The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[pjfootballer]

I think a lot of this with the fanbase is an age thing. Some of us came of age/became Wizards fans in the Hibachi era. Some of us--me, you, Thinking Skins--came of age in the 80's and 90's. I mean Michael Adams (God bless him) and Calbert ****ing Cheany were THE players of my childhood. I bought into the whole Gilbert thing for a few years. But I've seen the light since. Just more Bullets/Wizards.

Hell, you say Michael Adams and Calbert Cheaney. I'll one up you with the age thing and throw these names around that I watched play as a kid and teenager:

Greg Ballard, Mitch Kupchak, Kevin Grevey, Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Jeff Ruland, Rick Mahorn, Jeff Malone, Bobby Dandridge, Phil Chenier, Moses Malone, Gus Williams, Kevin Porter and Wes Matthews Sr. I'll add in guys who were experiments like Bernard King, Muggsey Bogues, Manute Bol and John "Hot Plate" Williams.

Jeez I've been through alot of 43-39, 39-43, 34-48, 42-40 seasons. 1979 we won 54 games and lost the Finals to the Sonics. Funny that the year before when we won it all, we only won 44 games.

Edited April 24, 2012 by pjfootballer

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Hell, you say Michael Adams and Calbert Cheaney. I'll one up you with the age thing and throw these names around that I watched play as a kid and teenager:

Greg Ballard, Mitch Kupchak, Kevin Grevey, Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Jeff Ruland, Rick Mahorn, Jeff Malone, Bobby Dandridge, Phil Chenier, Moses Malone, Gus Williams, Kevin Porter and Wes Matthews Sr. I'll add in guys who were experiments like Bernard King, Muggsey Bogues, Manute Bol and John "Hot Plate" Williams.

Jeez I've been through alot of 43-39, 39-43, 34-48, 42-40 seasons. 1979 we won 54 games and lost the Finals to the Sonics. Funny that the year before when we won it all, we only won 44 games.

At least you have that. Think of what I've had.

[Destino]

I frankly don't give a damn about what the Wizards were, the fact is that they have a new owner. With that things are expected to change and the extension provided EG is a huge disappointment. The moves he's made don't matter because the real issue with Ernie is his amazing ability to let the players do whatever the hell they want and neutering any coach that tries to change that. As long as that remains the situation here I don't expect any of the players to improve very much. Ted is making a big mistake here, one that certainly damages his image IMO.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Yeah I don't see Ernie as any different than Vinny. The Wiz won't go anywhere as long as Ernie is running the show.

You know what the similarity is between Ernie and Vinny? Just like Vinny, Ernie isn't really running the show. Abe was running it before he passed. And now Ted is running it. That's why he's bringing him back. Because he's doing exactly what Ted wants him to do. He's just a figurehead. If you can even call him that. And look how it's working. Everyone is screaming about Ernie (save for Vishal). Their anger is misplaced.

[@DCGoldPants]

Very unhappy Ernie will be back. But come on....Vinny is in a league of his own. He never put together a group like Arenas/Jamison/Butler that did work before it melted down.

If Ernie were fired, he'd find work in the NBA. Vinny probably won't be hired by an NFL team again.

[MattFancy]

You know what the similarity is between Ernie and Vinny? Just like Vinny, Ernie isn't really running the show. Abe was running it before he passed. And now Ted is running it. That's why he's bringing him back. Because he's doing exactly what Ted wants him to do. He's just a figurehead. If you can even call him that. And look how it's working. Everyone is screaming about Ernie (save for Vishal). Their anger is misplaced.

True. I think the sad thing about Ted is that the fans were waiting for him to take over. And since he has, things haven't gotten any better. For some reason, Ted is very loyal to his GMs, look at McPhee. But you're right, he just likes having those "yes" men around.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

True. I think the sad thing about Ted is that the fans were waiting for him to take over. And since he has, things haven't gotten any better. For some reason, Ted is very loyal to his GMs, look at McPhee. But you're right, he just likes having those "yes" men around.

But see, here's the the difference between Ted Caps and Ted Wizards. Ted learned that he doesn't know **** about hockey. So he lets McPhee do his thing. Ted fancies himself a basketball guy. He ****ing talks about it all the time. Greek basketball!! Greek basketball!! So on and so forth. He's running this ****. He's not really running the Caps.

---------- Post added April-24th-2012 at 10:15 AM ----------

Here's where I'm at:

Dan Snyder >> Ted

The Lerner's >> Ted

Yuuup.

---------- Post added April-24th-2012 at 10:18 AM ----------

And people seem to forget that Ted didn't buy the Caps because he wanted to own the Caps. He bought the Caps so he could eventually buy the Wizards.

[pjfootballer]

Very unhappy Ernie will be back. But come on....Vinny is in a league of his own. He never put together a group like Arenas/Jamison/Butler that did work before it melted down.

If Ernie were fired, he'd find work in the NBA. Vinny probably won't be hired by an NFL team again.

Sad that we look back at the Webber/Howard/Strickland or Arenas/Jamison/Butler days as if they were just grand. Grand to Wizard fans I guess, but as a whole they were still mediocre teams that bowed out in the first or second round of the playoffs. None of those teams won more than 45 games. That's mediocre and not acceptable. Seems like we've been rebuilding for 35 years.

If that's what Wizards fans consider successful, you have some low expectations. My expectations are consistant 50+ win seasons and deep runs in the playoffs with a chance to win some titles. Just like the Redskins 2005 and 2007 seasons--- I do not look at those 2 seasons as something to crow about, when I watched the Redskins make the playoffs 9 times in Gibbs 12 seasons with 4 SBs, 3 victories and an NFC title game appearance in 1986. That's what I expect with my teams. That's another reason why the Caps are pissing me off now more than the Wizards.

[StillUnknown]

I frankly don't give a damn about what the Wizards were, the fact is that they have a new owner. With that things are expected to change and the extension provided EG is a huge disappointment. The moves he's made don't matter because the real issue with Ernie is his amazing ability to let the players do whatever the hell they want and neutering any coach that tries to change that. As long as that remains the situation here I don't expect any of the players to improve very much. Ted is making a big mistake here, one that certainly damages his image IMO.

Agree completely. Even if people could overlook his dismal personnel record, I don't see how they can overlook his abysmal record of fostering a complete lack of accountability and discipline.

[No Excuses]

Ted makes a lot of money from the Capitals. He could care less about the state of this current team.

He'll be raising ticket prices for Capital's season ticket holders again even though the Caps underachieved big time this season.

[lovetoaster]

At least you have that. Think of what I've had.

Yeah, I was born in '77, so I obviously can't remember the championship. My childhood was filled with memories of guys like Jeff Malone, Moses Malone, Bernard King, Gus Williams, Terry Catledge and Jeff Ruland. Decent basketball, but not terribly successful basketball. Add in a good amount of questionable draft picks (guys like Turpin, Kenny Green, Tom Hammonds) and some terrible trades and that has made for a pretty uninspiring 30+ years of hoops. Some exciting moments, but no real success.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Ted makes a lot of money from the Capitals. He could care less about the state of this current team.

He'll be raising ticket prices for Capital's season ticket holders again even though the Caps underachieved big time this season.

The Wizards are his toy.

[pjfootballer]

Yeah, I was born in '77, so I obviously can't remember the championship. My childhood was filled with memories of guys like Jeff Malone, Moses Malone, Bernard King, Gus Williams, Terry Catledge and Jeff Ruland. Decent basketball, but not terribly successful basketball. Add in a good amount of questionable draft picks (guys like Turpin, Kenny Green, Tom Hammonds) and some terrible trades and that has made for a pretty uninspiring 30+ years of hoops. Some exciting moments, but no real success.

Wow, Mel Turpin. He and Hot Plate along with Kevin Duckworth annually vied for the fatest player in the league. Tom Hammonds was a decent player. We got the wrong Grant (Harvey instead of Horace).

And Kenny Green will live forever in Bullets folklore in the 1985 draft. Look who was the next selection:

12 Kenny Green F United States Washington Bullets Wake Forest (Jr.)

13 Karl Malone^ PF United States Utah Jazz Louisiana Tech (Jr.)

Edited April 24, 2012 by pjfootballer

[Skin'emAlive]

Haha... i dont know if its the johnny walker or the posts following this travesty, but sometimes i just have to laugh at the fact that all the teams i have grown up watching my entire life have done absolutely nothing, have no realistic hopes of doing anything soon, routinely embarrass themselves, and receive sympathy from fans of teams i and everybody else think are terrible. And ill still root for them.

[lovetoaster]

Wow, Mel Turpin. He and Hot Plate along with Kevin Duckworth annually vied for the fatest player in the league. Tom Hammonds was a decent player. We got the wrong Grant (Harvey instead of Horace).

And Kenny Green will live forever in Bullets folklore in the 1985 draft. Look who was the next selection:

12 Kenny Green F United States Washington Bullets Wake Forest (Jr.)

13 Karl Malone^ PF United States Utah Jazz Louisiana Tech (Jr.)

Yep, and we managed to have all three of Turpin, Hot Plate and Duckworth. Turpin and Hot Plate at the same time. Hot Plate could have been a really good player if it were not for his injury problems. His weight probably did not help those. But when healthy, that guy could move and was an excellent passer.

Hammonds was a solid player, and not a terrible pick. But in hindsight, there were just better guys that were available. But you could say that for every team some years.

[StillUnknown]

Michael Lee

‏ @MrMichaelLee

Ernie Grunfeld on if Andray Blatche has played his last game for #wizards: "People are always forgiven if they come back & perform well."

:twitch:

Edited April 24, 2012 by StillUnknown

[lovetoaster]

Michael Lee

‏ @MrMichaelLee

Ernie Grunfeld on if Andray Blatche has played his last game for #wizards: "People are always forgiven if they come back & perform well."

:twitch:

This franchise makes my head hurt.

[Destino]

Ernie Grunfeld should be on the UnWise Mike show at 1.

---------- Post added April-24th-2012 at 12:46 PM ----------

Michael Lee

‏ @MrMichaelLee

Ernie Grunfeld on if Andray Blatche has played his last game for #wizards: "People are always forgiven if they come back & perform well."

:twitch:

Zero accountability. Even if they don't want to toss him he should have said "I don't know what the future holds but if he ever sees the floor as a Washington Wizard again it will be in part because he shows up for camp in amazing physical condition. The time for excuses is long over."

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

The Wizards are his toy.

If an owner treats a hockey franchise more seriously than he does a basketball franchise, he is out of his mind.

No matter how successful the Caps get, it's still a hockey team in a city south of the Mason Dixon line. It simply can't get that big.

But a successful NBA franchise in DC - arguably the #2 basketball town in the country? It would be a license to print money.

Just think for a second. Imagine John Wall became as big as - well - not Lebron but maybe Carmelo. How many jerseys do you think he would sell in PG County alone? My God...Gilbert Arenas was this close to owning DC. Gilbert Arenas!!!!!!

It blows my mind that the NBA has always had dysfunctional teams in NYC and DC.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Lombardi's_kid_brother

[Rocky21]

I was expecting to come on here today and read about how the Wiz can't even tank right (having the 2nd worst record all season and then winning the last few games when it doesn't matter to have the 3rd worst record) but little did I know Uncle Ted would extend Grunfeld - just about the worst thing you could do in the eyes of a passionate fan.

But to make matters really worse that ****ing statement he released that said "Under Ernie’s leadership we have almost completely turned over the Wizards roster. We are not only going to be in a position to add a lottery-pick player through the draft..." He is praising Ernie for getting rid of the players Ernie put in place and....praising him for putting us in the friggin' lottery! Holy ****!

[StillUnknown]

Quincy Miller is entering the draft after all.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

If an owner treats a hockey franchise more seriously than he does a basketball franchise' date=' he is out of his mind.

No matter how successful the Caps get, it's still a hockey team in a city south of the Mason Dixon line. It simply can't get that big.

But a successful NBA franchise in DC - arguably the #2 basketball town in the country? It would be a license to print money.

Just think for a second. Imagine John Wall became as big as - well - not Lebron but maybe Carmelo. How many jerseys do you think he would sell in PG County alone? My God...Gilbert Arenas was this close to owning DC. Gilbert Arenas!!!!!!

It blows my mind that the NBA has always had dysfunctional teams in NYC and DC.[/quote']

It's not that Ted doesn't care about the Wizards. It's that he thinks he knows basketball.

[No Excuses]

Michael Lee

‏ @MrMichaelLee

Ernie Grunfeld on if Andray Blatche has played his last game for #wizards: "People are always forgiven if they come back & perform well."

:twitch:

****ing joker.

An owner and a GM without balls. Great.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

It's not that Ted doesn't care about the Wizards. It's that he thinks he knows basketball.

He's a tubby computer guy.

[SuperBash]

While he couldn't say, "Yeah, that lazy bum is outta here," even if he meant it, I'd rather him say something like, "We are going to evaluate the team at the end of the year and take it from there."