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Interview with Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld

Here’s Washington Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld speaking to reporters today:

On the depth of talent available in Thursday’s NBA Draft: “I think it’s going to be a pretty deep draft. You never know who is going to be available to you, because it all depends on who goes in front of you, but it’s going to be interesting. There is a lot of conversation going on right now around the league. We’ve had a lot of conversations and this is always a very exciting time of year.”

More on the depth of talent in the draft: “It’s a deep draft, but it’s also an uncertain draft, because of the youth in it. The talent level is pretty good. You can maybe get someone in the 20’s or in the second round that can develop for you but you’re probably not going to get someone that is going to come in and contribute right away.”

On the players that worked out for the Wizards: “We had a good group in. A lot of the players we brought in are not only for that first round pick (18th overall), but we also have a 2nd round pick (47th overall), so there were a lot of prospects for that position…and also free agent type players that we might want to take a look at down the road. Bringing players in is just a small part of the whole evaluation process. The thing that I get the most out of this process is being able to talk to the players and see what type of people they really are and how they handle themselves. It’s important to get an opportunity to talk to some of these players and really find out about who they are as people.”

On trade talks around the NBA: “There have been a lot of conversations about moving up and moving back and maybe even getting out of the draft. Some things are contingent on who’s out there for us and who’s available. You never know what is going to happen, but there have been a lot of conversations (amongst NBA teams), probably more than in years past.”

On the Wizards’ needs: “We are pretty deep at all positions so I’ve always had a theory to take the best available player regardless of position.”

On Washington’s young players selected in recent drafts: “Andray (Blatche) has played now for three years, and played a lot of minutes last year. Nick (Young) got some significant minutes last year even though he was a rookie. He got a lot experience because of the injuries we had, and had the opportunity to play and see some valuable game action. Dom (McGuire) got some good opportunities too, and this is going to be a big summer for Pech (Oleksiy Pecherov) because he did not play that much last year because of the injury. He had a very good preseason for us, but about five days before the season started he broke his ankle and missed about two months. Because of that he was pretty far behind. We are young, but I think we have a good combination of veteran players, players in their prime and young up-and-coming players that still have a lot of room for growth.”

On the Wizards: “I think this group has shown that we can compete on a very high level. We had some great wins last year and we didn’t even have the full group together. The last time we had the full group together we had the best record in the Eastern Conference and I think we are an improved team since then. Our bench has gotten better. Our young guys have gotten some valuable experience. I think we feel comfortable if we get everybody back and everybody together I think that this team can be a very competitive ball club.”

Gilbert Arenas opts out of contract

The Washington Post (Ivan Carter) reports: Gilbert Arenas said he opted out of the final year of his contract with the Washington Wizards by filing the necessary paperwork with the league office Friday. The move makes Arenas, who was scheduled to earn $12.8 million next season, an unrestricted free agent. Teams will be able to negotiate with free agents July 1. Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld has repeatedly stated that the team plans to re-sign Arenas and all-star forward Antawn Jamison, who will also be an unrestricted free agent.

InsideHoops.com says: Unless something crazy happens, expect Arenas to re-sign with the Wizards. That’s the general rule of thumb with all star players who become free agents. There are barely any teams in the league with the salary cap space to give them big contracts, aside from their own team and maybe a few others.

Andray Blatche arrested yet again

The Washington Post reports: Washington Wizards forward Andray Blatche was arrested Wednesday in south-central Virginia on charges of reckless driving and driving on a suspended license for the third time, authorities said. Blatche, who is entering his fourth season with the Wizards and signed a five-year contract worth around $15 million last summer, was clocked going 86 mph in a 70 mph zone on Interstate 85, said Brunswick County 1st Sgt. Dwyane Jones. In Virginia, anyone driving faster than 80 mph can be charged with reckless driving said Jones, who was the arresting officer… Blatche has been involved in other notable off-court incidents.

InsideHoops.com says: Blatche is apparently a mental midget. But one who makes so much money, if he loses his license he can just pay people to drive him around, so to him it probably doesn’t matter.

Some feel Wizards don’t need Gilbert Arenas

The Washington Post (Sally Jenkins) writes: There is a seemingly compelling case to be made — and some fans are making it — that the Wizards don’t need Arenas. When he was healthy and started 70-plus games in 2006-07, they went 41-41. This season they went 43-39, despite the fact that he made just 13 starts on his bad knee. There was a negligible difference in the team’s shooting percentage, which hovered right around 45 percent during both seasons, or assists, averaging 19.6 per game this season, versus 20.2 in 2006-07. (Both seasons ended in first-round playoff losses.) Moreover, they were better defensively, appeared to move the ball more, and generally seemed more focused when Arenas didn’t play. Why, his critics argue, should the Wizards make a long-term commitment to a point guard who can be selfish and disruptive, has yet to demonstrate leadership, and doesn’t defend?

Wizards season ends

The Washington Post (Ivan Carter) reports on the Wizards: It’s a team that left its fans bouncing between optimism and pessimism. The Wizards (43-39 in the regular season) lost 10 games by 20 points or more but beat the Boston Celtics three times and finished 7-1 on the road in a Southeast Division that produced three playoff teams. Along with the Detroit Pistons, the Wizards are the only Eastern Conference team to make the playoffs four straight seasons. Then again, they’ve been knocked out of the first round three straight years by the same team and its dominating, just-entering-his-prime superstar. “We believed in each other all year,” said veteran guard Antonio Daniels, who played the final two months with a wrist injury that will require surgery this summer. “No matter what the circumstances were throughout the season, we laid it on the line. Guys played extremely hard, with a lot of heart, and a lot of confidence. I’m very proud of this team and the coaching staff.” HIGH POINT: Consecutive wins over the league-leading Celtics in January. Wizards fans won’t forget the sight of all-star Antawn Jamison celebrating a stunning comeback win in Boston on Jan. 14 by bounding to midcourt while doing a little wiggle dance. LOW POINT: Watching LeBron James and the Cavaliers celebrate yet another series-clinching victory Friday night, something that is becoming a Washington tradition right up there with the cherry blossoms.

May 2: Cavs 105, Wizards 88

The AP reports: LeBron James had the last word. In an NBA playoff series filled with trash talk, hard fouls, 13 technicals, one ejection, one suspension and plenty more, James was everywhere and did a little bit of everything in Game 6. And, in what’s become his personal rite of spring, he led the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Washington Wizards. James compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double, all the while helping slow Caron Butler at the defensive end, and the Cavaliers beat the Wizards 105-88 on Friday night to close the contentious series… It’s the third consecutive postseason that the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards in the first round—ending each of those series on Washington’s home floor… He was more of a passer than a scorer early, with twice as many assists (four) as shot attempts (two) in the first quarter. That allowed his teammates to get in a rhythm, and Wally Szczerbiak scored a career playoff-best 26 points, Daniel Gibson added 22, and they combined to make 10 of Cleveland’s 11 3-pointers… Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 15 rebounds. The Cavaliers were ahead 56-48 at halftime, thanks in large part to a 15-0 run during the second quarter and 7-for-12 shooting on 3-pointers. The Wizards? They were 3-for-12 on 3s to that point.

Eddie Jordan talks playoffs

Here’s Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, talking about his team’s first round playoff series against the Cavaliers, who lead the series 3 games to 2.

Eddie Jordan on playing without Gilbert Arenas in Game Five:

“Our guys responded well. I felt that we got better as the game went along. We took care of the ball in the second half. We withstood their run and we withstood their crowd. It was a great effort and we got it done.”

On sustaining momentum:

“We have to keep the momentum. It’s how you play and how you execute. It’s how you rebound. You can’t allow them to have highlight plays. Now we have to stay poised. We want to keep attacking and playing defense well and keep our offense going.”

On winning a close game:

“It was great. Finally, we got one. It’s what we had talked about. They hadn’t missed (in that type of situation). Whether it was someone in the corner, or somebody at the top, or LeBron (James)…over the years, we hadn’t experienced a miss. Hopefully, we can play better defense so he doesn’t get to that point again.”

On the game plan without Gilbert Arenas:

“It’s a different flow for us. We had the highest scoring trio in the league when Gilbert was playing and healthy. We were the best team in the Eastern Conference (last season with Arenas). Now there will be a lot more post-ups. We try to get more pick-and-rolls for our big guys and for Antonio Daniels to get to the basket. We depend on our jump shot last. We try to get Caron (Butler) his opportunities in his sweet spots at the top of the key and off the pick-and-rolls. He wouldn’t have those volumes of opportunities if Gilbert was here because Gilbert has those great drives and great threes.”

Apr. 30: Wizards 88, Cavs 87

The AP reports: Caron Butler made a layup with 3.9 seconds left and the Wizards held their breath as LeBron James missed a potential series and season-ending layup at the horn, giving Washington an 88-87 victory Wednesday night and adding at least one more game to this overheated NBA playoff series… Butler scored 32 points and DeShawn Stevenson had 17 for the Wizards, who played without guard Gilbert Arenas and got only eight points from the normally reliable Antawn Jamison. Arenas announced before the game that his season was over because of a bothersome knee. His absence figured to be the decisive blow for the Wizards, but they fought to the finish and, at least for now, prevented the Cavs from ending their season… James scored 34 points—24 in the second half—but was unable to make the final shot in traffic that would have sent the Wizards, who began talking trash weeks ago and haven’t stopped, quietly into the summer… James added 10 rebounds and seven assists, becoming the first player to score at least 34 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists in two straight playoff games since Larry Bird in 1984.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Wizards only shot 40.8%, but the Cavs hit just 36.0% Three-pointers and free throws were fairly close. Rebounding was almost even, but the Cavs dished more assists. Turnovers and steals were also close. For the Wizards, Caron Butler (11-of-22, 4-of-8 threes) had 32 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. DeShawn Stevenson (5-of-14) had 17 points and 5 rebounds. Antonio Daniels scored 12. No other Wizards scored in double-digits. Antawn Jamison had 8 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. For the Cavs, LeBron hit just 8-of-21 but had 15-of-18 free throws for 34 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists (but 5 turnovers) and 2 blocks. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (8-of-11) had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Delonte West scored 12.

Songaila pops LeBron in the face

Late in the first quarter of Wednesday evening’s Wizards at Cavaliers Game 5 playoff game (Cavs lead series 3-1), LeBron James drove down the left baseline at the rim, guarded by Darius Songaila. Their arms got tangled, and LeBron went up to try to score, was aggressively holding Songaila off with his arm in what appeared to be totally legal fashion but his other arm and Songaila’s arm were entangled the whole time, and as LeBron landed and they untangled, Songaila, using his left hand side-arm back-handed Lebron in the face. It clearly seemed intentional.

It wasn’t a full-on punch, but it was like a clear back-hand to the face. He didn’t follow through, so I can’t call it a full back-handed pimp-slap. More like taking your hand and swinging the back of it right into someone’s face, and then pulling your hand back in the same direction it came from.

LeBron just took the jab and stayed backed away, not retaliating.

I thought Songaila should have been ejected, yet the refs just called a personal foul and a technical foul on him, which was surprising.

And during the discussions after the incident, DeShawn Stevenson and Anderson Varejao had a very minor disagreement, and the refs quickly slapped a double-tech on them. I hate that call. Neither player needed a tech called on them.

Apr. 27: Cavs 100, Wizards 97

The AP reports: At game’s end, LeBron James was just as collected, drawing waves of Washington Wizards defenders before dishing to Delonte West for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. That shot, along with James’ 34 points and 12 rebounds, led the Cavaliers to a 100-97 victory on Sunday and a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series… James got help Sunday from more than just West, whose career playoff-high 21 points included five 3-pointers. Daniel Gibson made four 3s, and Ben Wallace had 12 rebounds—part of a remarkable 51-31 edge on the boards for Cleveland. One small sequence that epitomized things: At the end of the third quarter, Joe Smith’s three-point play followed two offensive rebounds and gave the Cavaliers an 80-73 edge. Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was succinct: “We didn’t rebound.” Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Caron Butler added 19 points. But it was Stevenson who was at the center of the key play. LeBron vs. DeShawn had been mainly an off-court rivalry, prompted in part by Stevenson calling James overrated, and extending to involve rap megastar Jay-Z and one-hit wonder Soulja Boy. James’ pal Jay-Z created a song dissing Stevenson that was played at a D.C. club this weekend.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Wizards shot a bit better than the Cavs from the field, but the Cavs nailed 13-of-28 (5 from Delonte West, 4 from Daniel Gibson and 3 from LeBron James) while the Wizards hit a respectable 7-of-19. But the Cavs dominated rebounding, 51-31 and dished 23 assists, the Wizards 18. For the Cavs, James had 34 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Delonte West (7-of-12, 5-of-8 threes) had 21 points. Gibson had 12. Ben Wallace had 0 points and 12 rebounds. For the Wizards, Antawn Jamison had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals. Caron Butler had 19 points and 4 assists. Brendan Haywood had 16 points and 6 rebounds. DeShawn Stevenson had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Gilbert Arenas wasn’t good, shooting 3-of-8 for 10 points, two steals, but more turnovers than assists.