OPINION:
It was a historic meeting — a meeting where the direction of the Washington Wizards appeared to have changed for the better.
The late Flip Saunders, upon being fired as the Wizards coach in 2012, had an exit interview with owner Ted Leonsis where Saunders tried to give the owner religion when it came to the dysfunctional roster that general manager Ernie Grunfeld had put together – the knucklehead crew drafted by Grunfeld that included Andray Blatche, Nick Young and JaVale McGee.
“I was a proponent from day one of changing that whole atmosphere,” Saunders, who had inherited Gilbert Arenas as well when he was hired as Wizards coach in 2009, told me in an 2012 interview on ESPN 980 radio. “Having been in situations where we had success in both Detroit and Minnesota, we didn’t have that.
“When I was there, I made my feelings pretty well known,” Saunders said. “And actually when I left and had meetings with Ted Leonsis when I left, I pretty much said the same thing — that the team is not going to take any type of steps until you clean out some of that knucklehead factor and get everyone more on the same page.”
Please pay attention here — Saunders said he advocated these changes since the day he arrived in 2009. But they were not followed through until his meeting with Leonsis after being fired. It wasn’t until then that Young, Blatche and McGee were sent packing. So it is fairly obvious that these were Leonsis’ orders, and that Grunfeld was forced to admit defeat once again with his dysfunctional roster-building.
Defeat — but not surrender.
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Grunfeld appears to have resurrected the Wizards’ knucklehead movement with the news that they will be signing a Hall of Fame loser, Dwight Howard, to a one-year, $5.3 million contract once Howard and the Brooklyn Nets reach a buyout agreement.
It’s as if the meeting with Flip Saunders never happened.
Make no mistake about it, Howard is a locker room nightmare. He has played his way out of Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and Charlotte since that 2012 meeting between Leonsis and Saunders. Pretty much all that is left in Washington.
This is disturbing on many levels — first, that the Wizards are so desperate to attract players to play for this organization that they have to settle for one of the most radioactive players in the league. You can delude yourself into believing that is an exaggeration, but every organization that employedHoward since 2012 couldn’t wait to get rid of him.
You can also delude yourself that the numbers he has posted — 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in Charlotte last season – will translate into meaningful production in Washington. Ask yourself — who gets rid of a big man in this league with those kind of numbers? Or the nearly 13 rebounds per game he averaged the year before in Atlanta?
How much do you have to hold your nose to tolerate a big man, in a league where big men are nearly extinct, with that kind of production?
The delusions know no end. Do you believe that here in Washington is where Howard will finally mature and be a good, productive teammate? This is the elephant graveyard of the NBA, where careers go to die.
This is a locker room already rife with chemistry questions — most centering about their leader and highest paid player, point guard John Wall. No one is banging on the door to come play here in Washington with Wall ± just the opposite. Marcin Gortat demanded a trade out of Washington because reportedly he couldn’t stand playing with Wall anymore, citing his lack of defensive play, among other issues.
Speaking of Wall, his name came up in that meeting between Saunders and Leonsis. Wall played for Saunders briefly, and the former Wizards coach said the team’s top draft pick from 2010 had to work on two things in his game — shooting and defense.
“And that’s what he’s been told since the day he was drafted,” Saunders said. “And that was one, his ability to knock down the perimeter shot consistently, and then his ability to guard people. And he should be a good defender, just because he’s got great size and speed. But sometimes his concentration is just not right where it needs to be.”
Marcin Gortat would agree.
Maybe Dwight Howard can mentor Wall.
⦁ Thom Loverro hosts his weekly podcast “Cigars & Curveballs” Wednesdays available on iTunes, Google Play and the reVolver podcast network
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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