juwan Howard and Chris Webber, a murder’s row of bigs. But instead of success on the court, we are left cherishing the video clip below when Webber (not playing and suited) put a “I’m a rookie, kick me!” sign on Wallace’s back during a game (also not playing and suited). Ahh, the memories. Gheorghe Muresan is also shown not playing and suited.
Sleepy Freud of Warriors blog Golden State of Mind came up with this handy spectral pie chart for each team’s probability to land a certain pick in tonight’s lottery. The above reflects that the Wizards have the best “odds” to slip one spot and get the sixth pick, a 34.4% chance. “Great.”
But hey, at least the worst-case scenario all the pessimists keep gunning for (slipping to 8th) is that tiny gray sliver of 0.4%.
The Wizards have a 21.4% chance of landing one of the top two coveted picks (presumably John Wall or Evan Turner) — 10.3% to get No. 1; 11.1% to get No. 2.
There’s a 23.8% chance the Wiz will stand pat at five, a 12% chance of picking third and an 8.3% chance of slipping to seventh.
{this picture was procured on the internet}
