A D.C. picture, links and commentary …

[Howard Theater - 620 T St. NW - Washington, D.C. - K. Weidie]

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By now you may know that JaVale McGee has been cut from Team USA … and it also served as another example of news coming directly from a player, via Twitter. This is somewhat disappointing (him being cut, not that word came by means of Twitter). Many signs/media reports gave you the feeling that McGee would at least be taken to Europe to participate in training and exhibitions leading up to the FIBA tournament in Turkey, and it would have been good for his development. Then again, maybe he didn’t want to go, knowing he wouldn’t make the final 12. Or perhaps the team thought it would be best for him to train stateside under the direction of the franchise. Regardless of the reason, a lot of eyes, D.C. and beyond, will be on McGee in 2010-11 because of this Team USA experience. If he becomes more of a student of the game, he can really be special.

Dan Steinberg conveys pretty much the gist of the Redskins’ Brandon Banks doing the John Wall dance after scoring a punt return touchdown in their exhibition opener against the Buffalo Bills. Banks did the dance in front of his boy from Raleigh, John Wall, no less.
[DC Sports Bog]

Even the website of a Lexington, Kentucky NBC television station is covering Banks doing the John Wall dance.
[Lex18.com]

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[Intersecting paths, Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. - taken by Kyle Weidie]

I recently wrote a piece for SB Nation DC about a Twitter interaction — a musical enlightenment — between the WizzNutzz and Mike James, while the former was in glorious Wheaton, Maryland and the latter was in Kenya, Africa. So go read that now … but there’s also more to the story (after you read) …

@WZZTNZZ further Tweets:

@Truth_About_It u like benga jams we gav @mikejames7? then u LUV @AlexMinoff Extra Golden, strait outta Nairobi NW, near Adams Morgan

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Now that the franchise worst 16-game losing streak has departed, it’s time to remember the players who have departed the Wizards this season — via trade or release, not suspension or injury, and only those who actually received minutes.

Below you will find portraits of the departed along with their story from the night pictured and a video clip of a selected quote. Enjoy … I think.

{DeShawn Stevenson}

Depart Date: February 13, 2010

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{A post-game locker-room scene from the night of January 2, 2010}

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The media feeding frenzy at the Verizon Center has dwindled to a faintly glowing ember. Since Gilbert Arenas was banished, there have been press flare ups here and there, such as when former team icons are removed from the franchise’s edifice and shipped out of town, bringing in fresh new faces. But otherwise, it’s usually just the regulars these days.

But when Arenas was around, two noteworthy instances of media circus come to mind: 1) the Wizards’ first game of 2010, the night of January 2nd against the San Antonio Spurs, i.e., the first game after initial stories of a two-man Gun-Gate were revealed; and 2) practice on January 4th, the day the team left for a game in Philadelphia, where finger guns occurred. That Tuesday’s Sixers game would end up being Arenas’ last in a Wizards uniform (to-date). So, that would make Monday afternoon’s practice Gil’s last one in the arena that used to go nuts for him.

That day, the media came looking for Agent Zero, yearning for any morsel of sensationalistic news they could find, I believe they would call them answers. And while January fourth’s practice probably wasn’t as gonzo as the practice on New Year’s Day (which I missed), it nonetheless provided entertaining fodder in it’s own way.

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So Mike James has been written about a couple times lately. And with everything else that’s going on, it’s nice to talk about non-legal, non-14-29 record, basketball-related items. But first, here’s a run-down of everything that’s going on (can’t help myself) …

Such as Javaris Crittenton finally appearing in court, pleading to a misdemeanor gun possession, and being sentenced to one-year probation and a $1,250 fine all in about half-a-day. Oh, and since Gilbert Arenas has owned “hundreds” of guns, we found out about him making fun of Crittenton’s gun because it was little. Good one.

What else? Well, Crittenton’s day in court only created more contradictions, brought to you by Dan Steinberg, and not clarity. My favorite one … the idea the Crittenton dealt with fearing for his life with an unloaded gun. Can we all agree that Javaris got rid of the bullets before turning in the gun? Ok, I’m making an assumption, but that seems like where the smart money is.

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Lo and behold, the very next game after the frustrations of Mike James were written about by myself and Mike Prada of Bullets Forever, the veteran guard’s name was called to play on Sunday against the LA Clippers. But don’t think it was because people have been calling for Flip Saunders to #FreeMikeJames. After the game, the coach indicated that part of the reason James saw action was because Earl Boykins had an issue with his heel.

Summoned to play for the first time in 80 days, James checked in with 2:33 left in the second quarter and immediately hit a runner off the glass. He also held his own against Baron Davis with effort on defense, but did make a silly, costly turnover on the Wizards’ last possession of the first half.

In the second half, James played just under 17 minutes and scored nine points, dropping two assists to two turnovers. He ended up taking the third most shots among all Wizards, attempting 11 and making four, in 19 total minutes of action. It was James, and not Randy Foye, who received the main minutes down the stretch in the fourth quarter. He and Mike Miller both led the team with +3, the only two Wizards with a positive plus/minus rating.

In his press conference, Saunders threw some credit in James’ direction. “He didn’t always play effective, he made some mistakes, but he played hard and played with energy. If you do that consistently as a team, you’ll find a way to get your way back.”

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Mike James can’t wait until the NBA trade deadline. It’s his best shot to get out of a place he does not want to be, the Nation’s Capital of Washington, DC. Although, if his $6.5 million expiring contract isn’t traded by February 19th, the Wizards will likely buy him out, releasing him to the sea of basketball free-agents, where there are plenty of fish.

James doesn’t come across as a malcontent. On the contrary, he’s an approachable, nice guy, has a sense of humor, and is always willing to talk. He’s the one Wizard you’ll likely see reading the bible before games and is often prodding youngsters like Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Andray Blatche to attend pre-game chapel.

But make no mistake. Despite the recent release of a new book, Fight For Your Dreams: Memoirs of an NBA star, and the fact that he rarely shows his displeasure on the outside, Mike James is not a happy camper.

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Before they lost to the Thunder and before Flip Saunders got extremely perturbed, bumping a 40-game evaluation period down to 30 games when it was originally 20 games, I asked various Wizards what was their favorite present that they gave someone else for Christmas/the holidays. Several of them, such as Dominic McGuire, Fabricio Oberto, Mike James, Mike Miller, JaVale McGee, Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Caron Butler, and Gilbert Arenas answered.

It’s just Wizards being Wizards y’all.

At 10-20, with more than a record’s reason to be distraught, i.e., read this piece on Hardwood Paroxysm by Matt Moore, people ask me if it’s hard covering the team. I say …

1) I’ll always love the Wizards.

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ESPN’s Marc Stein reports:

The Miami Heat’s position on trades is no secret. They won’t even consider making a deal for anyone whose contract extends beyond this season to preserve every cent of their projected trove of salary-cap space for July 1, 2010.

But the Heat have, according to NBA front-office sources, explored the possibility of trading for Washington’s highly available Mike James, whose first coach in a 11-team career in 2001-02 was Pat Riley in Miami.

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via Mike James’ Twitter …

But he seems like such a nice guy!…

Well … the preseason ended on a poor note Friday in Chicago. Meh. At least the Wizards’ preseason mantra of “It’s just the preseason” can no longer be used … cheers all around. Read more »

The battle for Wizards starting shooting guard is crucial. The backup power forward spot almost just as much, especially with Antawn Jamison nursing injury and little to show in terms of front court depth. The backup point guard position, however, is a relatively unheralded story.

The talented and rock-steady Randy Foye is thought by many to be the favorite to spell Gilbert Arenas. Foye is also in the mix to play off the ball some. But, there’s already quite a crowd competing at shooting guard with Mike Miller, DeShawn Stevenson, Nick Young and even Caron Butler factoring in.

And then there’s Mike James. With Javaris Crittenton currently out with a foot injury and an unknown timetable for return, some of the competition at point has been eliminated … or at least postponed. But with two DNPs in five preseason games, is James being given a fair shake?

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There was a larger than usual media contingent at the Wizards’ practice this afternoon. I can’t really say this with conviction since it was only my second time attending a practice, but let’s just say there was a presence on a national level. And we’re talking about practice.

Waiting to be let into the gym, I surveyed the media scene. A bunch evil, lazy looking mofos … with daggers in their eyes and hate in their blood. Of course, I’m being extremely facetious here. But in the eyes of Gilbert Arenas, that’s what they are. Ok, again, I must confess, I’m putting words in Arenas’ mouth … but he did call the media “lazy.”

Arenas spoke in such a sullen and somber tone, he seemed like a kid who’d just lost his puppy. I halfway expected him to break out in a smile, but he didn’t. I know I broke out a couple uncontrollable smirks myself. When Arenas was done, he just quietly put his head down and walked to the locker room.

Here’s an excerpt of his presser …

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Last Monday’s Washington Wizards media day seems like such a long time ago.

In addition to me being there, blogging about DeShawn Stevenson’s new tats, the musings of Gilbert Arenas, and the ‘consistent’ goals of Andray Blatche, there was a ton of great coverage from Hoops Addict, Wizards Insider, Wizards Outlet, and Bullets Forever.

Now, after transcribing all of my interview recordings, I wanted to share some of the quotes/pictures that have been relatively unheard/unseen.

{Note: I will be in Richmond for training camp on Saturday and Sunday. There’s limited media access, but I’ll be updating some of the goings-ons via Twitter}

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There was a mini-spike in Randy Foye news last week. On Monday, after watching a video about Foye on NBA.com, I wondered if he could be ‘the’ difference maker.

On Wednesday, the WaPost’s Michael Lee put together a nice piece on Foye off his notes from a previous meeting. Here, we learned of a potential style conflict between Foye and former T-Wolves head coach, current Wizards assistant, Randy Wittman. Lee also related something Kevin McHale once told Foye before a matchup against Dwyane Wade, “Anything he can do, you can do.” Foye battled and finished with 29 points to Wade’s 31. The game came down to a last second foul call that Foye did not get … Wade probably would have.

Predating Wade-Foye comparisons, looking back into John Hollinger’s vault, we find Foye associated with Vinny Del Negro. Before he was drafted in ’06, ESPN compared Foye to Ben Gordon, while NBADraft.net to Chauncey Billups. But it was DraftExpress FTL … in their ‘best’ case, Randy Foye is Mike James; worst case, Juan Dixon. Yuck.

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Last week, I had a chance to interview Mike James over the phone from Houston as he was on his way to the gym. Why Mike James? Well, the guy was nice enough to respond to my email and subsequently agree to chat. Doubt many NBA players would do the same for a ‘blogger’.

In speaking with Mike, I came away with two main impressions; he absolutely loves the game of basketball and he’s very confident — two traits you’ll probably find in every player who sticks around in the best basketball league in the world for more than five seasons.

Acquired from New Orleans in mid-December, James’ presence on the court in a season inevitably filled with mounting losses was the cause of frustration for many Wizards fans who would have rather seen younger players developing on the court.

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