Category: Washington Wizards Blog

Friday night the Washington Wizards lost to the Orlando Magic, 110-92. Here’s what various members of the Wizards said after the game:

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic’s play tonight: “Howard was so effective. He really got going early, but when it really came down to it, as I said earlier before the game, the people that decided how the game was going were the other four. Howard had a lot of his points early in the first half of that, but the situation as far as what Redick did, Ryan Anderson, what those guys did when the game was close, Richardson, the 3’s that those guys hit. That pushed us from a competitive game to a game where they were able to basically close it out.”

On John Wall being ejected from the game: “I think he’s frustrated. He is getting knocked down a lot. I think he is getting knocked down and he is not getting many calls when he goes to the basket.”

On how he felt his team played: “Our bench was great tonight.  Booker was great.  He had great energy, playing with a great amount of enthusiasm. Hinrich was great tonight.”

WIZARDS GUARD JOHN WALL

On whether the team came out in third without energy: “I don’t know.  Sometimes in the third quarter we come out good, and sometimes we don’t.  We’ve got to figure out a way to come out good every game.  Some games you might be down 15.  I think those are the games you really come out aggressive, when we’re down.  When we’re close or we are up, we come out lackadaisical.  We’ve got to learn how to switch it around.”

WIZARDS FORWARD RASHARD LEWIS

On the tough stretch of games: “We’ve played some good teams.  Some of the ball games we’ve been in and some games we haven’t been in.  Playing some of the top teams, you have to put 48 minutes together.  I thought we’ve only been playing a half over three quarters.  Against top team, you have to play for 48 minutes to beat them.”

On putting the game behind them: “We have to put that game behind us immediately, almost like right now as we speak.  Now we have to be focused on Josh Smith, Al Horford, Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby. We have to get ready for those guys.  If we come in thinking about the Orlando Magic, we’ll be facing another loss if we don’t get ourselves prepared for the Atlanta Hawks.”

WIZARDS FORWARD TREVOR BOOKER

On becoming a crowd favorite: “I just try to come in and bring energy, bring energy to the team and bring energy to the crowd.  For the most part I think I’m starting to do it.”

On being surprised by his big plays: “Maybe a little, but I know what I’m capable of.  It just gets me excited every time I do it.”

WIZARDS GUARD NICK YOUNG

On the game: “My shots weren’t really falling for me tonight. Things didn’t turn out good for us. Kirk (Hinrich) really carried us tonight and Rashard (Lewis) and Yi (Jialian) had a good game as well. There was a lot of good energy in the building tonight, it was good to see a packed house with a lot of fans but disappointingly we lost. We came out trying our best but our shots were not falling through for us tonight. We just have to put this game behind us and move on to tomorrow’s game.”

On Gil’s return: “He was talking to me throughout the game but I really didn’t hear too much, I was keeping my focus. He came in as regular Gil, doing what he does best with us and the bench but we tried to look past it.”

WIZARDS GUARD KIRK HINRICH

On the game: “Coming off the injury I think I’m getting a lot better and hopefully not have any issues for the rest of the season. I don’t think we came out great in the second half and it looks like we are still struggling on the pick and rolls. It was a tough matchup because they are able to spread the floor with Dwight (Howard) in the middle. We didn’t do a good job of stopping them. We were just trying to get something going but we couldn’t get the stops going or get our shots down.

On the current stretch of games: “It is tough because the opponents are good but this is the NBA, and everybody has good players. We are playing some really good teams in this stretch but we really need a more consistent effort.”

WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

On losing at home after long trip: “It was very disappointing.  We always play well at home and we always take care of home.  On the bright side, we have a game tomorrow.  We’re going to come out and be aggressive and pull one out tomorrow.”

On Booker’s performance: “That was huge coming off the bench.  He’s been playing great lately, period. That’s what we are going to need from him and Yi to back up me and JaVale. That kind of effort and that kind of play is huge for us.”

The Orlando Magic have acquired three-time NBA All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Rashard Lewis, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today.

“Gilbert (Arenas) is a proven All-Star in this league and we’re excited to add him to our team,” said Smith.  “He is one of the top scoring guards in the game, he can create scoring chances for his teammates and he is as tough as they come.  Rashard (Lewis) was important in helping our franchise get to the next level, and we wish him and his family all the best in the future.”

“This trade allows us to continue to rebuild around our core group of young players and provides financial flexibility as we move forward,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld.  “We’re thrilled to have been able to accomplish those goals while also getting back a two-time All-Star in Rashard Lewis, who brings us versatility, three-point shooting and a veteran presence.”

“When we re-signed Gilbert prior to the 2008-09 season, we envisioned a level of team success that we unfortunately were not able to achieve due to injuries and other factors beyond our control,” said Grunfeld.  “We appreciate the contributions that he made to this franchise and this city and wish him the best of luck.”

Arenas (6’4”, 215, 1/6/82) has played in 21 games this season (14 starts) with Washington, averaging a team-high 17.3 ppg., 5.6 apg., 3.3 rpg. and 1.43 stlpg. in 34.6 minpg.  He is currently tied for 21st in the NBA in assists, ranks 28th in steals and is tied for 35th in scoring.

Originally selected in the second round (31st overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft by Golden State, Arenas was named to the All-NBA Second Team once (2006-07) and to the All-NBA Third Team twice (2004-05, 2005-06), while also earning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2002-03.  He has been named to the NBA All-Star team three times (2005-07).

Arenas has appeared in 486 career NBA regular season games with Golden State and Washington, averaging 22.5 ppg., 5.6 apg., 4.2 rpg. and 1.71 stlpg. in 37.2 minpg.  He has shot .356 (1,016-2,856) from three-point range during his career.  Arenas has also played in 20 career playoff outings, averaging 24.2 ppg., 5.3 apg., 4.6 rpg. and 1.80 stlpg. in 41.4 minpg.

Lewis (6’10”, 230, 8/8/79) has played and started in 25 games this season with Orlando, averaging 12.2 ppg., 4.2 rpg. and 1.2 apg. in 32.4 minpg.  He played in 257 games with the Magic from 2007-10, averaging 16.3 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 2.1 apg. and 1.09 sltpg. in 35.5 minpg. during that span.

Originally selected in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft by Seattle, Lewis has appeared in 874 career NBA regular season games with Seattle and Orlando, averaging 16.5 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 1.8 apg. and 1.13 stlpg. in 34.4 minpg.  He was acquired by the Magic in a sign-and-trade deal with Seattle (now Oklahoma City) in exchange for a future conditional second round draft pick on July 11, 2007.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reports:

Orlando and Washington are engaged in serious discussions for a trade that would send Gilbert Arenas to the Magic, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Arenas has privately told people for days that he believes a deal will soon send him to Orlando, where he’ll be reunited with Magic general manager Otis Smith, a friend and mentor from Arenas’ days with the Golden State Warriors.