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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NBA Draft Lottery thoughts and links…

{flickr/Lisa Brewster}

The life of a Wizards/Bullets fan has often been predicated on the NBA Draft Lottery. Being a fan of the team since moving to D.C. in 1990, it has generally been ‘the’ highlight of the season… More than the draft itself, more than peddled hope before a season. A simple flip of a card, the bounce of a ping-pong ball and/or the chance of mathematical equation can change the fate of a franchise for years… in just a brief moment. How exciting, right?

In 1992, with the fifth worst record in the NBA, second worst in the Eastern Conference, Washington fans hoped for Shaquille O’Neal, or even Alonzo Mourning. Instead, the Bullets were jumped by the Charlotte Hornets (who chose Mourning with the second pick), and ended up with the sixth pick and Tom Gugliotta.

With the fifth worst record again in 1994, did the Wizards succeed in landing one of three draft prizes in Glenn Robinson, Jason Kidd or Grant Hill? Nope. Fifth is where they stayed… begin memories of the Juwan Howard saga.

What about the finishing with the third worst record in 2004? Either Emeka Okafor or Dwight Howard could’ve been the lottery winning targets. Instead, the Wizards dropped two spots to fifth (thanks to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats) and wound up trading the selection, Devin Harris, to the Mavericks for Antawn Jamison.

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[Editor's note: Check out the debut of new TAI author, John Townsend. Read more about that John at the bottom of this post, but first, check out his piece about another John. -Kyle]

America always seems to need an enemy, whether they’re found in politics (terrorists!) or in sports (referee Dan Crawford for Mavericks fans).  Sure, there are times when our criticism of these villains is justified (British Petroleum), but just as often it is not (Steve Bartman).

The most celebrated, captivating products and people are the most polarizing as well.  We should expect this, especially considering the amount of time, money, and hopes being invested.  This all brings me to John Wall – savior or setback? The question was never will the Wizards select John Wall, but instead what will happen when they do.

photo courtesy of thomasbeisner's Flickr

The debate over whether or not John Wall is the answer in Washington, DC is groundless.  John Wall is one part of the solution to a greater basketball challenge.

Some will argue that taking a point guard with the number one overall pick is a waste, based on historical records.  Power forwards and centers who have been drafted number one overall have won 23 championships combined, while point guards, shooting guards and small forwards have only won nine.  However, it is important to note that there has been, and continues to be, a large disparity between frontcourt and backcourt players selected first overall.  No. 1 overall power forwards and centers have won more championships, not because they are necessarily better players, but as a result of being selected at that spot with greater regularity – 21 times since 1985.

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I will continue to be dumbfounded for an indeterminate amount of time, but will hold the right, as a Wizards fan, to still be skeptical about the future … even after getting the #1 overall pick.

Alright, screw that. I’m happy. I’m not yelling at the top of my lungs/doing jumping jacks happy — I’m still too shocked to show physical elation — But man … it feels good to finally be “that” team.

When was the last time all other NBA teams were envious of the Washington Wizards? I can’t remember. And I’m conveniently not counting the lottery the Wizards won which afforded them the “opportunity” to select Kwame Brown in a crappy draft. I was away in college back then and this John Wall opportunity is worlds away from a meek Georgia boy with tiny hands.

Sure, I was somewhat skeptical about Irene Pollin being the Wizards’ representative at the NBA Draft Lottery. I was wrong. I’m even more skeptical about saying any good luck charms or superstitions worked (even though I sometimes practice superstitions because it’s really no skin off my butt to do so … I didn’t tonight).

I watched the draft lottery at my apartment, like I did last year (sans the #1 Rod Strickland jersey on the floor). Just a plain vanilla viewing with a couple of beverages.

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Sleepy Freud of Warriors blog Golden State of Mind came up with this handy spectral pie chart for each team’s probability to land a certain pick in tonight’s lottery. The above reflects that the Wizards have the best “odds” to slip one spot and get the sixth pick, a 34.4% chance. “Great.”

But hey, at least the worst-case scenario all the pessimists keep gunning for (slipping to 8th) is that tiny gray sliver of 0.4%.

The Wizards have a 21.4% chance of landing one of the top two coveted picks (presumably John Wall or Evan Turner) — 10.3% to get No. 1; 11.1% to get No. 2.

There’s a 23.8% chance the Wiz will stand pat at five, a 12% chance of picking third and an 8.3% chance of slipping to seventh.

Click here to see the pies for all lottery teams at GSOM. Read more »

Is this wizard killing the supposed curse on the Bullets/Wizards franchise?

If the team lands the number one pick tonight, should they keep the Wizards name?
I want the truth. I can handle it.

{via flickr/Rigphoto, sfist}

Oh yea, I also don’t believe in curses, but I am kinda/sorta superstitious.

For the hell of it, wizard photo search from flickr:

do your magic boys….

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This is the last time Irene Pollin made a public appearance representing the Wizards franchise. In this instance, the team out-scored Indiana 24-17 in the fourth quarter and won the game. Of course, that didn’t bode well for draft lottery positioning. If you’re a Wizards fan, you might want to grab some of that scotch or vodka in the background.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Whether you’ll be toasting or roasting during the late 8 pm (EST) hour Tuesday night,  the results of the NBA Draft Lottery are up to a fate that will never be comprehended nor anticipated by the human mind.

On the DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has a great, yet painful chronicle of all the times the Wizards/Bullets franchise has come away from lottery night disappointed and all the marketing gimmicks (mostly of the Susan O’Malley, absurdly goofy variety) that were made to favorably sway lottery luck. Even Flip Saunders bringing his lucky coin last May 19th was along these lines to an extent.

This year seems different. The Wizards will quietly send Irene Pollin, widow of the late owner Abe, from the swamp-like (well, marshy in some local areas) territory of Washington, D.C. to the even more swampy Secaucus, New Jersey to represent the team.

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The Wizards have a 10.3% chance of getting this guy with the top pick.

{flickr/Tennessee Journalist}

The NBA Draft Lottery

First, the Wizards lost this afternoon’s random drawing against the Golden State Warriors to break the tie for fourth place in the NBA Draft Lottery (first reported by Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area on Twitter).

What it means is that the worst the Wizards can pick, if they are jumped by three teams like last year, is 8th in the draft. Obviously the best the Wizards can do is 1st, or they can win 2nd or 3rd.

If the Wizards are jumped by one team, they will pick 6th; two teams means the 7th pick. The Wiz can also be jumped by no one and stay at 5th. The one pick in the top eight that Washington will not be getting is the 4th. Just can’t happen.

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Good riddance NBA draft lottery. We don’t care about you. Yea, it’s been a bad week … and we’re going to wallow in our sorrows for a bit. But I’m here to say you are dead to me. The Wizards are going to make the post-season despite you. You’re in heaven with grandma now … So in your honor, these songs will be played at your local barbershop.

Raekwon | Heaven & Hell

Master P | Heaven For A Gangsta

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The 2009 NBA Draft is on June 25th, an important day in so many ways. For one, it’s my birthday….the onset of my last year in my 20s…..but it’s also the day that the Wizards will be selecting Blake Griffin with the #1 overall draft pick (hopefully).

And while Griffin might not be a franchise changer like Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Shaq O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, he certainly isn’t a Kwame Brown or Michael Olowokandi.

Griffin won’t magically propel the Wizards to the cream of the crop, but he can certainly be a key cog on a potential contender while keeping the ‘Zards poised for the future.

June 25th is a pretty big date…potentially (Dikembe Mutombo will also turn 43 in beyond-human years on 6/25)….but May 19th is much more important. That’s when the order of the NBA is decided via a lottery.

Let’s learn more about the numbers and Wizards/Bullets relatedness surrounding May 19th…and yes, I pretty much about to get carried away.

May 19th…. 5/19/09
The Wizards had 63 losses.
6+3 = 9
The 09 NBA Draft

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Just over three minutes left in a close game, Wizards up by one point against an almost equally bad team, the thought crossed my mind….do I hope they lose?

I knew the Clippers and Kings, two of the other top three worst teams in the league, were playing each other last night. It would be “nice” to have better chances in the draft.

But just as quickly as the thought entered my mind, it left. All along, I’ve been against “tanking” or even hoping for more losses just for the possibility of maybe having a better shot at the top pick/Blake Griffin. It just doesn’t seem like good basketball karma, not like it matters with the Curse O’ Les Boulez anyway. But still, we’re talking principles…..principalities.

So eff the lottery it was, I was pulling for my Wizards to win, because that’s what fans do. And a win is what I thought we were getting when Juan Dixon squirmed for a layup with 47 seconds left, putting the Wiz up 96-90.

But nothing ever comes easy. Two straight Raptor threes later, the few of us on the Bullets Forever game thread were screaming for the ghosts of Anthony Parker, Michael Ruffin and Mo Peterson to be exercised.

So Juan Dixon, as the third option, hit an off-balanced fader in the lane with 19 seconds left….he probably traveled….Wiz up two. Game winner? Nope. Jose Calderon was allowed to saunter right down the lane for a lay-up…..splendid. At least the Wiz would get the last shot, one of the Dagger! variety.

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