Category: Washington Wizards Blog

Here are some interview quotes from every Washington Wizards player except Gilbert Arenas, from the team’s media day today:

WIZARDS FORWARD ANTAWN JAMISON

On the Wizards:

“This team is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that we win games.  I think now we need more of our young players to step up.  I think if they can contribute, then we should be alright.  We definitely need somebody to pick up those points that we’re missing from Gilbert, but we still have two NBA All-Stars that are going to go out there and get it done.”

On training camp:

“I think there is something different with this training camp.  We actually need this in order to really get it going because we were left with a bad taste in our mouth after losing in the first round of the playoffs.  We need a lot of guys to get the reps in, understand their role and get some playing time because once the season starts we need to be clicking on all cylinders.  We can’t afford for things to take a week or two to get going.  We have to be playing pretty good basketball when the season gets started.”

WIZARDS FORWARD CARON BUTLER

On training camp:

“We’ve been working out here for the last month, and we’ve got the same corps together with some new additions, so I’m anxious to get this thing going.  I’m feeling really good physically.  I just can’t wait for the season to start.”

On the off-season:

“Yoga…Yoga got me through.  It helped me open up my hips and get looser.  I’ve dropped a few pounds so there is less impact on my body.  I went through the last two and a half months playing extremely hard with full contact and I didn’t have a single injury, so I’m feeling great physically.”

WIZARDS GUARD ANTONIO DANIELS

On his wrist:

“No, I didn’t [have surgery on my wrist].  I got another opinion, and they told me it wasn’t the best thing for me to do.  I feel a lot better.  I’ll play with it lightly braced like I did this summer and God willing I’ll be fine.”

On training camp:

“Training camp is very important for a number of different reasons.  You have the young guys and the new guys, the free agents that are very important to this team and they need to be implemented into the offense, the offensive structure and the defensive foundation.   They have to learn what it’s about and what’s going on.  The guys that have been here understand what’s going on, but we need this training camp to redevelop that connection that we had [last season].”

WIZARDS CENTER BRENDAN HAYWOOD

On training camp:

“I look at training camp as a necessary evil.  It’s one of those things that you know you have to go through.  You want to go out there, play your best, start building for something and get past it. I think everybody will go out there, play their role and work hard.”

On Etan Thomas:

“I think everybody is happy to see him back, especially after what he went through last year.  That will be one of the feel good stories this year for the Washington Wizards.  I’m excited to have him back.”

WIZARDS GUARD DESHAWN STEVENSON

On expectations for this season:

“The first thing is to get everybody healthy…win games and get to the playoffs, get past the first round and do the things that we know we can do.”

On starting the season without Gilbert Arenas:

“We’d love to have him, but people will just have to step up.  People are going to be put in bigger roles, so we’ve just got to go out there and do what we have to do to win games.”

WIZARDS FORWARD DARIUS SONGAILA

On training camp:

“It’s always good to start off healthy because you kind of get into the groove of things.  During preseason and training camp, you start to form chemistry with the team.  So if you miss that, then you kind of fall behind.”

WIZARDS FORWARD/CENTER ANDRAY BLATCHE

On his goals for this season:

“I’m looking forward to this year.  I feel like this year is going to be a big year for me.  I’ve been here for awhile and I’ve been working hard.  I think this might be a breakout season for me.  I’ve been working so hard.”

WIZARDS CENTER ETAN THOMAS

On missing last season:

“It was really tough to sit there and watch and not be able to do anything, but it was also really motivational to be able to watch tapes of the games during my rehab.  It’s great to be back and to come down and work out with the guys.”

On returning to action:

“I feel great.  I’m really excited to be back and for camp to start.  I got checked out last week and everything looked good, so I’m ready to go.  I’m looking to make a big difference [this season].  I’m going to go out there and play hard and play physical — that’s what I bring to the table.”

WIZARDS GUARD/FORWARD NICK YOUNG

On training camp:

“I’m looking forward to it.  I just want to work hard and make it through two-a-days.  I’m going to go out and give it my all.”

WIZARDS FORWARD/CENTER OLEKSIY PECHEROV

On what he needs to do to be successful:

“It’s about effort, it’s about energy, it’s about giving 100 percent and it’s about staying healthy.  If we’re healthy this season, then it is going to be a good season.”

WIZARDS FORWARD DOMINIC MCGUIRE

On the off-season:

“I’ve been in the gym twice a day, and I had my first child, so that was big for me.  I’ve just been working out and spending time with him [my son].”

On training camp:

“[I need to show] that I’m a lot better player than what I showed last year.  Last year was a learning experience for me, and I’ve improved a lot since then.”

WIZARDS GUARD JUAN DIXON

On returning to the Wizards:

“It feels great to be back.  I’m really excited to be back in Washington and to resume my career with the Wizards.  I’m looking forward to the start of training camp.  I’m ready to step-in and contribute wherever Coach (Eddie) Jordan and the team need me.”

On how the team has changed since he was last here:

“I think this team is more established.  Ernie (Grunfeld) had just got here when I was here; Eddie Jordan was trying to get his system in.  Now guys are more familiar with Coach, and Coach is more familiar with the guys.  It’s a more open game too — guys are out there having fun and playing.”

WIZARDS GUARD DEE BROWN

On expectations for this season:

“Every time you see me out there I’m going to be trying my hardest.  I’m going to compete and work hard every day.  I’m going to stay positive.  Whatever my team needs me to do to win, that’s what I’m going to do.  I’m going to do whatever Coach (Eddie) Jordan needs me to do in order to be successful and for this team to win.”

On Eddie Jordan:

“He’s been phenomenal for me.  He’s a great coach and he really loves the game.”

WIZARDS CENTER JAVALE MCGEE

On the off-season:

“I’ve been trying to get stronger, working on my conditioning and trying to learn the plays.  It’s been great. I’ve just been working real hard.”

WIZARDS FORWARD DERMARR JOHNSON

On playing in his hometown of Washington DC:

“It feels good.  All of my family and friends that saw me play when I was growing up now have the chance to see me play as a pro.  I had been exploring the option [of playing for the Wizards] all summer.  I spent the whole summer here coming to the gym and working out.  I can’t wait.  There’s nothing better for me than being here with the Wizards.”

WIZARDS FORWARD LINTON JOHNSON

On the upcoming season:

“It’s another exciting year.  It feels good to be a part of this organization.  Last year I started off in Spain, so it’s good to be back here at home.  I’m excited because we have a good group of guys.  I’m familiar with the system because it’s similar to what I played with the [New Jersey] Nets and with the [New Orleans] Hornets.”

WIZARDS FORWARD TAJ MCCULLOUGH

On what is expected of him:

“They’re looking for me to keep doing what I’ve been doing — working hard, rebounding and not going outside of my game.”

Here’s Washington Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan today, speaking to local media:

On having the option picked up on his contract (yesterday):

“Ernie called me up to his office to talk about [training] camp, personnel and a few other things, and then he told me that they were going to pick up my option. It was a total shock. I’m very grateful to Ernie and to Mr. Pollin. My assistants and our players contributed tremendously to this happening. Now we’re preparing to go to training camp and that’s the only thing that’s on my mind. We’re in training camp mode. We went on a retreat last week, we’ve been in the office (this week), and we’ve been watching tape. We’re locked in to preparing this team, so my option was totally out of my realm of thinking.”

On last season:

“One of the things that went well was our leadership. Our leadership was impeccable; it was the engine that really drove the car for us. Caron [Butler] and Antawn [Jamison] are certainly at the top of that totem poll. Antonio Daniels was a big part of that. DeShawn [Stevenson] in his own right was a leader for us, and Darius [Songaila] also. We like the way that Brendan [Haywood] had a career year. Even though Caron and Antawn were All-Stars, I always said that DeShawn and Brendan were the unsung heroes for us because they were defensive anchors for us. They were there for us pretty much every game. [I’m proud of] the way we played, winning 43 games as opposed to 41 the year before, making a competitive series against Cleveland in the playoffs and the fact that we dealt with adversity.”

On Gilbert Arenas:

“He is a star, and he’s the straw that stirs the drink. I knew we weren’t going to have him 100 percent for training camp, and I didn’t want to go further than that. We knew he needed more rehab, more strengthening, more rehab during the training camp session. Now, our thinking and our preparation is for (the players that will be participating in) training camp, and we’re working to prepare this team to lay the foundation again.”

More on Gilbert Arenas:

“I just saw Gil today. I talked to him after his procedure. He feels very confident that having the procedure will enhance his rehab and get him back on the floor during his rehab as opposed to just staying in the training room. When he was on the floor at the end of the summer, [his knee] just bothered him a little bit. The procedure allowed him to clean out a little of the debris, so that will help his rehab and allow him to get back to us pain-free.”

On the team:

“We feel very confident in the players that we have and the way we played last year — the way we shared the ball and moved the ball, the defense and the way we made the playoffs. But certainly you need a Gilbert Arenas to get to where we want to go. We certainly want to win an NBA Championship.”

On the depth of the roster:

“I am comfortable with it. We are very comfortable in Antonio [Daniels] and DeShawn [Stevenson] and Dee Brown, who we signed and played in the summer league. We’ve always wanted a guard like Dee who can change the pace and quicken the pace defensively. He’s got some experience under him and he’s relatively young. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid from Chicago, and we’re very excited about him being on our roster.”

On Nick Young:

“For him to average almost 7 points in 15 minutes is a promising foundation for us and for him. We know he is a dynamic and exciting scorer. We want him to be a better player defensively, understand (game situations), (improve) work ethic, maturing and all of that is going to take place. We’re very excited about Nick’s opportunity that lies in front of him.”

On Etan Thomas:

“[Having him back] improves our depth. We know Brendan [Haywood] had a career year last year. Our depth chart is solid with Etan being a back-up center. If there are any injuries or anything of that nature, we have a veteran guy who can step in.”

On Brendan Haywood:

“[I’m just looking for] subtle improvement — little things that would mean a lot for us. Certainly his approach and his intelligence are top-notch. He’s one of the most intelligent guys on the team and in the League. He talks on defense, he works on his body. He maintains his body to be big and strong. His defense has improved greatly. There are some subtle things, like maybe some more passing to cutters, screening and stuff you guys don’t really see in games. Overall his improvement was huge for us this year, and we continue to see him work on his body and on his game. He’s not a core scorer for us, but he knows when to be aggressive for us. Again, because of his intelligence he knows when he needs to pick up some slack. If Caron [Butler] is not on the floor, then we throw the ball to Brendan.”

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Juan Dixon. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released. But both local Washington papers had been reporting that the offer was a minimum salary deal and the contract wasn’t guaranteed.

“Juan is a proven NBA player and we like what he brings to our team,” said Grunfeld. “He is a tough, hard-nosed competitor who can score and his familiarity with our system is an added plus.”

Dixon (6-3, 165) was originally selected by Washington with the 17th overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft out of the University of Maryland, where he led the Terrapins to the NCAA title and captured Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2002 Final Four. During his first tenure with the Wizards, the Baltimore native averaged 8.2 points and 1.6 assists in 176 games over three seasons (2002-03 through 2004-05).

“I’m excited to return to the area and to resume my career with the Wizards,” said Dixon. “I’m looking forward to the start of training camp and I’m ready to step in and contribute wherever Coach Jordan and the team sees fit.”

The six-year veteran has seen action with the Wizards, Trail Blazers, Raptors and Pistons and holds NBA career averages of 8.9 points and 1.7 assists per game. Last season, Dixon averaged 5.0 points and 1.8 assists in 53 games between Detroit and Toronto.

The Wizards’ training camp roster now stands at 18 players. The team will hold camp from September 27-October 3 at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent forwards DerMarr Johnson, Linton Johnson and Taj McCullough.  Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not released. But it’s quite likely that all three signings are just “training camp additions” with nonguaranteed deals. Chances are, all three will be cut during or after camp. But of the three, Johnson is most likely to stick, followed by Johnson. McCullough is a distant long-shot.

“DerMarr’s experience and versatility, Linton’s athleticism and defensive ability and Taj’s play with our summer league team gives them a chance to compete for a roster spot,” said Grunfeld.  “We’re looking forward to training camp as an opportunity to evaluate how they might fit into the mix at the small forward position.”

DerMarr Johnson (6-9, 210) is a seven-year veteran who has seen action with the Hawks, Knicks, Nuggets and Spurs.  He holds NBA career averages of 6.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 136 games.  A Washington DC native, Johnson was originally selected by Atlanta with the sixth overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft following his freshman year at the University of Cincinnati.  He averaged 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds for the Hawks in 2001-02, but missed the entire 2002-03 season after suffering four cracked vertebra in his neck following a car accident.  He returned to the NBA with New York in 2003-04 and spent the next three seasons (2004-05 through 2006-07) with Denver.  Johnson averaged 3.4 points in five games with San Antonio last season.

Linton Johnson (6-8, 205) is a five-year veteran who has seen action with the Bulls, Spurs, Nets, Hornets, Raptors and Suns.  He holds NBA career averages of 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 141 games after going undrafted out of Tulane University.   Johnson had his best statistical run when he averaged 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds over the final 27 games for New Orleans/Oklahoma City after being acquired in a midseason trade with New Jersey.  Johnson averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds last season in eight games between Toronto and Phoenix.

McCullough (6-7, 227) averaged 2.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in five games with the Wizards’ entry in the 2008 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.  The rookie out of Winthrop averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds as a senior last season and helped the Eagles to a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wizards’ training camp roster now stands at 17 players.  The team will hold camp from September 27-October 3 at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has picked up the option on the contract of Head Coach Eddie Jordan, keeping him under contract through the 2009-10 season.  Per team policy, financial terms of the contract were not released.

“Eddie has done an outstanding job and has been instrumental in making us a perennial playoff team, so we are pleased to reward that success by picking up the option on his contract,” said Grunfeld.  “We are very excited about the upcoming season and feel that this team is ready to progress to another level under Eddie’s leadership.”

Jordan has compiled an overall record of 196-214 (.478) in five seasons as head coach of the Wizards and is currently the third-longest tenured head coach in the NBA behind Jerry Sloan (Utah Jazz) and Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs).  He has led the team to the playoffs the last four seasons (making the Wizards the only Eastern Conference team other than Detroit to do so), compiling a 171-157 (.521) mark during that span.

“I’d like to thank (Wizards Owner) Abe Pollin and Ernie Grunfeld, my assistants and the players for their confidence in me and for putting the pieces in place for us to continue to build on what we’ve already accomplished,” said Jordan.  “This team has proven it can compete at an elite level, and I have high expectations for what we can achieve moving forward.”

Jordan, a Washington DC native, was originally hired by the Wizards prior to the 2003-04 season.  After his first year, he led the team to a 20-game improvement and their first playoff berth in eight seasons (as well as their first playoff series win since 1982).  The team has made the playoffs each year since.  Jordan represented the Wizards as the head coach of the 2007 Eastern Conference All-Star Team by virtue of the team having the best record in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star break.  Jordan is third in total wins and total games coached among head coaches in franchise history and needs just seven wins to pass Wes Unseld and move into second place for total wins (behind Gene Shue).

The Washington Post (Paul Tenorio) reports: One day after having minor arthroscopic surgery to clean out debris in his surgically repaired left knee, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas posted a 2,210-word blog entry yesterday in which he said he will likely return from the procedure between mid-December and early January — several weeks later than the early December return he originally set Wednesday morning. “I know time frames are dicey, but they said anywhere from mid December to January 1, I’ll be back by then at 100 percent,” Arenas posted in the entry. “I should be, if everything goes well. So that’s the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza present I’m hoping for.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Maybe Gilbert is such a good blogger that people who enjoy reading what he writes are sneaking into his home at night, taking out tiny hammers, and lightly slamming his left knee while he sleeps, softly enough to avoid waking him, yet hard enough to do additional damage over time. Anyway, to repeat myself, the Wizards aready know how to play without Gilbert. Eventually they’re going to forget what it’s like to play with him.

Gilbert Arenas is now probably out until sometime in December, as his knee needed additional work. At this point, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are already pretty used to playing without Arenas, so the team should do OK and stay in contention for a playoff spot through November. And, here’s the news:

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced that guard Gilbert Arenas had an arthroscopic lavage (washout) procedure performed on his left knee this morning.  The procedure was performed by Wizards Team Physician Dr. Marc Connell at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.

“After Gilbert’s normal course of rehabilitation was ramped up, he experienced some swelling and discomfort in his knee,” said Connell.  “A subsequent MRI showed that the knee is structurally sound. The decision was made to perform an arthroscopic lavage procedure, during which a moderate amount of debris was removed after saline solution was washed through the knee.  The presence of debris is common with the nature of his previous injury.  This was a proactive procedure that will enhance his rehabilitation process.”

Arenas will begin rehabilitation immediately, although no timetable has been set for him to return to the court.

“Gilbert worked extremely hard over the summer and we know how much he’s looking forward to returning to help the team” said Grunfeld.  “However, our team has proven its resiliency in dealing with injuries in the past and we’re approaching the start of training camp with confidence that they will once again compete at a high level until Gilbert’s return.”

Arenas played in eight games last season before he underwent surgery in November to repair a partially torn meniscus and articular surface defect in his left knee.  He returned to play in five more games and finished with averages of 19.4 points and 5.1 assists in 13 contests.

The Wizards will hold training camp from September 27-October 3 at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.