Category: Washington Wizards Blog

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Manute Bol dies at 47

The AP reports:

Manute Bol, a lithe 7-foot-7 shot-blocker from Sudan who spent 10 seasons in the NBA and was dedicated to humanitarian work in Africa, died Saturday. He was 47.

Bol died at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, where he was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition, Tom Prichard, executive director of the group Sudan Sunrise, said in an e-mail.

“Sudan and the world have lost a hero and an example for all of us,” Prichard said. “Manute, we’ll miss you. Our prayers and best wishes go out to all his family, and all who mourn his loss.”

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski, on the passing Manute Bol:

“On behalf of the entire Philadelphia 76ers organization, we would like to pass along our deepest and sincerest condolences to the family of Manute during this very difficult time.

“Manute’s impact on this city, our franchise and the game of basketball cannot be put into words. He was a person who was continually giving of himself through his generosity and humanitarian efforts in order to make the world around him a much better place, for which he will always be remembered.”

NBA approves sale of Washington Wizards to Lincoln Holdings

The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of the Washington Wizards to Lincoln Holdings, an enterprise controlled by Ted Leonsis.

“We are pleased that the NBA’s Board of Governors has approved Ted Leonsis’s purchase of majority ownership of the Wizards from the Pollin family,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “The transaction signifies the end of an era and a passing of the torch into very capable hands.  We have long admired what Ted has done with the Washington Capitals in terms of sales, marketing and outreach in the community, and we look forward to him bringing those skills to bear for the Wizards.”

Wizards win first pick in 2010 NBA Draft Lottery

The National Basketball Association announced tonight that the Washington Wizards received the first overall pick in the 2010 Draft during tonight’s Draft Lottery in Secaucus, NJ.

“This is a great night for our franchise and particularly for our fans,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “They have shown great support and passion during what has been a difficult stretch over the last two seasons, but they can celebrate tonight knowing that we’ve taken a big step towards building the team that they deserve.”

The Wizards, who had a 10.3% chance of landing the first pick in tonight’s Draft Lottery, have held the number one overall pick twice before in franchise history. They chose Walt Bellamy number one in 1961 and Kwame Brown with the top pick in 2001.

In addition to the number one pick, the Wizards own Cleveland’s first round selection (30th overall) as a result of a three-team deal on Feb. 17 and hold their own second round pick (35th overall).

Washington is totally rebuilding, and chances are they’ll go make John Wall the first overall selection.

The Philadelphia 76ers are likely to take Evan Turner second, playing him alongside Andre Iguodala.

At third, the Nets will probably go for a power forward. There are several good candidates worthy of going that high up.

Complete 2010 NBA Draft Lottery results are here.

Boston man who threatens Juwan Howard locked up

The Boston Herald reports:

A “psychotic” Boston man is accused of threatening to kill NBA star Juwan Howard and his family as well as attempting to extort $1 million from the Portland Trail Blazers forward, prosecutors and police said.

“He has been doing this for years, and he’s never actually spoken to my husband, he’s never even met him, but he’s obsessed with him,” said Jenine Howard in a phone interview after the arrest of Rahmal W. Stinson, 30, of Dorchester. “He’s showed up at games, and mailed gifts and leaves obscene messages. We’ve gotten additional security and we feel pretty safe. But he makes me nervous.”

Stinson, who was arrested Tuesday, was determined to be psychotic and is locked up in Bridgewater State Hospital, where he is undergoing a 20-day evaluation, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office.

Stinson’s 12-year-old child is the daughter of Jenine Howard’s sister and occasionally stays at the Howards’ Houston home, according to the family. Stinson frequently calls the home, and on March 20 allegedly threatened to kill the entire household, police said.

Gilbert Arenas finishes halfway house time

The AP reports:

gilbert arenas

Gilbert Arenas pleaded guilty to felony gun possession in the District of Columbia in January and was sentenced in March to a month in the halfway house. His sentence also includes two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 400 hours of community service that can’t be performed at basketball clinics.

His sentence started April 9 with two days in jail before he was moved to the halfway house in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. He was allowed to leave the facility during the day. A fan tweeted about seeing him at a local grocery store and posted a picture of him posing near the bottled tea.

Arenas’ sentence called for 30 days at the facility, but he was released slightly early because the Federal Bureau of Prisons doesn’t release offenders from halfway houses on weekends.

The 28-year-old point guard is now free to resume his basketball career. His NBA suspension expired at the end of the season, and he has four years remaining on a six-year, $111 million contract he signed with the Wizards in the summer of 2008.

Sale of Wizards to Leonsis close

The AP reports:

The family of late Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin have agreed to the ”major economic terms” of a deal to sell its stake in the NBA team to Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.

Leonsis, a former AOL executive, and the Pollins ran into some snags in talks this year. But in a statement Tuesday, Pollin’s sons, Robert and James, said they and their mother, Irene, congratulate Leonsis on this ”near-final step in a long negotiation.”

A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed to The Associated Press last month that the two sides agreed to value the franchise and the arena at slightly more than $550 million.

Judging Flip Saunders as Wizards coach

Mike Jones of CSN Washington reports:

Judging Flip Saunders as Wizards coach

A winner everywhere he’s been, Saunders was supposed to come in and take the Wizards from the middle of the playoff pack to the ranks of the league’s elite. But, like his talented roster, he came up short. It’s difficult to give Saunders’ coaching this season a precise grade because there were so many derisive elements involved this season.  He – like his players – talked about the need to set egos aside and sacrifice for the greater good, but when things got going, Saunders couldn’t get the Wizards to play together.

Saunders was heralded as an offensive genius, but we never really saw him work his magic on the Wizards. Because he wanted to give Arenas, Butler, Jamison and Haywood time to get used to play together again, Saunders didn’t make them run much of his system. Over-estimating his players, he admittedly let them freestyle while they got back into the groove. But they never got there. The player that suffered the most was Butler, who often looked lost in the system. Was that because Saunders didn’t use him effectively, or was it a result of a lack of focus on Butler’s part, or his bad chemistry with Arenas?  It turned out not making Arenas play within a system was a terrible decision because he wasn’t capable of running the show and balancing scoring with distributing. And so, the Wizards’ never clicked.

How much of it was Saunders’ fault, though? With the agendas that the Wizards had, would the coach have had any success if he did direct them to play within his system? By December, Saunders was publically criticizing his players for terrible shot selection and not playing together, “In all my years of coaching…I have never had to yell at a player for taking bad shots…until this year,” said Saunders, who also stressed improved ball movement.

Greg Monroe to enter NBA Draft

The AP reports:

Georgetown center Greg Monroe is heading to the NBA, planning to hire an agent and skip his last two seasons of college eligibility.

“It was mentally what I wanted to do,” Monroe said in a statement released by the school Saturday. “I feel like I’m ready to make this step after working with our coaches for two years.”

The 6-foot-11 Monroe was a third-team AP All-American as a sophomore after averaging 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 blocks this season.

Andray Blatche has bright future

Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports (via blog):

Andray Blatche has bright future

The crowd of reporters then encouraged Andray Blatche to say what was on his mind. Blatche slumped his shoulders and finally relented. “Something I can take from this season? Most improved player,” Blatche said. “I feel I worked hard for it. A couple of guys have complemented me, as well. I hope it works out for me.”

Blatche certainly has blossomed since the Wizards dealt away Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood before the trade deadline. In 30 games since the all-star break, Blatche is averaging 22.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists and has recorded 12 double-doubles over that span.

“I was a little nervous,” Blatche said of his intial reaction to the trades, “but also, I knew it was an opportunity for me. I just tried to do my best.”

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld thought that Blatche would be able to respond well after the trades, but this level of production caught him off guard as well.