The first practice for new Wizards Josh Howard, James Singleton and Quinton Ross had a media buzz in the air, yet a slightly somber tone on the court. Most of those already on the team ducked the awaiting press by exiting the practice court from a side door. Antawn Jamison, however, made his presence known by singing the Black Eyed Peas’ “I got a feeling,” down the hallway as he headed into the locker room. He later would make the media wait around 30 minutes for him to speak until a Wizards PR person finally declared that ‘Twan had left the building. For good? We don’t know.

It seemed like forever since I’d been in the Verizon Center. Sixteen days to be exact. With the Atlanta Hawks game originally scheduled for February 6th postponed because of snow, the last time I was around in the catacombs of the house that Abe built was on February 1st when the Wizards barely mustered 10 points in the fourth quarter and lost to the Boston Celtics 99-88.

Days like Tuesday afternoon’s practice are always interesting. I walked into the press lounge to see several faintly familiar faces; the television personalities who only show up on noteworthy days with their camera crews in tow. Some of the regulars wondered how many of them knew the difference between Ross and Singleton. Nonetheless, I don’t expect much coverage from the infrequent media masses once the trade deadline passes.

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Today’s concluding media session at Wizards practice, which was held on the main Verizon Center court because it happened to be set up, didn’t have as somber of a mood in the air as I expected.

Then again, the shellacking in San Antonio came way back on Saturday … plenty of time for the players to look forward and put the bad loss behind them, as professional athletes are so apt at doing.

I only got to talk with two players today (not that many talked in the first place; to my knowledge, I only missed comments from Andray Blatche), and had to leave before Flip Saunders finally made himself available. The two players: Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas.

And get this, Arenas actually wanted to talk to the media. The days of him walking by after practice and saying, “They told me I didn’t have to talk to you guys today, only on game nights,” could be a distant memory. Then again, Agent Funeral could also be back at any time.

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On Thursday, the members of the media were treated to a spirited match of one-on-one between Sam Cassell and Nick Young … well, “spirited” only really reflects one side of the battle, obviously coming from the entertaining Sam I Am.

I didn’t see every possession, but as it’s been reported before, the old man still has it.

The game of one-on-one was of the casual variety that you usually see pro or college basketball players play … mostly jump shots induced by a variety of moves that serve no real purpose of ‘getting to the basket’ productivity.

Young did get his shot to fall a couple times. But for the most part, Cassell was getting the best of the kid with some veteran trickery, craftily adjusting his shot near the basket and using some below the waist leverage to gain an advantage on defense, especially when Young was trying to go up for a shot.

Not only was Cassell talking smack to Young, but he managed to get Brendan Haywood involved as well. At point point after a Young miss, Cassell said something in Haywood’s direction to the effect of “Can’t finish … This is the Wizards … Good first half team, but can’t finish.”

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Sure the Wizards could have gone with a younger guy, perhaps a promising prospect, or even a hard worker from the D-League … but little Earl Boykins is what the Wizards get, a move that clearly has the words ‘offense’ and ‘veteran’ in mind.

Flip Saunders and Boykins go back to the old days in Cleveland, where both were born and raised (not together of course, Saunders is 54 and Boykins is 33). Saunders also saw him play a lot when he coached in Minnesota and Boykins played for the divisional foe Denver Nuggets. Flip said that the 5’5″ guard gives the Wizards something different than what’s currently on the roster, has the ability to pick up things fast, and with his quickness, is a tough matchup for any team.

Saunders also praised Boykins for his floor effectiveness, especially in the fourth quarter, and for his ability to shoot free-throws. Boykins is a career .879 from the charity stripe and finished in the NBA’s top ten from ’03-04 to ’06-07. And free-throw shooting is something the Wizards definitely need.

Boykins wasn’t shipped all the way from Italy, where he spent last season playing. He was hanging out in Denver, Colorado, training in the high altitude, confident some team would need him and come calling … and Washington did. Sort of unfortunate for the Wizards because of injuries resulting in the need to sign someone, but certainly fortunate for Boykins.

When asked about the backcourt injuries his team is facing, going from seven deep in training camp to an available three (Arenas, Stevenson, and Young) with four down (Miller, Crittenton, James, and Foye ), Flip Saunders said, “Maybe I had this kiss of death when I said ‘those things always work themselves’ out … unfortunately they did.”

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Like the sound of Andray Blatche calling up Sam Cassell late at night so he can get in some extra shots? Yea, me too.

In the video below, ‘Dray also talks about:

• Building on his strong effort from the season opener,
• How easy it is to play with Gilbert Arenas,
• The Verizon Center being scary at night, and
• Guarding Dirk Nowitzki.

On Saturday from 1:30-3 pm at the Potomac Yard Best Buy in Alexandria, NBA great and Georgetown alum Eric “Sleepy” Floyd will be making an appearance. The event is in conjunction with the NBA’s relationship with HP and the launch of Windows 7. Other former NBA stars will be making appearances at Best Buys across the country … Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Los Angeles, Clyde Drexler in Houston, Earl Monroe in New York, Dominique Wilkins in Duluth, GA, B.J. Armstrong in Chicago, and a ‘TBD’ in Philadelphia. You can click here for the full schedule. There’s also a sweepstakes where you can win tickets to an NBA Playoffs or Finals game, or a new HP computer.

I’ve been invited to attend and will have a chance to speak with Sleepy. I’m sure I’ll be asking about his days in the NBA … playing in Golden State where he once scored 29 points in a quarter, playing in Houston alongside Hakeem Olajuwon, his days as a Georgetown Hoya where he still stands atop the school’s career points list (and where he was on the receiving end of a 1982 Michael Jordan NCAA title game winner), and what he’s been doing with his life since/how he’s involved with the game of basketball.

Anyone is welcome to come out from 1:30 to 3:00 pm on Saturday, October 24th. Sleepy is slated to take pictures, sign autographs, etc.. The Potomac Yard Best Buy is located at 3401 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Alexandria, VA.

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An update from Thursday’s practice …

Mike Miller Playmaking Role

Mike Miller just wants to be apart of a winning team. This is clear from the selfless attitude he has taken. When asked about his role on Thursday, he said he knows he’s not going to get 15-16 looks on offense anymore … and he’s fine with that. Of course, some might contend that he didn’t shoot enough with the Timberwolves last year and that he needs to be more aggressive on offense this season. But increased offensive assertiveness doesn’t necessarily mean shooting the ball.

In comparing his two potential roles for this team, starting versus coming off the bench (which is looking more and more like what he’s going to do as Flip Saunders today said that DeShawn Stevenson will probably start at shooting guard tomorrow), Miller said, “The second unit has me more of playmaker … making other guys around me better. We have enough playmakers in that first unit, so I’m playing there, it’s going to be more of a shot maker and a guy who rebounds … still making plays for people, but not nearly as much as on the second unit.”

He went on to reiterate that he just wants to make his second unit teammates better, saying they will be playing a completely different style than the first unit. Dare I dub Miller as a ’6th Man of The Year’ candidate (which would be his second time receiving the award)?

We will see. But bringing a veteran playmaker with diverse skills off the bench, someone who Saunders can trust, might be the way to go. Read more »