I should have known that the NBA Draft Lottery was not going to fall in the Washington Wizards favor when I walked into the media area.  Two members of the Cleveland Browns, Joshua Cribbs and Joe Haden, who are from Washington, D.C. and Fort Washington, MD respectively, were sitting at a table with former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar.  Maybe under different circumstances Cribbs and Haden would have donned the new colors of the Washington Wizards, but on this evening, their roles were to be good luck charms for Dan Gilbert.  They were ensconced in Cleveland Cavaliers gear – the former pseudo-rival of Washington which also happened to be the team that eliminated the Wizards the last time they were fortunate enough to make the playoffs

Two hours later, Dan Gilbert, his charismatic son Nick, Kosar, Cribbs and Haden were posing for pictures in front of the ESPN camera, and celebrating the fact that the Cavaliers had won the first pick of the 2011 draft.  The Wizards, who were represented by last year’s number one selection John Wall, were left with the sixth pick, despite having the fourth-worst record in the NBA.

Despite the disappointing draft position, there were still some positives for the Washington Wizards franchise.  As I wrote for the DCist, in just a short period of time Wall displayed the type of confidence and leadership that the Wizards braintrust probably expected when they drafted him first just one year ago.  He worked the room, he joked around with his fellow 2010 draft classmate Greg Monroe, as well as Kyrie Irving, who figures to the first pick of the 2011 draft class.  He was equally comfortable in between Toronto Raptors President Bryan Colangelo and Mayor of Sacramento Kevin Johnson; Wall even mentioned that he asked Mayor Johnson about his role in keeping the Kings in Sacramento.

Here is Wall speaking confidently on his summer plans, his opinion of some of the players in the draft and his expectations for his fellow teammates among other things:

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In the seeming eyes of fans, media, Internet trolls and bar room sports pundits, Ernie Grunfeld should lie awake in his bed at night, restless over what to do with the sixth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. The Wizards slipped two whole spots from where they finished the season to achieve No. 6 on Tuesday night, and the team president of basketball operations better put it to good use.

But it’s not all about this draft and this pick, it’s about the move behind the move which begets two more moves. Grunfeld should be up late into the evening, but not because he’s worried for his job, because he’s doing his homework. Because he and his team are adapting their creativity. Because he must be able to assess players beyond skills and exhaust trust in analysis to the statistical end. Because of course the pressure is still on.

A look across the NBA landscape yields a wide set of diverse circumstances: Aging dynasties, teams close to the next level, teams looking to rebuild, teams wondering where to go, and teams searching for how. Each of these situations must be ready to adapt to what will be a drastically different structure on the other side of the NBA’s pending labor issue.

With hype mounting for the 2011 draft, albeit a deemed weak one, as the last fun act of the league before the current CBA expires on June 30, beads of sweat may develop on Grunfeld’s brow due to the spotlight. But with a relatively secure position to manage the Wizards generally – likely for the next two seasons — it will be all about how Grunfeld can use a post-lockout environment to Washington’s advantage.

The Wizards have young and promising assets (unfortunately, several hold considerably more value to their current team than to others), draft picks and potentially minimal salary on the future books. Impatience toward the way to achieve success should be tempered by the fact that at least Washington has flexibility.

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Why should you care about the 56th pick? These guys rarely make NBA teams, right?

Not this year, not with the Wizards.

And regardless, you should be intrigued by Hamady N’diaye, the man who is simply known as “H” wherever he goes. It’s easy to see what attracted the Wizards to N’diaye, he exemplifies Ted Leonsis’ “Business of Happiness” philosophy.

Growing up in Senegal, N’diaye didn’t find basketball as a serious outlet until around age 15, mostly playing soccer when he was young like Solomon Alabi and others from the African continent. But with height as a natural tool (he now measures 6’10.5″ without shoes with a 7’6″ wingspan — Saunders says he can touch about 12’7″ on the backboard), N’diaye saw an opportunity and jumped on it. He left his family and came to the U.S. at 16, by himself and speaking very little English, to pursue a career in basketball.

Going from the Life Center Academy in New Jersey, then to Florida Prep, where he and a couple friends/teammates from his home country had to literally escape from poor conditions in the middle of the night, and finally ending up at Stoneridge Prep in California, you could easily call making it to the NBA a long shot for N’diaye.

Four years of basketball conditioning at Rutgers later, where he leaves as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (his 4.5 per game average was third highest in the nation last season) and reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year, N’diaye finds himself a member of the Washington Wizards — six total years of competitive basketball experience and counting.

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NBA draft night 2010 was a whirlwind … and any other similar word you can find in a thesaurus to describe a confusing commotion of excitement.

I got there not knowing what to expect. And because of that, it was hard to really take in the whole scene. Minutes and picks flew by. What was I there to do? Capture the experience? Go on a sprint for blog-worthy moments with the goal of being first to publish? Catch interesting angles aside from ‘here’s my grade for a draft that really can’t be graded because all of these prospects have yet to play’? Grading the draft is a silly, fruitless effort, by the way.

I guess I tried to do all of it. And now that the dust has settled, I still don’t know what happened. From running through the pathways of Madison Square Garden to tall millionaires to-be in suits to power agents and media members to anxious prospect family members to drunk New York fans chanting ‘Jeff – Van – Gun – Dy!!’  … all of it added up on John Wall’s special night. A night that was all about the ceremony, and pomp and circumstance of matriculation to the National Basketball Association.

The night doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, aside from the fact that every draftee has hope … for the time being.

Below is the draft night I saw in pictures, accompanied by the preceding track from the latest Roots album:

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The Washington Wizards organization hosted a draft party Thursday night at the Verizon Center for season ticket holders on their practice court. They handed out t-shirts and mini posters with the new “Wall, Game Changer” marketing slogan. Here are pictures of the festivities.

Here is the party’s reaction when David Stern called John Wall’s name.

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I’m not particularly fond of the Bulls trade that has the Wizards getting Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick in last night’s draft (Kevin Seraphin) for a future 2nd rounder, but I’ll withhold complete judgment until things settle a bit more.

It’s just that paying a guard who everyone says is a great perimeter defender (more so because of smarts and moxie than athletic ability), but who can’t seem to consistently shoot $17 million over the next two years (minus the $3 million the Bulls are evidently sending to D.C., which doesn’t affect Hinrich’s cap hit), along with sending Chicago a future second round pick, for a 6’9″ French big man with a knee injury who barely speaks English sounds fishy. But that’s just me.

Yes, I realize that Hinrich will actually be a player for the Wizards, and not just a dollar sign. But his two year contract is essentially like paying someone else’s player, i.e., the free-agent thing that Ted Leonsis mostly doesn’t want to do. I mean, the OKC Thunder were able to get the 18th pick for the 32nd pick and taking only the 2-years, around $5.3 million left on Daequan Cook’s contract. Seems like Thunder GM Sam Presti made the better move.

Initially, it appears that the Hinrich move somewhat limits flexibility and makes me wonder if Gilbert Arenas’ days in D.C. are numbered … and realize that Shaun Livingston’s days are likely over.

Then again, maybe Hinrich will be great for the team. Maybe he’ll mentor John Wall better than anyone else can … if that’s what the Wizards want, Sam Cassell is still around too.

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On Monday, June 21, Bobby Maze (G, Tennessee, 6′3″, 195) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Magnum Rolle (F/C, Louisiana Tech, 6’11, 225 lbs.), Samardo Samuels (F, Louisville, 6’9, 260 lbs.), A.J. Ogilvy (C, Vanderbilt, 6’11, 250 lbs.), Solomon Alabi (C, Florida State, 7’1, 251 lbs.) and Devan Downey (G, South Carolina, 5’9, 175 lbs.). Get the run-down on Maze and check out his workout videos below…

When Maze talks, you can really tell he’s from the DMV. Just listen to how he says “area” and “experience.”

Maze Run-Down:

• 6’3″ guard, 195 pounds.
• Bobby Maze was born in D.C. and went to Suitland High School.
• Played with Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson on the DC Blue Devils AAU squad.
• Maze says he’s been talking with Durant, Lawson and Michael Beasley about the pro process and intends to go back and give advice to Duke’s Nolan Smith, who is from Upper Marlboro, MD.
• As a H.S. senior, was named honorable mention 2004 All-Met by the Washington Post.
• In his post-Wizards workout interview (video below), Maze talks about the DMV’s basketball hotbed, saying a lot of guys will go up to Georgetown or Maryland to play and that, “sometimes you got NBA players that might not get to play the first game.”
• His nickname is the “Iceman.”
• After Suitland, went to the Patterson prep school in North Carolina.
• Signed with Oklahoma over Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Kansas State and Seton Hall; Maze was the first signing Sooners coach Jeff Capel made after getting the job.
• Was initially sidelined with a broken foot as a freshman, but eventually became the starting PG by the end of the year.
• But after the ’06-07 season, Maze and Capel came to an understanding that Maze would no longer be apart of the program.
• Reports indicate that attitude and practice habits contributed to Maze’s issues in Oklahoma.
• Moved on to Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas where he was a JUCO All-American.
• Was set to go to Maryland after a year at Hutchinson but ended up at the University of Tennessee.
• Maze used to have braids, drawing appearance comparisons to Allen Iverson. He doesn’t have the braids anymore.
• Played two seasons at Tennessee, averaged 9.4 points on 40.4% FG and 3.1 assists in 24.9 minutes per game his senior year.
• Knicks blog, Posting and Toasting, has a good profile on Maze.
• Bobby says teams are telling him to get the long distance, three-point shot down — “Get reps up, become a knock-down shooter.”
• Maze is likely to go undrafted, but could get a Vegas Summer League invite.
• So it seems, home will likely just be a temporary stop in Maze’s basketball career.

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On Thursday, June 17, Terrico White (G, Mississippi, 6’5, 213 lbs.) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Chas McFarland (C, Wake Forest, 7’0, 245 lbs.), Kevin Palmer (G/F, Texas A&M-CC, 6’6, 205 lbs.), Dexter Pittman (C, Texas, 6’10, 290 lbs.), Andy Rautins (G, Syracuse, 6’4, 195 lbs.) and Darington Hobson (G/F, New Mexico, 6’7, 205 lbs.) (Note: Hobson actually did not work out for the Wizards because he tweaked his ankle). Get the quick run-down on White and check his post-workout interview video below…

Only one guy jumped higher than John Wall’s 39-inch max vert in Chicago. Well, two according to the DraftExpress database — some dude named Stefan Bircevic (a 6’10″ Serbian cat with a supposed 39.8-inch vert  … I don’t believe it, I demand a recount!) and Terrico White (40-inch max vert).

White is another one of those “combo” guards, or more like a mixed-bag between ‘maybe’ and ‘who knows’. The sophomore guard from Ole Miss has a 6’9″ wingspan to go along with his 6’3.75″ height without shoes. Plus, he has huge hands. Whatever that means to the pre-draft measurement junkies. Basically, he’s a great athlete.

Run-down:

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[Editor's note: This is the second piece on TAI by John Townsend, check out his first one here.]

photo courtesy of K. Praslowicz (Sjixxxy)'s Flickr - www.kpraslowicz.com

“Just because you have money doesn’t mean you should overspend on someone that won’t be a part of your long-term future.  If the right opportunity comes along, I think you want to look at it, but I’ve said all along that we might save our powder for down the road, to see what the new CBA brings, to see if there’s a hard cap or a soft cap.  We don’t really know all the rules going forward, so just because you have the cap room doesn’t mean you should go out and spend it if it’s not for the right player.”[1]

These were wise words spoken by Wizards GM Ernie, a new herald for operational procedure and organizational preparedness, at a press conference on June 10.  As a long-time Green Bay Packer fan (my first memories of football were watching Packers games at 4am in New Delhi, India with my Wisconsin-born dad), I understand and fully endorse building a team through the draft.  There seem to be philosophical parallels between Grunfeld and Packers GM Ted Thompson, who firmly believes that the most effective way to build a winning football team is through the draft.  Thompson sees free agency as a complementary tool which can be used to add the types of players to a roster that may otherwise be difficult to find. In practice, this means that the Packers re-sign as many of their own players possible.  Rebuilding post-Mike Sherman, the Packers made 14 draft-day trades, all but one of them down, turning 31 picks into 44.  The Packers’ picks filled the roster with solid “glue guys” and have been able to add impact players including QB Aaron Rodgers, FS Nick Collins, OLB Clay Matthews, TE Jermichael Finley, WR Greg Jennings, and NT BJ Raji.  The result? The Packers are a team poised to make deep playoff runs every winter and are near the top of the NFL in just about every statistical category.[2]

Ted Leonsis, the Wizards new majority owner, made public his commitment to building a “generationally great team” that will ultimately win a championship.  Under new management, the Wizards will aim to hit their targets in the draft, spend prudently, create a competitive, cohesive team on the court that plays with an identity and within a system, and (most importantly) win games.[3] In an open note to Wizards fans, Leonsis also dismissed the generalized notion that the franchise was unwilling and averse to bringing in free agents.  Leonsis noted that that teams must consider using all of the tools at their disposal: the draft, free agency (small, medium, and large), rookie free agency, waiver wire pickups, developmental league players, and finding players in Europe.

All fans want to see that max contract free agent wear their team’s colors.  The addition of a superstar means that the team feels it is close to a winning a title and are prepared to kick down the doors of the championship fraternity. Read more »

On Monday, June 21, Devan Downey (G, South Carolina, 5’9, 175 lbs.) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Magnum Rolle (F/C, Louisiana Tech, 6’11, 225 lbs.), Samardo Samuels (F, Louisville, 6’9, 260 lbs.), A.J. Ogilvy (C, Vanderbilt, 6’11, 250 lbs.), Solomon Alabi (C, Florida State, 7’1, 251 lbs.) and Bobby Maze (G, Tennessee, 6′3″, 195). Get the run-down on Downey and check out his workout videos below…

Okay, let’s get this straight first … the 30 points weren’t ‘on‘ John Wall. Wall didn’t guard Devan Downey the whole time, Eric Bledsoe and Deandre Liggins had their tries too. But the game sure was hyped as Downey v. Wall.

Devan Downey Run-Down:

• The point guard out of South Carolina measures 5’8.5″ without shoes. On DraftExpress, the column for height with shoes reads: ‘N/A’. Wonder if Downey was just like, ‘Eff it, I’ll just take five-eight and a half.’

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This was a tough one.

Jarvis Varnado was on the board. Devin Ebanks was on the board. Greivis Vasquez, Stanley Robinson, Darrington Hobson, Trevor Booker, Gani Lawal, Tiny Gallon … all on the board … and obviously Magnum Rolle, Dexter Pittman, Samardo Samuels and Derrick Caracter too.

So who did I take?
(BTW, you can see who was already gone by checking the TrueHoop Network Mock Draft listed at the bottom of this linked post.)

Craig Brackins, the 6’10″ (6’8.5″ without shoes), 230 lbs. big man from Iowa State.

Truth About It.net’s Adam McGinnis covered Brackins with a profile when he worked out for the Wizards on June 15th.

Okay, so Brackins isn’t exactly what the Wizards need … a big man who can score both inside and out, but usually prefers to stay out (he’s got 3-point range), and isn’t known to be the best defender. The Wizards already have Andray Blatche, do they really need another stretch four?

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So what can one deduce from Ernie Grunfeld’s press conference on the eve of the 2010 NBA Draft?

Not much … as usual.

On John Wall

When asked about his impressions of John Wall, aside from the ‘are you going to take him/not allowed to discuss who we will take’ mystery, Grunfeld dodged the question by saying, “As you know, we can’t say who are number one pick is, obviously.”

Grunfeld went on to say that Wall is an “impressive young man,” that he “comes from a good program,” and is an “outstanding leader ” … yada, yada, yada.

On Workouts

When asked what he wants to see out of players during workouts:

“These workouts are a little bit overrated. They’re just a small part of the whole evaluation process. I think we put a lot more emphasis on the regular season, how players actually play in games, and their whole body of work.”

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On Thursday, June 17, Andy Rautins (G, Syracuse, 6’4, 195 lbs.) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Chas McFarland (C, Wake Forest, 7’0, 245 lbs.), Kevin Palmer (G/F, Texas A&M-CC, 6’6, 205 lbs.), Dexter Pittman (C, Texas, 6’10, 290 lbs.), Terrico White (G, Mississippi, 6’5, 213 lbs.) and Darington Hobson (G/F, New Mexico, 6’7, 205 lbs.) (Note: Hobson actually did not work out for the Wizards because he tweaked his ankle). Get the run-down on Rautins and check his post-workout interview video below…

Another guy who also worked out on June 17th that I didn’t mention above is John Wall. But he was all by his lonesome for an 11 am session, Rautins started with the rest of those guys around noon.

By the time I arrived at the Verizon Center just after 11 to catch a glimpse of the end of Wall’s workout, Rautin’s name had already become a punchline several times over.

“You here to see Andy Rautins?,” came from several mouths in the press lounge packed with excited media members anxiously waiting to see Wall. A light chuckle with a side of ‘yucks’ usually followed.

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On Monday, June 21, Samardo Samuels (F, Louisville, 6’9, 260 lbs.) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Magnum Rolle (F/C, Louisiana Tech, 6’11, 225 lbs.), Devan Downey (G, South Carolina, 5’9, 175 lbs.), A.J. Ogilvy (C, Vanderbilt, 6’11, 250 lbs.), Solomon Alabi (C, Florida State, 7’1, 251 lbs.) and Bobby Maze (G, Tennessee, 6′3″, 195). Get the run-down on Samuels and check his workout videos below…

I’ll let you finish laughing …

Yes. ‘Our’ Andray Blatche has an understudy.

Caught you snickering again, didn’t I?

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On Monday, June 21, Solomon Alabi (C, Florida State, 7’1, 251 lbs.) worked out for the Washington Wizards along with Magnum Rolle (F/C, Louisiana Tech, 6’11, 225 lbs.), Devan Downey (G, South Carolina, 5’9, 175 lbs.), A.J. Ogilvy (C, Vanderbilt, 6’11, 250 lbs.), Samardo Samuels (F, Louisville, 6’9, 260 lbs.) and Bobby Maze (G, Tennessee, 6′3″, 195). Read about Alabi below…

Florida State’s Solomon Alabi has an NBA body, no question. Measuring 6’11.5″ without shoes and 237 lbs. with a 7’5″ wingspan, a 9’5″ standing reach and 5-percent body fat (tied for the 7th lowest measure in Chicago), it’s easy to see why Alabi has been present in the first round of most mock drafts (#26 – Slam, #19 – DraftExpress, #19 – ESPN/Chad Ford), despite being a relative newbie when it comes to the game of basketball.

Solomon tried playing soccer as a young boy in his home country of Nigeria, but says that his friends would make fun of him trying to play at his height. Among the other sports he grew up playing, tennis, volleyball, table-tennis, field hockey and handball, basketball became the obvious choice, especially when NBA scouts discovered Solomon and told him that he could potentially earn a scholarship playing college ball in the United States.

And that’s just what he did. Being exposed to competitive basketball for the first time at Montverde Academy in Florida, Alabi impressed enough to earn a scholarship to Florida State. But in his first season, he suffered from a stress fracture and was limited to just 10 games, forcing him to take a medical redshirt for the rest of the year.

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