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Wizards waive DerMarr Johnson and Linton Johnson

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived forwards DerMarr Johnson and Linton Johnson. DerMarr Johnson appeared in five preseason games for Washington and averaged 8.8 points in 19.6 minutes per game. Linton Johnson appeared in four preseason games as a Wizard and averaged 1.3 points in 12.8 minutes per game. Both players originally signed with Washington on September 22, 2008.

The Wizards roster now stands at 15.

Washington will be without star point guard Gilbert Arenas for a few months and role-playing center Brendan Haywood for most of the season. But fortunately, star forward Antawn Jamison should be healthy soon and OK for the start of the regular season.

Jamison will be OK

The AP reports: Wizards all-star forward Antawn Jamison practised Monday without a protective sleeve on his banged-up right knee and expects to be at 100 per cent for the start of the regular season next week. “No pain at all. No stiffness or anything like that,” Jamison said after practice. “I feel pretty good.” He bruised the knee and left in the first quarter of Washington’s first exhibition game, at Dallas on Oct. 7.

Oct 17: Hornets 102, Wizards 80

The AP reports: Melvin Ely had 19 points and eight rebounds and Chris Paul added 10 points and eight assists to help the Hornets wrap up the NBA’s annual preseason tour of Europe with another strong performance. New Orleans, which cruised to a 96-80 victory over Washington in the first meeting on Tuesday in Berlin, will return home with a 5-0 preseason record… Caron Butler and rookie center JaVale McGee led Washington with 15 points each, while Jamison, who missed Tuesday’s loss, shot just 4-of-14 to finish with nine points.

Brendan Haywood out 4-6 months after surgery

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that center Brendan Haywood had successful surgery to repair a torn dorsal scapho-lunate ligament in his right wrist.  He originally suffered the injury on Thursday, October 2 during the Wizards’ training camp in Richmond, VA.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.  Haywood is expected to make a full recovery after missing four to six months while recovering from the surgery.  He will spend the next 10 weeks in a cast before he begins the rehabilitation process.

Oct 14: Hornets 96, Wizards 80

The AP reports: Chris Paul had eight assists and scored four points to help the Hornets jump out to an 18-0 lead. He played the entire first and third quarters and sat out the other two, finishing with 11 assists and nine points… The Hornets opened the second half without forward Julian Wright, who had to be carried off the court with a sprained ankle in the second quarter… Washington outscored the Hornets 22-15 in the third quarter, led by guard DeShawn Stevenson’s three 3-pointers. Stevenson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.

Wizards used to suffering injuries

The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: While the loss of starting center Brendan Haywood, who needs wrist surgery and will miss four to six months, is a blow to the Washington Wizards, the team is rather well-prepared for this type of situation. Last year, the Wizards lost center Etan Thomas to a heart operation that sidelined him for the entire season. Only eight games into the season, franchise player Gilbert Arenas had a second surgery on his left knee and missed 66 consecutive games. And fellow All-Star Caron Butler missed 24 games of his own with injuries. But Washington found a way to overcome the absences and reach the playoffs for a fourth straight year. The year before that, All-Star forward Antawn Jamison missed 12 games with injury, and Butler and Arenas both went down in April with hand and knee injuries, respectively. Again, the Wizards held on down the stretch to make the playoffs.

Oct 8: Wizards 89, Grizzlies 80

The AP reports: JaVale McGee, Washington’s first-round draft choice out of Nevada-Reno, had 20 points and eight rebounds Wednesday night to lead the Wizards to a 89-80 preseason victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. McGee shot 8-for-12 from the field for Washington. Andray Blatche scored 14 points and DerMarr Johnson had 11… Rudy Gay scored 21 points on 5-for-19 shooting for Memphis, winless in two games. Hakim Warrick added 16 points, but was 3-for-9 as the Grizzlies shot 35 percent on the night. Greg Buckner finished with 11 for Memphis and rookie Marc Gasol had 10. Meanwhile, O.J. Mayo, the third-overall pick from Southern Cal, connected on 3-of-11 from the field for Memphis and finished with seven points.

B.Haywood to have wrist surgery

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that center Brendan Haywood will have surgery to repair a torn dorsal scapho-lunate ligament in his right wrist. He originally suffered the injury during last week’s training camp in Richmond, VA.

Haywood visited two hand specialists in New York earlier today who both concluded that surgery was necessary to repair the torn ligament. No timetable will be determined for Haywood’s return until after surgery, which has yet to be scheduled.

“Brendan worked extremely hard over the summer after having a career year last season,” said Grunfeld. “This is disappointing, but we’re confident that he will do everything necessary to recover from this injury and continue that progress.”

Haywood averaged career highs of 10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks last season while shooting .528 (316-599) from the field.

Antawn Jamison has knee contusion

Wizards forward Antawn Jamison has been diagnosed with a right knee contusion after an MRI today revealed no other damage. No timetable has been set for his return, but Jamison is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Jamison left last night’s preseason game at Dallas at the 7:40 mark of the first quarter and did not return.

InsideHoops.com editor says: It’s great news for the Wizards that the injury is minor, especially with word about to come out that Brendan Haywood needs wrist surgery. Wizards star Gilbert Arenas is already out until maybe January, or later, leaving Jamison and small forward Caron Butler to once again carry the team for a long stretch of time.