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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DeAndre Jordan’s bricked free throw versus the Lakers last Thursday night caused the following reactions from current and former members of the Wizards:

The worse free throw EVER

— Trevor Booker (@35_Fitz) February 15, 2013

D’Andre Jordan free throw he just missed might be Top 5 worst free throw miss EVER in NBA history #SMH

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DeAndre Jordan is a high flyer and an integral member of the Clippers’ “Lob City.”

The seven-foot center’s offensive game is mostly limited to impressive dunks—he’s racked up up 104 of them on the season. His total ranks him fourth in the NBA.

During L.A.’s loss to Wizards on Monday night, Jordan gobbled up a career-high 22 rebounds, but only scored seven points on three made field goals. Of course, all three were slams—some more violent than others.

The field for the 2013 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Houston has not yet been set. I asked DeAndre Jordan if he would like to be in it.

“Maybe. I am not really focused on that right now. I just want to get some wins. But I think it would be fun if I was in it, yeah.”

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[UPDATE: Hold on to 'Booing Blake' on this particular night; Griffin is out against the Wizards with a left hamstring strain.]

The Washington Wizards’ futility over the past four and a half seasons has had several consequences. Their games are no longer broadcast on TNT, ESPN or ABC; NBATV, sometimes. National pundits rarely discuss the team, unless they’re mocking them. NBA bloggers, many of whom became relevant around the time Gilbert Arenas was penning weekly posts for NBA.com, now associate Wizards history with the antics of JaVale McGee, Nick Young, and Andray Blatche. (The days of Gilbertology—and the playoffs—seem all but forgotten.) The Phone Booth now only sells out when fans of opposing teams buy tickets.

Another important fallout has been the loss of a true rival. Wizards fans of this generation always point to the postseason battles against the Cavs as a treasured memory. They were heated and controversial affairs—who can forget the origin of the Crab Dribble? Followers of each team genuinely disliked the other. DeShawn Stevenson and LeBron James definitely didn’t fake their disdain for one another. Even Soulja Boy, reliably relevant during the aughts, was somehow involved.

The Wizards eventually came out on the short end in their series against Cleveland, but they still had an everlasting emotional impact on the fan base. D.C. was united in its hatred of LeBron James and the Cavaliers. (For me, the name Damon Jones will forever trigger an immediate gag reflex; I imagine Boston Red Sox fans feel the same way about Aaron F’ng Boone.) But after Gil’s painful locker room flame out, the contemptuous relationship abruptly ended. With the Wizards now wallowing in NBA’s cellar, nothing has since replaced it.

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Yes, we are all too familiar with Blake Griffin flops (save for petulant Lakers-cum-Clippers fans and other offending defenders). He’s funny in commercials (I genuinely like his KIA spots), he dunks really well, he usually can’t hit a free throw, and Blake Griffin sometimes plays a style of basketball that you would rather referees dishonor than honor. But, stars get calls. Also all too familiar. In this instance, Nene was called for a foul. But will Blake get fined for a flop? Or will the league deem the faux motion acceptable under the threat of assault?

What do you think?

What did #WittmanFace and Nene think?

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[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 32, Washington Wizards at Miami Heat; contributor: Kyle Weidie from his standing desk (Why, yes, this is quite late ... thank you for understanding).]

Smug LeBron. Read more »

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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[Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie covered the Wizards-Hawks game from the Verizon Center on Tuesday night. This is just part of the story, but from both sides of the court.]

From the other side.

—Rashad Mobley, @rashad20

After the first half of Tuesday night’s game between the Hawks and the Wizards, Atlanta’s Jeff Teague and Washington’s Jordan Crawford basically had the exact same statistics. Teague had eight points, six assists and two rebounds, and Crawford eight points, six assists and three rebounds. Except one thing: Crawford’s Wizards were down six points, 46-52.

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Tonight is the third time, with his third team, that DeShawn Stevenson has been back to play in D.C. since he was traded away in February 2010.

As a member of the Dallas Mavericks, before they won the title, Stevenson returned to Washington, played two minutes and missed one shot in a February 2011 contest, a 105-99 Dallas win. As a member of the New Jersey Nets last season, Stevenson made a brief 12 second appearance at the Verizon Center in a 90-84 Nets win on opening night of a lockout-shortened season. Now, as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, having been traded last summer in the Joe Johnson deal, Stevenson returns to Washington, yet again.

Take the opportunity to speak with DeShawn before Tuesday night’s Wizards-Hawks matchup? Certainly.

TAI: Anything to being back here in D.C., or has all that passed by now? Read more »

So the Wizards actually beat the Lakers earlier this year. On March 7, 2012, they pulled out a 106-101 victory in the District, led by Nick Young’s 19 points and a still career-high six assists off the bench. Trevor Booker also muscled his way to 18 points and 17 rebounds that night. And if you recall, the Lakers were up 21 points in the second half. It was Washington’s first victory over the Lake Show since Gilbert Arenas dropped 60 points in his hometown of Los Angeles on December 17, 2006.

In the March win, Roger Mason played the hometown hero by somehow going 4-for-7 from the 3-point line in 12 minutes (all in the second half, three in the fourth quarter). Thus, the Wizards managed to turn a crowd mostly in favor of the Lakers to start into an arena rocking for the comeback Wiz Kids in the end. Afterward, Kobe Bryant was understandably terse with the media, trying his best to “keep it to one-word answers.”

Now Kobe’s Lakers come to Washington with a 9-14 record, somehow with only two fewer losses than the 3-16 Wizards, and having lost to the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Thursday night national television. New York put up 41 points in the first quarter, was up 68-49 at halftime, and ultimately won 116-107. Afterward, Kobe had this to say (via TNT):

“Every game for us has a lot of meaning to it, at this point. I don’t think it’s … Maybe if we were rollin’, playing well, it would probably have added significance [playing Knicks], but
at this point, I wish we had the Washington Generals on our schedule.”

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