“Basketball in my country is not so popular, but after this night, I think — I hope, that the basketball will be more popular. I will do my best to help that.” -Jan Vesely, Draft Night 2011
Jan Vesely wants to put Czech Republic basketball on the map. Good luck.
“The Czech media have been really lame covering the story,” direct-messaged Yon Pulkrabek via Twitter. I’d sent out a tweet wondering if any follower spoke Czech, and the instant world of the Internet connected us.
Pulkrabek says he’s lived in Prague permanently for the past decade, working as a translator, journalist, and editor. He grew up in upstate New York to Czech émigré parents and has been a fan of the Boston Celtics since the 1980s, keeping up with their recent success thanks to League Pass, streaming web video and his DVR. Now, Pulkrabek has taken an obvious interest in the Washington Wizards.
A D.C. basketball court picture, some words, a link, some words about links, commentary, NBADRAFTGOOGLESEO, and some more links…
[Alice Deal H.S. - Washington, D.C. - photo: K. Weidie]
At the risk of sounding expected and generic in critiquing a general sports column meant to appeal to the masses that was unexpectedly generic (at least according to what should be expected of the Washington Post), I’ll point out Jason Reid’s column in the Post last Monday about this new and innovative concept in the NBA called “defense” (sometimes spelled with a capital ‘D’), and how the Wizards should, you know, draft for it, with a very long-winded introductory sentence to this bloggy post of links.
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:
…Othyus took it like a good sport, getting a good smile out of it before LeBron even landed on the ground. Ask Jeffers about it (I didn’t), and I bet he’d honestly say, “It’s just basketball.”
The Wizards have struggled this year, no question about it. The team has won just 13 games and is still hopelessly searching for its first road win. Their next opportunity for that elusive victory away from home comes on Sunday, February 13 versus the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers — a team nursing a 24-game losing streak.
Back on October 20, 2010, the crew at Truth About It.net gave their “crystal ball visions” of the Wizards’ regular season record for 2010-11. Here is what they looked like:
Kyle Weidie – 34 wins
Rashad Mobley – 30 wins
Adam McGinnis – 40 wins
John Townsend – 40 wins
Arish Narayen – 41 wins
Beckley Mason – 36 wins
I might choose to pass on the Buffalo wings and beer for the Super Bowl, instead opting to find a spot on my couch with an extra helping of Washington Wizards crow. This team is headed nowhere fast this season … but regular season performance in one year isn’t necessarily predictive of success and achievement in the next. Read more »
[Flip Saunders & Chauncey Billups remember the good ole days. They can't last forever, can they?]
[My column this week at the DCist, the first three paragraphs of which are posted below, covers Flip Saunders, the general state of team management, and how fans should be prepared for there to be no change in basketball operations at least until the end of the current 2010-11 season. Thanks for checking it out (and yes, I'm now recycling my own content).]
Earlier this season, after who knows what number post-game press conference where he had to explain a frustrating loss, Wizards coach Flip Saunders exited the media room with an impassioned step. The media followed his path up until the point where Saunders carried forward to his office, per usual, while hurried members of the press took a quick turn left into locker room to interview players. Before disappearing around the corner, in a moment where he probably thought he was alone, Saunders let out a loud expletive, both rhyming with and feeling down on his luck.
Moving to his press conference after Tuesday’s home game against the Denver Nuggets — the Wizards’ 31st loss in 44 games on the season — Saunders’ demeanor was different. He wasn’t exactly a defeated man — Saunders’ often conveys a sleepy-eyed, subtle calmness — but he was more a coach resigned to a situation which he often likes to point out that he didn’t sign up for. He highlighted more what the Nuggets did in building confidence to beat a downtrodden, rebuilding franchise, rather than what his own team did, or didn’t do, in losing yet again. Saunders didn’t seem as angry at the loss as he did on Monday night in New York, but more faced it as a matter-of-fact. Afterward, as he went through his exit routine with the media following on their way to talk to players, Saunders didn’t drop any F-bombs. He just gently rapped his hand along the photos of Wizards stuck to the wall as he plodded toward to his office, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
[Andray Blatche sends a message with his actions.]
[UPDATE: The supposed skirmish between Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee was originally denoted as "simply a disagreement between teammates," by Wizards team officials.
On Saturday night, team president Ernie Grunfeld released a statement: "After further investigation into an incident on Thursday night, we concluded that Andray and JaVale conducted themselves in an unprofessional manner. As a result, both players will be suspended for tomorrow’s game at San Antonio."
Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld addressed the media on Thursday afternoon and the major theme of his remarks was the team is in the “beginning of a new era.” While the most newsworthy item took place when the cameras were off, Grunfeld did give highly informational updates on various players.
Here Ernie talks about how John Wall will handle the extra attention placed upon the number one draft pick and discusses the games of the new youngsters:
Grunfeld details why the Wizards brought in two former lottery picks, Yi Jianlian and Adam Morrison:
Back in early August, when it was revealed that the New Jersey Nets had filed paperwork to change their team name, I got curious, did the Wizards do the same thing?
Evidently so, as team president Ernie Grunfeld let it slip this afternoon that the team would be switching their colors to red, white and blue for the 2011-12 season.
When I asked in August, team spokespeople were relatively mum … aside from a “Ted likes red” {wink, wink}. A league spokesperson wouldn’t comment either, other than indicating that, “if a franchise wanted to change its team name or colors, paperwork must be filed 24 months prior to the start of the season when the team wants to make the change.”
Basically, it became understood that the Wizards would eventually change their team colors to incorporate red, but an announcement would be made on their own terms, i.e., with the marketing pizazz that Ted Leonsis has became known for (See:Midnight Madness, PA Announcer Tryouts). Read more »
[Below are some quick notes from Ernie Grunfeld's Q&A with the media on the first night of Wizards mini-camp. Video of the session is at the bottom of this post.]
[Kevin Seraphin]
Bullets on Kevin Seraphin
Grunfeld gave a scouting report on Seraphin, crediting him for having good hands and for being light on his feet.
He springboards that into talking about the transition the team is going through. “We’ve been a predominantly perimeter oriented team and a finesse team and I just felt like we needed some more physicality,” said Grunfeld.
It’s been known that Seraphin will miss the Vegas Summer League because of a left knee ligament tear he experienced in the French League playoffs. Grunfeld said he expects him to be back on the court running full contact drills in August.
