[Roger Mason Jr. - via Flickr/Keith Allison]

It’s now being widely reported that Roger Mason Jr. — native son of D.C., attendee of Sidwell Friends/Good Counsel, UVA Cavalier — will soon sign with the Washington Wizards, making it his second stint with the team. Teams can officially sign players at 2 pm on Friday, just before training camp is scheduled to commence. The Post’s Michael Lee reports that Mason will be in Washington, ready to join the team.

How do I feel about this? Iffy, yet content. For one, the signing fits the Ernie Grunfeld mold. The Wizards team president values the presence of veterans, and even though the Wizards hopefully aren’t promising Mason too much court action, nor are overpaying him (the veteran’s minimum, they say, which is just fine), Washington likely offers Mason the most comfort and opportunity over other potential suitors. The Boston Celtics were also said to be interested in Mason; in that situation, Roger might’ve easily found himself relegated to those spillover seats behind the bench, following the inactive dress code, and wondering how and why.

Washington it will be, in an existence of factual acceptance. Speaking of facts, below are some stats regarding the player. While I’m less than enthused about a Roger Mason Jr. signing, in the end I can’t help but welcome back the hometown guy in hopes that he will revitalize the sun-setting of his career, as he turned 31 in September, and I am about 10 weeks older. Read more »

McGee vs. Duncan in the Phone Booth? Not going to happen. [photo: K. Weidie]

Crafty spin moves by Dirk in D.C.? Don’t count on it. [photo: K. Weidie]

The Monday after Thanksgiving, just two days after David Stern and Billy Hunter posed together in the middle of the night indicating that a handshake deal was bringing back in the NBA, I found myself face-to-face with a co-worker. Prior to that deal, this co-worker would pick my brain daily, seeing if I knew when the NBA would resume. I’d refer him to ESPN True Hoop for daily coverage, and I’d do my best to tell him to stay optimistic, but I ultimately I was just as clueless.

Speaking with this co-worker on that Monday morning, the conversation went from the lockout to who the Washington Wizards would play. Being a fan of the Dallas Mavericks, he was excited at the prospect of seeing the NBA champions in Washington on January 10th (per the old schedule). I tried to tell him that the old schedule — even the games from January on — meant nothing with the slate shrinking to 66 games, but he was convinced he would still be able to see his Mavs.

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The San Antonio Spurs came into the Verizon Center last night and thoroughly dominated the Washington Wizards 118-94.  They shot 58-percent for the game, 52-percent from three-point land, only trailed for 22 seconds and had six players in double figures.  They were also able to accomplish this with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combining for just 20 minutes and 12 points.

San Antonio’s victory was even more impressive considering that the night before, they were outplayed in Philadelphia, losing to the 76ers by shooting just 33-percent from the field, 17-percent from the three-point line, and by putting up just 25 points in the second half.  As Gregg Popovich said during his pregame presser on Saturday, “We set offensive basketball back a decade.”

“Just one?,” asked another reporter.

“Maybe two …. you’re right, I’m being too kind. It was just ridiculous,” responded the coach.  One night later, Popovich got his team to leave that ridiculousness behind. By halftime in Washington, they scored more points (72) than they had the previous night in Philadelphia (71 points total).

The Spurs not only own the league’s best overall record at 45-9, but they are also an NBA-best 20-7 on the road — and 5-2 through the first seven of their nine game “Rodeo Road Trip,” when there is a prolonged scheduling block in the AT&T Center due to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. That lies in sharp contrast to the Washington Wizards, who will be aiming for road victory number one against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.  It doesn’t take a genius or fancy statistics to see the tremendous gap between the two teams.

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Chris Quinn is a spritely-looking fellow, an every-man’s guy. He’s the type of NBA player you look at and say, ‘man, if that guy can make it, anyone can.’ Dude must work really, really hard. So this here post of pictures from the Wizards’ 118-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night is dedicated to the guy who couldn’t be picked out in a lineup of ball boys. Although Quinn didn’t exactly tear it up in his 20 minutes off the bench (6 points, 2-9 FGs, 2-4 3PT, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 2 turnovers), his presence goes to show you that just about anyone can take part in embarrassing the Wizards. Here’s to the regular guy doing basketball things.

Quinn didn’t make this particular shot, but I still love it.

Quinn didn’t make this shot either, but again, the moxie.

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The Wizards last faced the Spurs on December 26, 2010 in San Antonio, and they did so without Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee due to their club fight suspension. It was also John Wall’s first game back after missing six in a row and 12 out of 19. The Wizards were competitive, by their standards, but San Antonio moved the ball much better and won 94-80. Plus, Manu Ginobili got into Nick Young’s head. Washington last won in San Antonio on December 11, 1999.

The Wizards haven’t beaten San Antonio in Washington, D.C. since November 12, 2005 — 1,918 days ago. The were last in town on January 2, 2010, the day after the New York Posts’ article came out sensationalizing the Gilbert Arenas-Javaris Crittenton gun situation. San Antonio’s efficiency won 97-86, Tim Duncan led his team with 23 points on 16 shots, and Roger Mason Jr. added 20 points off the bench. Meanwhile, Gilbert Arenas (25 shots) and Caron Butler (21 shots) were in a pissing contest on offense and scored just 23 and 24 points on their respective attempts. After the game, Flip Saunders spoke about how he wanted Andray Blatche, who started the game with Arenas, Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood, to look for his offense closer to the basket. When asked, Blatche said he was just trying to stay out of Arenas’ way. Andray also took shots like this:

On February 21, 2009 the Spurs won at the Verizon Center 98-67, against thanks to Duncan, 19 points on 13 shots, and Roger Mason Jr., 25 points on 15 shots in a starting role. The rest can simply be explained by the Wizards’ starting a lineup of Mike James, Butler, Dominic McGuire, Jamison and Darius Songaila. Javaris Crittenton had a very Javaris Crittenton game with zero points on three missed shots to go with zero assists, zero turnovers, zero steals, three rebounds and three fouls in 18 minutes off the bench.

About Songaila, who was third on the Wizards with 15 points that game, Comcast’s Steve Buckhantz said: “He’s a smart guy, he knows how to play the game. If he had the body of a . . . Kwame Brown, he’d be an All-Star. And he makes the most with what he has.”

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Be mad that Alonzo Gee is no longer a Washington Wizard. The justification is there. Once again, the brain-trust of franchise has failed its fan base by putting dollars over sense. Or rather, considering the meager amount the team would’ve had to pay to equal the more tempting offer of the San Antonio Spurs, perhaps leading Gee to decide to stay in Washington, call it cents over sense.

Fingers are pointing directly at team president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld. And they should be. But don’t forget, you have more fingers that can point at more people. I can’t profess to know how various transactions during this current state of ownership limbo affects the remaining 66-percent transition from the Abe Pollin Estate to Ted Leonsis and Lincoln Holdings, but I also can’t forget that until it is complete, Grunfeld still reports only to the Pollins. He won’t let us forget either, reminding us in his press conference this past Saturday, just as he did in mid-February.

Maybe Leonsis would’ve granted approval for the same move of non-retention. And maybe Grunfeld is operating without the need to seek formal approval from those to whom he currently reports. Perhaps he’s working under a general edict where his actions are determined by a word that has been associated with the Pollin legacy before. Yes, that’s right. Cheap.

Now, there might be other variables in place aside from cost. But when the team’s reason, or excuse, for not retaining Gee revolves around saving cap space for next season while the San Antonio Spurs, a championship organization vastly unmatched by the Washington Wizards, sees enough value in Gee to further go into luxury tax territory, something is amiss. And that something should be called out.

Of course, calling the Pollins cheap, throwing out accusations of them looking out for their own agenda and not that of the fans during this transition does not necessarily paint an accurate picture. But if true, the idea still doesn’t absolve Grunfeld from shouldering most of the responsibility for the current laughing-stock state of the team. But compartmentalizing recent transactions since the team fell into the depths of the gutter, one must empathize with Grunfeld and how the controlling ownership puppeteer has caused him to ball his fists so tight that he could squeeze blood from a stone. Ernie is recycling dental floss these days. He’s washing paper towels in the Verizon Center sink and hanging them to dry for later reuse. Anything to save a buck.

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Ok, so Washington, D.C. isn’t “hell”. I love this city. It is nice … but it’s also been really, really cold lately. Sports hell? Well, now you’re talking. The only saving grace these days comes in the form of some Russian dude leading a ‘Rock the Red’ revolution.

The Washington Bullets used to wear red. But now some are saying that that damn Gilbert Arenas fellow has ruined any chances of the franchise ever returning to the team name (and colors) of yore that so many true, dedicated fans are fond of. Bullets Forever y’all.

Back to this hell concept. Fabricio Oberto isn’t in the depths of Hades, but he can’t be in a good place. You gotta feel for Fab. He’s such a nice guy. Plus, he must deal with the current situation while his family is back home in Argentina. Then again, getting paid just under two million dollars for six months of basketball can’t be all that bad.

The 2009-10 Washington Wizards just might be the worst team Oberto has ever been on. I can’t confirm this 100%, but I did peruse his resume and the history of the teams he’s played for on usbasket.com, and it looks to be a valid claim.

I first introduced myself to Fabricio at media day, informing him that I used to date a girl from Argentina and had been down there twice. By the way, Argentina comes highly recommended as a travel destination. Beautiful people, awesome sights, diverse geography, great food (especially meat and Merlot wine), and Argentina is very, very affordable. For example, we had a dinner for four, including wine and dessert, at a very nice restaurant in Buenos Aires, one which was recommended in the fancy airplane magazine, and it only came to about $100 US dollars. The meal easily could have been in upwards of $500 stateside.

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Prior to Saturday’s 97-86 loss to the San Antonio, Flip Saunders indicated that for the most part, Brendan Haywood would guard Tim Duncan straight up and they would run one-and-a-half men toward the Spurs center “at times.”

Duncan finished with an efficient 23 points (10-16 FGs), seven rebounds, and three assists in 36 minutes.

Flip Saunders

After the game, I asked Coach Saunders asses how the defensive plan against Duncan worked. He said:

“Well we didn’t want to double at all. Every time we doubled, we gave up a three-point shot, which we weren’t supposed to be doing. So, like I said, when you play against a good team and you don’t stay with your game plan, you mess up, you pay the price.

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The story of Andray Blatche has become lost in this absolute mess of a season for the Washington Wizards. Blatche wasn’t exactly “the” headliner coming out of the summer and into training camp, the knee of Gilbert Arenas was. Still, Andray was seen as very key to hope for success this year.

Some have called Blatche a ’20-10 waiting to happen’, but he has only proven to be a frustratingly perpetual unknown. With this being his fifth year since drafted, questions wondering if Blatche would finally mix maturity and focus with his amazing skills and athleticism were getting national attention.

From becoming ‘Seven Day Dray’, to switching jersey numbers, to discussing improved working conditions under Flip Saunders (as opposed to Eddie Jordan), to late night practice sessions with Sam Cassell, to talking about being more consistent, to even getting inspiration from his mom,  Blatche has displayed more focus on the court this season.

Despite starting off slow in Saturday’s game against the Spurs, Blatche continued to keep his head in the game, making hustle plays like drawing offensive fouls on both DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson in the third quarter. Andray ended up with five points on 2-6 FGs, six rebounds, a steal, an assist, a turnover and three blocks in 27 total minutes.

Still, in his post-game press conference, Flip Saunders was not totally satisfied with the progression of Blatche’s game and his decision making on the offensive end:

“I’d like more for Andray to stay around the basket. He keeps floating back out, the reason we want to go that way is to have a big that we can put down there.

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In the past weeks, NBA TV has been showing top games from 2008-09. I happened to catch several, one being Tony Parker’s career-high 55 point game, which came on an early November night in Minneapolis. That’s right, Mike Miller and Randy Foye had the privilege of being on the court to witness. Naturally, I perked up to pay attention, and take some notes on what I observed of the two new Wizards.

Word of Minnesota’s offense slowing down at the unspoken decree of Al Jefferson (approved by Randy Wittman) were confirmed. But at least Big Al was willing to take charges, such early in the third quarter when Miller chose a horrible angle to close out on Michael Finley at the three point line. Miller had no balance, and his hands were neither active, nor high. The 35-year old Finley easily blew by, but lost focus during his open path and plowed into Jefferson for the offensive foul.

The very next time down the court, Miller found himself helping off Finley, who was again spotted up at the top of the key. Tony Parker was curling off a Tim Duncan ball screen on the wing, so yes, Miller had to help stop the penetration. But once the ball was kicked back to Finley, Miller hesitated on the close-out, letting Finley’s previous drive to the hoop get into his head. Finley only needed that split-second of space to start drooling. The wide-open three was easy money for a shooter like him. Miller was never in a good position to even give a half-hearted contest.

Clearly, Mike Miller is not too swift on his feet … but this is something we all figured. His defense might be an issue, but not because of a lack of effort.

Back to the relationship between Miller, Jefferson, and Wittman’s offense. One of the more telling plays came shortly after Miller’s bad close-outs in the third. I’ve illustrated in the screen shots below.

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flickr/Geoff Livingston

When Andray Blatche changed his number from 32 to 7 in July, little did he know his action would result in a tribute to who is likely the best power forward in NBA history.

Blatche told the DC Sports Bog, “I’m wearing 7, and that means 7 days [a week] of hard work, 7 days of being focused.”

I’ll refrain from being snarky in this instance, this post is not about Blatche. I’ll just imagine Haywood or Jamison putting Andray in a headlock, rubbing him on the head, and bellowing, ‘Whatever you say kiddo,’ as ‘Dray is shuffled away like a little scamp.

When Blatche chose to go with number seven, the Wizards’ latest signee, Fabricio Oberto, having worn seven during his four-year career with the Spurs, was left to search for a new number.

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We’ve seen the dunking prowess of the lengthy JaVale McGee …

But did you know that last year, in only 75 games and 1,143 minutes, McGee dunked more than an entire NBA Team?

JaVale McGee … 80

San Antonio Spurs … 73

• 42% of McGee’s FGs were dunks.
• His 80 dunks were good enough for 29th in the NBA and 5th among rookies, after: Brook Lopez, Greg Oden, Jason Thompson, and Marreese Speights.
• He finished 8th in the league in ‘Minutes Per Dunk’ – 14.65 – after: Shaquille O’Neal, Ryan Hollins, DeAndre Jordan, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Greg Oden, Dwight Howard, and Andrew Bynum.
• Source: Roto Evil via 82games.com

But that’s not all…

JaVale, amongst playing a Transformer and Wolverine, has a staring role in his own movie short. What exactly it’s about is left for the viewer to interpret.

Summer of Epic Vale?

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Fabricio Oberto can’t jump. He can’t lock down today’s athletic big man, nor keep up in a fast break sprint. Block shots? A career 0.6 blocks per 36 minutes says it all. He has a nice shooting touch, but don’t look for him to be a scorer. Hell, his career 60% from the free-throw line knocks on the door of atrocious. The guy even fouls at a per 36 minutes rate slightly more than Andray Blatche (however, I’m willing to bet that Oberto’s fouls are “smarter” than Blatche’s). Oh, did I also mention that he recently had heart surgery? Yuck.

Oberto is exactly what the Wizards need.

I’ve been contentious about Ernie Grunfeld pigeon-holing the final free agent big man target to 8-10 minutes per game. That announced strategy put way too much trust in Blatche and JaVale McGee. Plus, it limited the attractiveness of the job opening.

But I’ll be the first to admit that I’m neither a GM nor a coach. If this is the direction in which the guy I’ve come to trust would like to go, so be it. I’ll be behind the movement.

What Oberto brings to the table is a composed veteran presence on offense. He’s fluid, he’s efficient, he’s smart. He can pass, and his hands don’t resemble oven mitts. Leave him open and he’ll gladly knock down that J. No, Oberto doesn’t have the floor spreading range of Darius Songaila. His .364 eFG% on jumpers is dwarfed by D-Song’s .460 eFG%. But Oberto’s overall .587 eFG% would have been tops on the Wiz last year, and much better than Songaila’s team best .532.

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Manu over current Wizards coach Sam Cassell - flickr/eugene

Since writing the Manu Ginobili to the Wizards post, I’ve somewhat soured on acquiring him. Not that I’m now completely against it, given ideal circumstances. Manu is nice, but he doesn’t fit the two greatest team needs: a rugged big man who can defend and rebound (either in the form of starting PF or a significant bench role player), and a dead-eye three point shooter, who can also defend. Mike Prada of Bullets Forever has a good post on who that needed wing player might be: ‘Who is Gilbert Arenas’ ideal backcourt mate?‘

The veteran squad and expiring contracts the Wiz would get in the Ginobili trade scenario makes an interesting team while maintaining flexibility for the future. But as Prada pointed out on Bullets Forever, the Wizards would be giving up almost all of their attractive assets (Blatche, Young, the 5th, and the expiring contracts of Mike James and Etan Thomas) for a bunch of over the hill guys with unreliable health.

If I’m Ernie Grunfeld, I want to max out the value of those assets, or retain some for a 2010 trade deadline rainy day. In the end, I, along with most Spurs fans, can’t really imagine the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili not being together next year anyway.

The Spurs want to prepare for the future, while remaining competitive. The best way to stay in the title picture might be to keep the veteran core on the books (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, Roger Mason, Matt Bonner, and Finley, assuming he takes his $2.5 million player option), along with George Hill (seemingly their only youthful prospect), fill in the gap with a MLE free-agent (which could mean heading into luxury tax territory), and pray for health.

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flickr/kris247

When the San Antonio Spurs asked Ernie Grunfeld what it would take to get the 5th pick in June 25th’s draft, Grunfeld simply responded, “Manu Ginobili,” or so goes the purported story relayed by the Washington Post’s Michael Lee.

Despite Ginobili’s old age and injury issues, sounds like a pretty absurd counter request (assuming only expiring contracts/low value players would accompany the pick) for one of the top gamers in the NBA. Spurs brass certainly would not expect to give up one of their top three stars for a pick in what most are saying is a down draft.

Grunfeld is not ridiculous, nor is he stupid. He’s just playing hardball knowing the pick will only increase in value heading up to the draft. Case in point would be the hype surrounding Stephen Curry and interest from the Knicks to possibly trade up to get him (amongst Wizards’ threats to draft Curry themselves). Whether Grunfeld’s old team would deal with him might be another story.

Forget what you’ve heard about this being a down draft. Even the worst drafts produce hidden gems, and every GM, with their egos, confidence, and scouting reports think they can mine the next one. A pick’s value is in the size of the target on a slotted player’s back placed there by interested parties.

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