While we’re keeping score…

The Washington Wizards are just one of four NBA franchises which haven’t tasted the playoffs in the last four seasons (since 2009-10). Its contemporaries: the Sacramento Kings, the Toronto Raptors, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Yes, the Charlotte Bobcats made the playoffs in 2010 if you’re wondering).

That doesn’t, however, mean that one can’t play for one of these recently–and some more permanently–forlorn franchises and not make the playoffs. There are plenty of ex-Washington Wizards in this year’s regular season afterlife.

Let’s dive into some names and see how these four teams compare. To be listed, ex-players must be on a current playoff roster, and not simply having played for a current playoff team at some point during the season. (Looking at you, Beno Udrih, ex-King who was traded from the Bucks to the Magic in February.)

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Martell Webster, in his first year as a member of the Wizards, has had an excellent season and a profound impact on the team. His 3-point shooting and unique style of play has been a great fit, especially with Wall at the helm and Beal with him on the wing. Compare Webster’s pertinent statistics on a month-by-month basis this season:

November: 12 games played, 257 total minutes, 103 total points, 43.8% FG, 41.7% 3P
December: 14 games played, 438 total minutes, 132 total points, 39.4% FG, 40.0% 3P
January: 16 games played, 445 total minutes, 195 total points, 46.3% FG, 41.4% 3P
February: 12 games played, 381 total minutes, 149 total points, 51.5% FG, 56.4% 3P
March: 15 games played, 506 total minutes, 224 total points, 43.7% FG, 39.0% 3P
April: 5 games played, 123 total minutes, 45 total points, 34.1% FG, 25.0% 3P

On the season? 29 minutes per game, 11.4 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game, 44.4% FG, 42.2% 3P.

Let’s read between the lines a bit, because numbers enjoy the companionship of context. What is the mark for “excellent” NBA 3-point shooting? That’s debatable, but for argument’s sake, let’s say being one of the top 25 3-point shooters in the NBA. The current 25th best, OJ Mayo, hits 40.6 percent of the time. Webster has been above that mark in three out of the six available months (excluding that lonely October game). Two of those months, January and February 2013, came with heavy minutes from John Wall and Bradley Beal. While Wall’s ability to buttress his teammates’ shooting ability has been well-documented, the less publicized point about Webster’s career year has been how well he and Beal have played together.

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The Okafor Line >>>

Earlier this season, in detracting from his poor play, and rather large contract, the “Okafor Line” was created. Do Emeka Okafor’s points plus rebounds exceed the amount he’s getting paid in millions?

Okafor is making $13.5 million this season and is due around $14.5 million next season, as reports indicate that he will not early terminate his contract which runs through 2013-14. Shattering the Okafor Line should be a cakewalk on paper, lots and lots of green paper.

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You’ve got this whole Wizards rebuilding project. Talk about angst. Are we in year three? Who knows. Has the can been kicked down a road of hope? Ted Leonsis has kept his kicking, and blogging, shoes on. In any case, the Wizards, clearly another lottery team, aren’t “rebuilt” just yet. Still on the schedule: another summer of, ‘Hey, we really mean it this time… playoffs.’

What about that draft lottery? An abundance of perpetual angst exists in Wizards Nation. And the Wizards and the draft lottery will tango once again; mark your calendars: Tuesday, May 21, 2013. In a supposed weak draft with somewhat of a core in place already, Ernie Grunfeld can probably leave his trusty gold coin at home. Winning the lottery is less relevant for the Wizards, especially considering how on Friday morning they had the third-worst record in the NBA. Now, they are eighth-worst and are less than 2.5 games out from 11th-worst (or 19th-best, depending on how you look at it). Nevertheless, there will be plenty of anxiety, perhaps some good, when the lottery balls drop in May while other teams are experiencing the post-season. [Worth mentioning: the Wizards currently have a 4.9% chance of winning the lottery.]

But what currently causes the most angst amongst Wizards fans? Martell Webster and the forthcoming decision — Webster’s free agency. The Wizards took a chance this summer by signing Webster to a one-year contract at the rate of $1.75 million. At the time, they had no clue it would end up like this. Now, Webster is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA. And so much more, especially to his teammates, as evidenced by the above video. On Saturday night, Webster tossed in 7-of-10 3-pointers and scored a career-high 34 points, also becoming the first Wizard with a 30-point game this season.

The question at hand: What will Webster be worth on the open market? And, as he continues to play up his value, can the Wizards afford to keep him?

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Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 54th game of the season at home against the Houston Rockets are TAI’s Rashad Mobley (@rashad20) and guest Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) who writes about the Rockets for Red94, an ESPN TrueHoop Network blog.

Wizards Starters (16-37):

  John Wall, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, Nene, Emeka Okafor

Rockets Starters (31-26):

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Jordan Crawford was traded today, ya heard? A former 24-year old rebuilding chip was jettisoned to Boston for a couple 30-year old NBA vagabonds, Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins. #SoWizards? Perhaps. Here’s the rundown of reactions from the TAI crew…

Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It):

It really is a shoulder shrugger (and a head-shaker). I mean, I care. I’ll miss Jordan Crawford. I wish he would have been a better player. I wish that the relationship between him and the franchise didn’t go down in such an epic, flaming bag of shit. But it did. Fighting off the desire to not overreact, but something is amiss with how this team handles players (not all players, mind you). Everyone in the league seems to know it and the owner seems completely oblivious to it. I’ll reiterate: During the time that Ernie Grunfeld has led the Wizards (since the ’03 Summer) only one NBA team has more losses than the Wizards: the Minnesota Timberwolves, with 482 losses to Washington’s 475. But now, Ernie is evidently doing exactly what Ted wants. So there’s that.

Crawford certainly did his part to wear out his welcome—an estimated 80 percent part, I’d say. In return for the diminished asset, the Wizards save a little bit of money. Nice, but certainly not part of the plan. The Theodore Unit wanted to develop young players who could either be used as trade pieces or as pillars for the rebuild. Instead, they are giving them away. On the other hand, Crawford was good, but he was not a system player. He wasn’t about quick ball movement, and he was rarely conscious about offensive spacing. He knew how to fire up shots with confidence, and he had the ability to drop fancy, no-look passes when his teammates weren’t ready. Hardly useful in terms of winning.

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The Washington Wizards preach patience, but internally, they are desperate. The rebuild has not gone as planned. They still can’t seem to adequately develop draftees who aren’t shoe-ins (i.e., those not named Bradley Beal). If they don’t make a move now, their core either could be set for next season, or teetering on relatively drastic change with the expiring contracts of Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor potentially coming into play this summer or before the next trade deadline.

Do the Wizards need to make a deal by 3 pm on Thursday? No, not at all. Why rush the rebuild when lottery chances are once again at stake? Could Team President Ernie Grunfeld still roll up his sleeves to expose some tricks? Indeed (Omar Little voice).

So who’s out there?

Well, we all know Josh Smith is available. But reports on top of reports on top of roast beef sandwiches indicate that the Wizards are now “coolin’” on a move for Smith, which means that the package they’re willing to offer for him is probably not as competitive as offers from Milwaukee or Brooklyn, for instance. I’m not so hot on Smith myself — with him “thinking” that he’s a max contract player and with Smith essentially being his agency’s only marquee player (also the agency of Javaris Crittenton, FWIW). Smith is not a max type player, at least not with his poor attitude. Although, colleague John Townsend informs me that Smith’s cumulative WARP (Wins Above Replacement Player, an advanced stat) over the past several seasons is very good. So, yea…

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Do the Wizards really want DeMarcus Cousins?

That’s the question I keep asking myself, continuing in circles without much of an answer.

Can the Wizards even get DeMarcus Cousins? Perhaps.

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Ultimately, it is what it is — Mike Miller style. What will be with the Washington Wizards will be. Until there are signs that that franchise is truly turning around, those who question “the plan” are obtuse outsiders without context. At least it seems this way, sometimes, as mistakes accrue and ownership looks to provide massaged reasoning via blog pixels.

It won’t be easy is a mantra, stay the well-intended course is the verse, and injuries are the narrative. It’s still hard to tell if something is direly amiss with the Ernie Grunfeld administration and how things are being evaluated in his second life. The track record barely needs mentioning to know how putrid it is. Now, the fires have been further inflamed by a reported trade that never happened.

The Washington Post‘s Michael Lee dropped a bombshell on Ted Leonsis’ pro basketball franchise on Tuesday evening, just as the Wizards were set to tip off against the Hornets in New Orleans. The quick gist is this tweet via @PostSports:

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Shaun Livingston won’t be wearing a cape when he takes the floor for the Wizards. They’ve lost seven games to start the season without him, Washington could very well lose the next seven games with him. Although, as a survivor of an infamous knee injury—one that not only could have been career-ending, but also leg-ending—he probably feels like he has protective cape on his back for the rest of his basketball playing days.

Livingston has been on three different NBA teams since his previous stint Wizards in the aftermath of the 2009-10 “Guns in the Locker Room” season—he signed late that February and appeared in 26 games. He called his time in D.C. a “turning point” for his career at his first practice on Friday afternoon, relishing in how it all came together: the chance and minutes that then-coach Flip Saunders gave him, his knee responding well, and finding confidence. But as fate would have it, the Wizards landed 2010 No. 1 draft pick John Wall, they dealt for Kirk Hinrich on the night of that draft, and they still had Gilbert Arenas on roster. Livingston was no longer needed. “That’s just the name of the game, those things happen,” he said.

Livingston signed with the Bobcats that offseason and continued his strong play in 2010-11. His career-high 14.4 PER in 26 games with the Wizards only dipped to 14.3 in 73 games with Charlotte. But then he was traded again in the offseason, this time to Milwaukee, where he appeared in 58 games during the lockout-shortened season with a PER of 11. Then, another offseason trade to Houston—Livingston was sent as part of a deal that allowed the Rockets to clear Samuel Dalembert’s contract off their books. But Livingston never suited up in Texas and was waived on October 29. It took a couple weeks for the Wizards to finally come calling.

“I haven’t played yet this year. Just anxious to get out there, very anxious. Just gotta get my legs back, get my wind up, and I’ll be alright,” said Livingston when presented to the media after Friday’s practice. It’s a totally new locker room, Livingston has noticed. As well advertised, John Wall, Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin are the longest-tenured Wizards. Livingston and Cartier Martin did, however, appear in eight games together at the end of that 2009-10 season.

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