You never know whether Ernie Grunfeld is tactfully maneuvering a press conference or if he’s on autopilot … much like the way he captains his ship.

The Wizards team president said a lot during his season-ending media-speak session on Tuesday afternoon, and below are some various quotes, presented with little context, but in the total spirit of Grunfeldisms.

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Garrett Temple cleaned out his locker at the Verizon Center on Thursday and departed with its contents in a large, black trash bag. John Wall cleaned out his locker and left with a large, rolling suitcase.

Bags were packed, ready to go. Wall wore an adidas shirt and Zubaz-esque shorts. CSN’s Chris Miller had jokes. “Summertime fine,” snapped-back Wall. And the DC Sports Bog had a whole pixel post about the garb.

So with that, it’s summertime, John Wall, and Wizards fans.

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“Watergate” – First it was a fancy Washington, D.C. hotel/apartment complex built in the late-1960s (well, maybe not first; there are other “Watergates” in existence, aside from the literal meaning of the word). Then it was a Presidential scandal in the early-1970s, which took place at said complex. Now, in the early-2010s, it is apparently a basketball expression, one that you’ve likely already seen in pixel form on this very website.

What “Watergate” means in basketball is easy enough to understand. Jumpers have long been “wet,” and the description of a ball going “splash” through the net probably came prior. So, when you’re talking “Watergate,” you’re talking about made jumpers. The term popularized itself around the Wizards locker room this season, but where did it come from?

Garrett Temple and A.J. Price explain…

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OK, so it wasn’t ‘all’ about Nick. It was all about a poor showing from two teams that couldn’t care less. What had happened (at least according to Twitter)? Let’s check to story of Washington’s home finale loss to Philadelphia.

Doug Collins is on the hot seat, sort of… it seems. Reports out of Philadelphia have gone this way and that. Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo!’s “Ball Don’t Lie” has the essential run-down. The Sixers last played at home on Wednesday, a loss against the Atlanta Hawks; the news of Collins’ potential demise broke on Thursday. Thus, with Philly so close to Washington, some media swarmed down for the story (some seemingly specifically for the ‘story’ on Collins’ job). They didn’t get what they wanted. Collins refused to take the bait during tonight’s pre-game media season.

But, he did talk about this current Wizards team. One noteworthy quote:

“The one thing about the Wizards that I think has been amazing is Randy Wittman… is to start out 4-28 and have tremendous aspirations of making the playoffs, and to keep that group together… I think they’re 24-22 with John Wall. I had felt that going into the season, they were a playoff team, if healthy. What they’ve done is proven me right.”

Let’s watch…

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No. 1 on this week’s list of stupid NBA basketball stuff: this guy. 

[original image via Evan Vucci, AP]

Second of all, nobody cares. [Wild guess: You, bro, are also a NY Jets fan.]

Third of all, the Heat won a championship recently. You might have heard about it through the Internets if you’ve been a fan of the team for long enough. So, why don’t you go suck on that for a spell. Should provide plenty of nourishment.

Fourth of all, even though your sign does not specifically outline such, you did not pay all that money for tickets to “see Lebron play.” Nope, you paid to see the Wizards of Washington play the Heat of Miami. Susan O’Malley is no longer around, so I’m pretty sure that LeBron wasn’t featured on the ticket that got you into the arena.

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“Vesely wants to represent!” pic courtesy of my Czech friend Honza Moucha

In the first week of March, Jan Vesely told Czech Sport Daily that he wants to represent the Czech Republic at EuroBasket 2013. Is anyone surprised? Probably not, but in his homeland this constituted big news. Honza hasn’t played for the Czech national team in four years, and some fans at home surely began to grow angry at him not suiting up. His last game happened to be in August 2009 during the relegation round of EuroBasket 2009 qualification, where the Czechs went 3-3, losing to Oleksiy Pecherov and the Ukraine team in their final game. In six career games for the Czech Republic senior team, Vesely has averaged 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists.

That final game also marks the last time Jan played on the same team with his close buddy Tomas Satoransky, back when they were a couple of cool teen kids nicknamed “The Gunpowder” (Tomas) and “The Detonator” (Jan) by the Czech media. Vesely has indicated that he’s longing for games where he can play a crucial role, and he will get the opportunity to do so on September 4, 2013, when the Czechs open EuroBasket in a game against the host nation, Slovenia. It seems Vesely was so anxious to play that he picked up a phone and called George Zidek, the Czech National Team GM. Said Zidek, “The fact that Honza called me personally, I consider it the most important [thing]. In the past, it was not always the rule. We talked about our preliminary plan for preparation and games, then Honza chatted with Coach Budinsky and declared his interest in representing the country.”

Some quotes Vesely uttered in the short interview:

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Jose Calderon played flawless basketball for the first 47 minutes and 17 seconds of Detroit’s game against Washington. He had just six points on 2-of-6 shooting, but he dished out 18 assists–nine in the third quarter when the Pistons went from down nine points to up 12. Up to that point, Calderon had not turned the ball over, and he hadn’t committed any personal fouls. His only focus was on getting good shots for Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe (the duo accounted for 13 of Calderon’s assists).

With 43 seconds left in the game, Trevor Ariza hit a 3-pointer to bring the Wizards within six points of the Pistons, 96-90, and on the next possession, Calderon committed his first turnover of the game via an offensive foul. Coach Lawrence Frank immediately called timeout, and when play resumed, Calderon turned the ball over for a second consecutive time when he lost the ball off the dribble. Ariza grabbed the errant pass and was headed down the court for an easy layup, until Will Bynum committed a clear path foul. Ariza converted the two free throws, and the Wizards pulled to within 95-96 with 12.3 seconds left–with the ball. Here’s what happened next:

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[ShareBullets -- Wizards Land links from 'round the web.]

Fountain at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: Adam McGinnis

Um, Jordan? [via instagram/jcs_stelo]

Links.

SLAM writer and longtime Wizards fan, Abe Schwadron, had a great interview with Jordan Crawford two weeks ago. The answers on candy got most of the attention, but there’s also this tidbit about Crawford returning home to Detroit. Read more »

The Wizards beat the Clippers, 98-90, on Monday night. This is your reaction…

Closing Time.

The proverbial set-up: ‘So Randy, how about those Clippers and injuries…?’ (L.A. played without Chris Paul, knee bruise, and Blake Griffin, hamstring strain.)

M.V.P.

Where would the Wizards be without Martell Webster? That was the first question I asked myself after the game. Washington made seven of their 12 measured 3-point attempts. Well, mostly measured. Jordan Crawford chucked up an ill-advised 3 with 7:18 left in the second quarter that got him benched for the rest of the game, but that’s another story. Webster was the star of this night with a team-high 21 points on 5-for-6 from deep. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season, and to that he added five rebounds, three assists and zero turnovers. The Wizards have long been desperate for shooters. And they knew Webster could shoot, but did they expect this?

Webster on the day he signed in late-August: Read more »