[This is Part One of a two-part post on Washington Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld looking back at his almost 25-year tenure making player personnel decisions in the National Basketball Association. Part Two can be read here.]

“I told you I was going to get
the best brains in basketball.”

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The Washington Wizards bounced back from two poor losses to Detroit and Toronto with a 119-113 victory over the playoff-bound Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Is there something about this team playing up to quality opponents? Before the Reaction, Coach Randy Wittman attempts to explain:

M.V.P.

Scoring distribution. Seven different Wizards scored in double figures, and no one scored more than 17 points. Sometimes there was too much offense, at least for Washington’s taste. At half the score was tied at 64, and the Wizards were getting out-paced in fastbreak points, 12-0. Randy Wittman said that during the break, they only talked about defense. To start the third, Washington forced Denver into two missed 3s and two turnovers on the first four possessions, something Wittman gave much credit to after the game. Denver didn’t score until the 6:39 mark of the period and, in total, the Wizards out-scored them 30-14 in the third before holding on just long enough in the fourth to get the win.

Game-Changing Moment

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Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 53rd game of the season at home against the Denver Nuggets are TAI’s Rashad Mobley (@rashad20) and guest Matt Cianfrone (@Matt_Ciafrone) who writes about the Nuggets for Roundball Mining Company, an ESPN TrueHoop Network blog.

Wizards Starters (15-37):

  John Wall, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, Nene, Emeka Okafor

Nuggets Starters (31-15):

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John Wall’s summer league feet game.

Things I learned/witnessed at summer league in Las Vegas, in bullets:

• On Day 1, Chris Webber, an analyst for the games on NBA TV, broke out his pleated cargo shorts. It was a tough day for all of us.

• Bradley Beal can block shots… he averaged one per game over five contests in Las Vegas. Chris Singleton also threw his body around a bunch (“I feel like it’s going to help Chris Singleton out a lot,” said Shelvin Mack about the summer league 10-foul limit during Wizards mini-camp prior. “You know, he likes to foul, so he’s going to play a lot longer, so it’s good for us.”). This clip shows Beal blocking, or rather, thwarting a lob attempt off the backboard, and then Singleton diving over the first row of chairs for the loose ball:

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See that fella above? That’s “Dinner Bell” Mel Turpin, a member of the cursed Washington Bullets/Wizards draft history … sorta.

Turpin was taken by the Bullets with the 6th overall pick in the famed 1984 NBA Draft … the Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and of course, Sam Bowie draft. Bowie was a teammate of Turpin’s at Kentucky, and while both are known as busts, it’s Bowie’s name that most often gets mentioned amongst NBA basketball infamy.

With Rick Mahorn and Jeff Ruland already holding down the paint, Turpin was immediately traded by then GM Bob Ferry to a team currently generally managed by his son Danny, the Cleveland Cavaliers. In exchange, the Bullets received Cliff Robinson and Tim McCormick, who was promptly sent to the Seattle Sonics, along with Ricky Sobers, for Gus Williams.

Williams lead the ’84-85 Bullets in scoring (20.0) and assists (7.7), while Robinson was fourth on the team in scoring (16.7) and second in rebounding (9.1). That Bullets team improved by five wins over the previous season’s mark to finish 40-42, but still lost to Barkley, Julius Erving, and Moses Malone in the first round of the playoffs.

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NBC Washington had a good video piece on Kevin Grevey and the ’77-78 Washington Bullets championship team earlier today (video above, obviously …. unless you are getting this through an aggregator/reader, then click the link).

Ahh, the memories … before my time.

I naturally wanted some more on Kevin Grevey, so should you.

The first place you should go is Bullets Forever for a piece about Grevey, all-time BF #20, by Mike Prada … bonus is an old school video of Pete Maravich playing horse.

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[photo source: flickr/dskciado]

This is Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez, a Mexican victim. Probably not of the swine flu, but definitely a victim of capitalist America’s NBA luxury tax, which is designed in a rather socialist manner to penalize those who spend more money.

Many have wondered where Denver would be if they still had Marcus Camby, who was sold to the Clippers for a 2nd round pick. But watching the energy, hustle, and scrapiness of the Nuggets, led by the Birdman Anderson, it’s easy to see how a big like Nájera might fit better than the frail Camby.

Nuggets coach George Karl hated to see the Big Mexican sign a 4-year $12 million contract with the Nets this past summer, but Kiki had an edict from cost-cutting owner Stan Kroenke (even though anyone might question giving that much to a 32-year old). Still, Kroenke and his wife, a Wal-Mart heir, are both on the Forbes billionaires list (Kroenke is ranked 205 and worth a meager $3 billion).

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