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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When Flip Saunders was still calling plays and running practices in D.C., he had some pretty good ideas for changing the team’s culture. One idea in particular stood out, one which science said was “subconsciously driving players toward team behavior through deeply rooted psychological mechanisms.”

Remember? From my story in February 2012:

Peer-reviewed science says there is an incentive for Wizards players to compete like winners. Before this 2011-12 season, the Wizards secured a new whiteboard to the far-right corner of the Wizards locker room: the Charge Board. Players who draw charges in both practice and official NBA games are celebrated on the chart, now crowded with red and blue basketballs (like buckeye leaf stickers on a chrome football helmet), the new standard by which respect and status is measured in D.C.’s pro hoops franchise.

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“Yea, I got the braces done too … this season, everything is new. Everything is going to be fresh. Everything is going to be more exciting. You know, it will be good this year.”
—Andray Blatche, September 2009

Our friend Andray Blatche visits D.C. this evening as the northeast prepares for a blizzard. After playing the Wizards tonight, the Nets are slated to play the San Antonio Spurs in Brooklyn on Sunday. So the potential of getting stuck in Washington could be a good thing for them. Shadow Room, anyone?

Under Avery Johnson’s coaching, Brooklyn stood at 14-14. Since he was fired in late-December, they are 15-6 under new coach P.J. Carlesimo, but they have lost four of their last seven—two on the road to Memphis and Houston and two at home to Orlando and the L.A. Lakers. Currently tied with the Bulls for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn can’t afford to falter against the Wizards tonight… before facing San Antonio, before going on the road to play the Pacers on Monday, before a hot Denver Nuggets team comes to the BK next Wednesday, and before the league heads into the All-Star break after that.

The Prince of Party has played a slightly diminished role under new leadership, removing the luster from those ready to anoint Blatche as the NBA’s Most Improved Player a quarter into the season. In his 21 games during the Carlesimo era, Blatche is playing 3.4 less minutes, taking 1.9 less shots, pulling down 1.1 less rebounds, and scoring 2.4 less points. All negligible, perhaps.

In consideration of the entire season, Blatche has spent 956 minutes on the court for the Nets over 49 games, and 1,421 minutes off the court. When Blatche rides the bench, Brooklyn shoots the ball 2.7 percent better, tallies 3.1 more assists, turns the ball over 1.5 times less, commits 2.5 less fouls, and scores four points more per 48 minutes.

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When Washington began the 2012-13 season by cratering to a franchise record in futility, the main focus of fan fury was thrust upon Team President Ernie Grunfeld and Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s CEO Ted Leonsis. Grunfeld’s litany of basketball management mistakes are well documented (see the 2009 and 2011 Wiz drafts for further reference), and his continued presence in the organization has left some analysts scratching their heads—and calling for change. Only Andray Blatche is slightly more unpopular than Grunfeld amongst Wizards faithful.

The goodwill and patience Leonsis earned when he took control of team in spring of 2010 has gradually subsided. His shifting plans to rebuild the Wizards appear to be marketing speak that are void of concrete results. Questions continue to swirl around his ability to build a winning basketball foundation.

Blunders of his stewardship include unnecessarily extending Blatche’s contract, believing that a core of JaVale McGee, Nick Young and Blatche would produce wins, taking on Nene’s hefty contract despite an injury-prone past, allowing Nene to play in the Olympics with a bum foot, and squandering salary cap flexibility by acquiring the large deals of two declining players—Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor—instead of just buying-out Rashard Lewis. In the eyes of the Wizards fan base, the most egregious decisions were renewing the contract of the maligned Grunfeld and his alleged passing up on trading for James Harden.

Leonsis’ reported role in pushing for both NBA and NHL work stoppages only fuel negative perceptions. The constant rosy blogging alongside the Wizards’ incompetent play just agitates his customers and makes you wonder what he is trying to accomplish with such an unsavory approach. His mocking tone makes him look out of touch to what is happening around him. His latest offering is to brag about the team being 5-5 over their last 10 games and how awesome this is because only six teams in the Eastern Conference have accomplished such a feat. As you might note, the Wizards have yet to reach double digits in wins on January 25th and the owner’s  “bad by design” has now morphed into describing the wonders of aspiring to mediocrity.

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D.C. residents cheered when three new escalators opened at the south entrance of the Dupont Circle Metro Station in October 2012. The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) closed the southern entrance for repairs for nearly nine months, but the wait was worth it, in theory. WMATA had decided to strip the entrance and rebuild from scratch this past summer, finally doing away with some of the least reliable escalators in the system.

New “transit-grade” escalators promised a better commute—to “unsuck” D.C. Metro—in one of the city’s busiest, and deepest, subway stations. In reality, Metro and its faithfully frustrated riders were forced to deal with 20 outages in the first 40 days after the grand reopening.

Construction is a constant in the nation’s capital, but, for one reason or another, it never seems to go according to plan. Just ask any Wizards fan who is still waiting for their team to climb out of the gutter.

Supporters of D.C.’s pro basketball team have suffered through nearly 200 losses and some of the worst basketball the Association has ever seen for almost five seasons now. We all know about owner Ted Leonsis’ blueprint for rebuilding his Washington Wizards: stay financially flexible, sign free agents and develop supposedly talented prospect. And, perhaps, trade some of said prospects for major players when the opportunities arise.

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[Editor's Note: The last time we took an in-depth look at Jan "Honza" Vesely, he was fighting that dragon. Today, he continues to fight. Did you know that he actually started four games earlier this year? He sure did. More recently, Vesely played for at least 20 minutes in three straight games from December 21 to 26 (totals: 14 points, 12 fouls, 11 rebounds); since, he's seen 32 total minutes over the last four games (totals: 4 points, 5 fouls, 9 rebounds). After taking some lumps against Dirk Nowitzki in 16 minutes of action on New Year's Day, Vesely only played four minutes (all in the first quarter) against the Pacers in Indiana on Wednesday.

"He has to play better," is all team president Ernie Grunfeld could muster about his 2011 sixth overall pick in a recent interview with NBA.com's David Aldridge. Quite the understatement from the much-maligned leader of basketball operations. Jan Vesely needs to do more than "play better," he needs an awakening. Maybe schnitzel, pea soup and potato salad from auntie will help.

Below, find a translation by TAI's Lukas Kuba of a recent interview Vesely gave to a Czech outlet, as well as video of Randy Wittman discussing his young, fragile player. —Kyle Weidie]

I’m still getting used to the NBA, it’s not good, says a worried Jan Vesely

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After another tough loss on Saturday night—a game where the Wizards fell behind the Detroit Pistons by as many as 22 points, before clawing back to lose by only nine—Washington’s players and staff dutifully trooped in front of the microphones.

Reporters’ questions were predictable. Do the players lack confidence? (The players’ answer: No.) Would a healthy John Wall make a difference? (Players’ answer: Yes.)

But they’re all variations on the same theme: What’s wrong with this team?

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More than ever, media surrounding a professional sports team is a battle waged with pixels. Even winning franchises must deal with damage control, getting out feel-good messages about players, feeding the machine. But for teams like the Wizards, the task is even tougher.

Nothing looks good about this season, and fan frustration with team management is quickly coming to a head. Only one NBA team has accrued more losses over the reign of Ernie Grunfeld in Washington (since 2003, 458 and counting): the Minnesota Timberwolves (462). The T-Wolves, propelled by woulda/coulda/shoulda-been Wizards draft pick Ricky Rubio, beat the Oklahoma City Thunder last night—the team that everyone wants to be like. And the Houston Rockets, who managed to turn their roster over faster and more efficiently than the Wizards, are the surprise story of this NBA season.

Meanwhile, the Wizards are 3-20. Sure, there are a plethora of legitimate excuses—injuries (as always), youth, roster turnover, owner turnover, the list goes on…

And so it’s the thankless, unenviable job of team-fueled media—from television to radio to the owner’s blog—to pump out the positive pixels of puffery surrounding such a dead-in-the-water team. Somebody has to combat the cold, cruel vitriol—sometimes fueled by facts, sometimes fueled by fatigue, sometimes fueled by friggin’, frackin’ emotions in that people just want to be able to enjoy the basketball being played by their hometown professional team.

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Well, there is good news on the John Wall injury front. We think. After a visit to the doctor today, it has essentially been announced that John Wall can “do more stuff.”

Specifically, via team press release and New York City orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Altchek:

“John’s examination today showed improvement in his stress injury that will allow him to begin ramping up his activity level. There is still some irritation in the knee which we have treated over his last several visits with a series of three lubricating Synvisc injections, the last of which was given today. He will continue to be evaluated on an ongoing basis.”

After originally diagnosing John Wall’s “pre-stress fracture” as something which would cause him to miss “approximately eight weeks” in late-September, the team has now announced … well, nothing.

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Ultimately, it is what it is — Mike Miller style. What will be with the Washington Wizards will be. Until there are signs that that franchise is truly turning around, those who question “the plan” are obtuse outsiders without context. At least it seems this way, sometimes, as mistakes accrue and ownership looks to provide massaged reasoning via blog pixels.

It won’t be easy is a mantra, stay the well-intended course is the verse, and injuries are the narrative. It’s still hard to tell if something is direly amiss with the Ernie Grunfeld administration and how things are being evaluated in his second life. The track record barely needs mentioning to know how putrid it is. Now, the fires have been further inflamed by a reported trade that never happened.

The Washington Post‘s Michael Lee dropped a bombshell on Ted Leonsis’ pro basketball franchise on Tuesday evening, just as the Wizards were set to tip off against the Hornets in New Orleans. The quick gist is this tweet via @PostSports:

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