ShareBullets … news, randomness and tidbits from around the web. The previous ShareBullets was about current Wizards, this one is about past Wizards/Bullets…

Cards in Meridian Hill Park, D.C. – photo: K. Weidie

> Crittenton’s Song & Bookie Ball

Remember Kendrick “Bookie Ball” Long? Of course you do. Long, a “playground pal of [Javaris] Crittenton’s from Atlanta,” was the primary source for Peter Vecsey’s initial somewhat false, somewhat true article in the New York Post about the December 2009 locker room gun incident between Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas. We later found out Arenas was playing the joker and Crittenton, despite the official court report, did, in fact, have bullets for his gun.

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ShareBullets … news, randomness and tidbits from around the web. These involve current Wizards, ShareBullets on past Wizards/Bullets to come…

> John Wall’s New Reebok Zigs

So a sneak peak at Wall’s new Reeboks is out, via Sole Collector. What do you think? (Poll below.) FWIW, in the poll on Sole Collector, which has many, many options, 26-percent currently say that they are “hideous.”

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[Note: Team France will take on Team USA in the preliminary round opener for each team at 9:30 am (ET) on Sunday, July 29.]

Picture Credit: Fédération Française de Basketball

Nene, the Washington Wizards forward/center and Brazilian native, received a warm welcome from the Verizon Center crowd in Washington, D.C. when he was introduced before USA’s 88-76 victory over Brazil in friendly exhibition on July 16. Due to his prominent role on the Brazilian national team, Nene has received much attention in his country’s quest to medal at the 2012 Olympics. But the other Wizard participating in the London games, Kevin Seraphin, continues to fly under the radar for Team France. His potential impact for France, especially with Joakim Noah injured and not playing, is often overlooked by the international basketball press. Washington fans and NBA fantasy players are fully aware of Seraphin’s emergence down the stretch for the Wizards. He turned into a double-double machine, averaging 14.1 points,  7.2 rebounds and 53.2-percent shooting in his 21 starts.

A major critique of the Washington’s trade for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza was that it would result in fewer minutes for younger players, since both acquired veterans could be starters on opening day. Specifically, it could mean less time for Seraphin at the center position with him possibly being demoted to the bench in favor of Okafor and his $13.5 million salary in 2012-13. But, Randy Wittman’s approach to give minutes to those playing the best might eventually make it hard to keep Seraphin on the bench. A young big man with soft hands and proven ability to score is a rare NBA commodity. Seraphin’s dedicated work ethic, intense on-the-court physical style, and beaming confidence indicates that he’s no flash-in-the plan, but that he has a chance to be really special.

Seraphin’s ascension actually began last summer when he surprised many basketball observers by making the French national team. He hardly played in France’s second-place finish at the 2011 European Championships, but in this Olympic competition, he will be the first big off the bench behind starters Ronny Turiaf and Boris Diaw. In preparation for the Olympic tournament, Seraphin trained with his teammates in France for the past six weeks. Team France just finished up their friendly exhibition schedule; here are the following results along with some of Seraphin’s numbers: Read more »

After seven seasons, 7-Day ‘Dray is no longer a Washington Wizard, cast away by means of the amnesty provision on July 17. Some are still celebrating, some are still contemplating… the TAI crew of Adam McGinnis, Sean Fagan, Dan Diamond, Rashad Mobley, and Kyle Weidie take you through an FAQ on the official departure of Andray Blatche.

Q: When did Blatche’s time with the Wizards go south? And Why?

A: Adam McGinnis (@AdamMcGinnis)

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(picture via USA Basketball)

USA Basketball rolled into the nation’s capital this past weekend, taking part in a variety of World Basketball Festival events throughout the city. It all culminates with the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams facing off tonight at the Verizon Center against their counterparts from Brazil in a friendly exhibition. The men’s team held a “Hoops for Troops” practice on Saturday afternoon at D.C. Armory in front of 3,000 fans, many of them members of the armed forces. The team ran through 5-on-0 full court offensive sets, defensive drills, and had an intra-squad scrimmage. The special gathering had a “midnight madness” feel with a sprinkle of Wizards home game flavor. And, lest we forget, these are the best basketball players in the world going hard at each other; it was truly special to witness. (Additional coverage of this experience will be available in forthcoming posts.)

On Sunday, the men’s team held a practice at the Smith Center (George Washington University’s basketball arena), and it was briefly open to the media. The preparations are part of the USA Basketball tour that started in Las Vegas with this stop in D.C., along with appearances in Manchester, England and Barcelona, Spain, before ultimately arriving in London to defend their 2008 Olympic gold.

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[One of the last photos of Andray Blatche in a Wizards uniform? Credit: K. Weidie, TruthAboutIt.net]

Within the next six days, we’ll find out if 7-Day ‘Dray is here to stay. (Well, at least for another few months.)

The NBA’s summer amnesty period began yesterday and runs through July 17. Because the Wizards didn’t elect to amnesty anyone last summer, they’ve got one last chance to decide if they’re going to use it — and as the Washington Post‘s Michael Lee reports, the team is “seriously considering” parting ways with Andray Blatche’s three-year, $23 million contract. But should they?

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If this summer’s frenzied free agent pace has taught us anything, it’s that vying for players on the market, restricted or unrestricted, can be more trouble than it’s worth.

Teams like the 2011 champion Dallas Mavericks can find themselves out in the cold, losing number one targets (like Deron Williams), as well as their own (Jason Kidd and Jason Terry). The Mavs are now scrambling to gauge interest in Elton Brand, the 13-year veteran who was surprisingly amnestied by the Philadelphia 76ers late last week — even a bid to secure his services would be unsure. Ramon Sessions is under consideration. Ramon Sessions. The question being whispered by NBA insiders and, likely, the Mark Cuban brain trust: Is it time to trade Dirk Nowitzki?

Other teams and their fan bases might currently be under the impression that they’ve “won” something in free agency, committing X amount of dollars in a chase to over-pay suspect basketball potential around the league. Money thrown at the likes of Brandon Roy (Minnesota, 2-years, $10 million), Landry Fields (Toronto, 3-years, $20 million), Michael Beasley (Phoenix, 3-years, $18 million), and Omer Asik (Houston, 3-years, $25 million), could quickly backfire. More crazed spending likely on the way.

And not to mitigate the risk involved with building a team almost exclusively through the draft and trades. The Wizards, as much as any franchise, know about the failures in those maneuvers. One only need to start rattling off names like Mike Miller, Randy Foye and Kwame Brown. Different options come with varying repercussions and risks across team situations.

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Jan Vesely lets the jumpers fly at Wizards summer mini-camp day one (with a cameo from Bradley Beal).

“I’m not thinking about to show anything, I’m just happy to play and I will try to do my best on the court and try to get the wins.”

Those were Jan Vesely’s words on Monday afternoon when asked what he wanted to show the team about his game this summer. The quote was so him. Vesely plays  just to play, not for display.

The Vesely we saw flashes of last year is that instinctual, always-around-the-basketball guy. He doesn’t have to show the game, he knows it. Still, people expect to see something new, even if Jan claims he isn’t thinking about showing anything.

Two words: Jump. Shot.

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One of the benefits of the “soft salary cap” in the NBA is that it purportedly enables a team to retain its own players easier than a “hard salary cap.” Teams can offer their own free agents more money and more years than any other team, thus rewarding hometown fans and promoting player loyalty. Of course, it is not a flawless system, and there will always be players who have their minds firmly set on taking their talents to a different market to play with different teammates. But for the most part, a player’s current team will virtually always be able to offer a more lucrative and longer contract.

Back in 2003, the Washington Wizards were able to take advantage of one of the few loopholes in this soft cap system when they outbid the Golden State Warriors for Gilbert Arenas, a restricted free agent (RFA) after being a second round pick in 2001. The Warriors were over the cap and thus could only use an exception to re-sign Arenas. Gilbert was classified as an “Early Bird” free agent, meaning he had played with the Warriors over the previous two seasons without changing teams. A team can use the Early Bird exception to re-sign its own free agent for up to 175-percent of his salary in the previous season or 104.5-percent of the league’s average salary, whichever is higher. Therefore, Golden State could only match an offer sheet, or extend Gilbert’s contract, for up to the amount of the Early Bird exception ($4.9 million in 2003, the league average at the time). The Wizards smartly (two words you don’t hear next to each other very often) signed Arenas to an offer sheet nearly doubling Golden State’s exception, $8.5 million in starting salary, and left the Warriors without an option to legally match within salary cap rules.

This loophole was seemingly closed in the 2005 CBA with the “Gilbert Arenas Provision,” where it was ruled that an offer sheet made to a restricted free agent in his first or second year in the NBA could not contain a first-year salary greater than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($5 million for 2012-13) and a second-year salary no greater than the standard 4.5-percent raise from the first year. The third year of the offer sheet has no such restrictions and could be as high as the player’s maximum, given the offering team’s cap room. However, if a raise from year two to year three is greater than 4.5-percent, the team proposing the offer sheet must be able to fit the average of the entire contract under the cap, rather than the first-year salary, and that is how it is applied to their ledger. But if the original team decides to match the offer sheet, the annual salary is applied to the original team exactly as it is laid out in the standing offer sheet. To put this in context of 2003, the Wizards would only have been able to offer the full mid-level exception in the first two seasons, which at the time was $4.917 million. Golden State therefore would have at least had the option to match this offer sheet for Arenas, if they chose to do so.

The So-Called “Gilbert Arenas” Provision

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[Heaven is a playground in Oklahoma City--and perhaps Wizards fans will get there, one day.
Hat-tip SpreeGoogs.]

A word of warning: I’m Truth About It’s resident pessimist. You may remember me from such posts as “Memo to NBA: Contract the Wizards” and “Clearly, God Hates DC Basketball Fans.” (OK, I made that second one up.)

But I don’t feel like a pessimist today. Just a realist.

Kyle and John have artfully explained why the big Emeka Okafor-Trevor Ariza-Rashard Lewis deal is a net good for the Wiz.

Still, I think we need to go by a simple question: What Would Oklahoma City Do?

Answer: Not this.

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