Wizards Turning Into Team Turmoil

[MYoung23]

That team hasn't won more than 45 games.

Maybe they really aren't all that good and the management has no real idea of how to put together a real team.

 

[Lyuokdea]

according to ESPN rumors, Caron is the guy that Arenas/Haywood were talking about with the "ego"/"hidden agendas" speeches.

Maybe it gets bad enough that they decide to dump Caron?

Maybe that's his hidden agenda?

The problem being...I don't know what the Wizards would want that we have. I don't want to give up Hickson right now unless it's a huge deal, and I don't see why they'd trade Caron for expirings. This looks like it would have to be a three team thing, where we take on another bad contract.

~Lyuokdea

 

[cavsrook25]

LINK


Washington Times article about what Lyuokdea mentioned involving Butler

A day that started out with Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas taking Saturday's critical comments of his teammates a step further by slighting fellow captain Caron Butler in a post-practice interview apparently ended on a more peaceful note. Butler and Arenas spoke Monday evening, and both players said their conflict was resolved.

Two days after Arenas ripped his teammates for having "hidden agendas," the point guard singled Butler out as the one player on the team who is struggling to get on the same page as his teammates.

"For the most part, we all get along," Arenas said while voluntarily speaking to reporters after practice for the first time this year. "There are, what, 15 players on the team? Fourteen do. ... At the end of the day, if 15 players don't want to go and it's only 14, you've seen 'Remember the Titans.' It's the same thing. We've just got to play."

Arenas' issues with Butler seemed to stem from what he perceived as Butler's unwillingness or inability to fit into the offensive system. Arenas on a few occasions has criticized Butler because he believed when he passed to Butler, the two-time All-Star forward would waste key scoring opportunities by hesitating or driving rather than catching and shooting. Arenas said Butler was the only player with such struggles.

When asked whose responsibility it was to cure the in-house feuding, Arenas said, "Me and Antawn [Jamison]. That's our jobs [as captains]."
Arenas was reminded that Butler also is a captain and was asked whether he too was responsible for resolving the problems.

"Come again?" Arenas said with a smile. The question was repeated, and the guard smiled again and said, "Yeah."

Butler didn't practice Monday and is questionable for Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers with an ankle injury. He left Verizon Center without speaking to reporters. But when reached Monday afternoon, he said he was miffed over the apparent rift and that he believed a couple of wins would cure the team's ills.

"A lot of things get magnified when you're losing. Everybody wants to be successful, but you've got to stay in the team concept and just focus on playing winning basketball," Butler said. "Honestly, I have never had a problem with nobody on the team. It's frustrating when you're losing games, but when you're frustrated, do you point the finger? Do you blame other people? Or do you try to get better and see 'What can I do?' That's where maturity comes in."

Butler said Arenas' two-year injury-induced layoff and then this season's injury to Jamison was to blame for a lack of chemistry between he and Arenas but that he expected it to be resolved in time.

Later on Monday, Butler reached out to Arenas in an attempt to clear up any misunderstanding between the two. Butler said in a text message the two had "no beef" any longer. And Arenas in a phone conversation said that after talking to Butler, he understood the forward still is trying to modify his game to suit coach Flip Saunders' system better.

"I told him to just shoot. 'I don't care if you take 22 shots and only make six of them. Shoot and get comfortable,' " Arenas said. "I'm the only player that needs to sacrifice. For us to be successful, I told Caron, 'I need you to be Caron.' I need [Jamison] to average 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds], I need Caron to do his 20 [points], eight [rebounds] and four [assists]. I need Mike Miller, Randy Foye, Nick Young, Andray Blatche to shoot every time I get them the ball. Me? It's a puzzle, and I'll fill in the gaps. I'll sacrifice [the three-time All-Star] that I was, and I'll just be the gap filler. Me and [Haywood]."

Saunders said frustrations over losing are to be expected, but the key to curing those ills is self-examination, not finger-pointing.

"Here's the thing. You gotta look at yourself in the mirror. I think you don't look at anybody else," the first-year coach said. "First, look at yourself, no matter who that is. You have to have an ego to play in this league. But what you have to do is you have to understand that your ego is never more important than the team. There's no one in that locker room who doesn't want to win. That's the bottom line."

Note - An MRI on Monday confirmed Miller has a strained right calf. Miller, who already was playing despite a badly sprained left shoulder, injured his calf in the first quarter of Saturday's 106-84 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Team doctors say Miller will miss three to six weeks. Miller, who is averaging 9.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists, missed three games earlier this month because of the shoulder.

Third-year guard Nick Young, who has received five DNPs and was inactive Saturday, will start in place of Miller.

 

[CBBI]

"I told him to just shoot. 'I don't care if you take 22 shots and only make six of them. Shoot and get comfortable,' " Arenas said. "I'm the only player that needs to sacrifice. For us to be successful, I told Caron, 'I need you to be Caron.' I need [Jamison] to average 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds], I need Caron to do his 20 [points], eight [rebounds] and four [assists]. I need Mike Miller, Randy Foye, Nick Young, Andray Blatche to shoot every time I get them the ball. Me? It's a puzzle, and I'll fill in the gaps. I'll sacrifice [the three-time All-Star] that I was, and I'll just be the gap filler. Me and [Haywood]."

Hollow words from the guy taking 19.3 FGA per game which is 8th most in the NBA.

Not only that, when you factor in the amount of minutes Arenas is playing this year, roughly 36 a game compared to the 41-42 MPG he was averaging at his peak in 05 and 06, Arenas is actually averaging a career high in shots per minute this season compared to those two seasons and any of his other seasons for that matter.

This guy is shooting more and less effectively then ever before, yet he keeps talking like he's taking these great lengths to sacrifice his offensive game for the better of the team.

 

[RonG]

Hollow words from the guy taking 19.3 FGA per game which is 8th most in the NBA.

Not only that, when you factor in the amount of minutes Arenas is playing this year, roughly 36 a game compared to the 41-42 MPG he was averaging at his peak in 05 and 06, Arenas is actually averaging a career high in shots per minute this season compared to those two seasons and any of his other seasons for that matter.

This guy is shooting more and less effectively then ever before, yet he keeps talking like he's taking these great lengths to sacrifice his offensive game for the better of the team.

And to Gil's point he will stop shooting when Caron starts shooting and fill in the gaps.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of assholes...antawn jamison aside

 

[Rick Astley]

What a dumb team. They could 69 themselves for all I care. WNBA team.

 

[doughboy90650]

Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin has died. He was 85.

His death was announced by his company, Washington Sports & Entertainment. He died Tuesday but no details were disclosed.

The Wizards announced the death in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Pollin was the NBA's longest-tenured owner, having bought the then-Baltimore Bullets in 1964. He had not been in good health in recent years, suffering from a rare brain disorder that impairs movement and balance. He also had heart bypass surgery in July 2005.

Pollin tried to run his pro sports teams like a family business. He bemoaned the runaway salaries of free agency and said it would have been difficult for him to keep the Wizards if it weren't for the NBA's salary cap.

His Washington-area sports empire began when he purchased the Baltimore Bullets in 1964. The Bullets, since renamed the Wizards, won the 1978 NBA title.

The Wizards have not won one since. They are off to another rocky start at 3-9 and last place in the Southeast division. Among the recent issues is a reported cold war between Brendan Haywood and Gilbert Arenas.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4686480


Hell, to make things worse, their owner just died ............. cursed franchise


RIP

 

[Three6Pavia]

Respect for the dead, sad day for Wizards fans. Maybe instead of calling them a cursed franchise we can just say they've been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole for the last 5 years.

 

[Triumph36]

according to ESPN rumors, Caron is the guy that Arenas/Haywood were talking about with the "ego"/"hidden agendas" speeches.

Maybe it gets bad enough that they decide to dump Caron?

Maybe that's his hidden agenda?

The problem being...I don't know what the Wizards would want that we have. I don't want to give up Hickson right now unless it's a huge deal, and I don't see why they'd trade Caron for expirings. This looks like it would have to be a three team thing, where we take on another bad contract.

~Lyuokdea

Unfortunately I really doubt we'd have enough for him. If I had to guess where Butler was traded, it'd probably be Portland. He'd be nice here, but if the Cavs want a Wizards player they should be focusing on Jamison IMO.

Also, RIP Abe Pollin. I absolutely hate the Wiz, but it's never good to see an owner(or anyone involved with the organization) pass away.

edit: furthermore, Jamison would likely be much cheaper than Butler. If we were able to get Jamison for Z, we'd still have Wally, Delonte, a first round pick and possibly Hickson to use in a trade for an upgrade at SG.

 

[rabman_gold]

I hope Abe rests in peace.

I'm curious to know what Ted will do with that franchise... if the team still looks like it will continue to fall and lose money, will he try to force the franchise to make moves to save money? If so, where could we play in?

I have no idea, is Ted a real money grubber? How does his philosophy differ from family man Abe? I'm curious to see how this unfolds...

 

[QuadrupleDouble]

Funny thing is, I thought for sure Haywood was talking about Arenas when he was talking about the ego thing????

Caron is egotistical because he doesn't just shoot the ball as soon as he touches it and tries to make a play instead? He's not a spot up shooter, so unless Flip is an even worse coach than I thought, or Gilbert and the rest of the Wizards are fucking crazyier than I thought.

Out of all the players on the Wiz, I would want Caron. Jamison is unbelievable and always seems like he could go off for 40 if he wanted to, but he's a little older, a little out of position because of size, and has a long way to go on his contract. That spells disaster to me because I think his production is going to fall off a cliff before his very large contract is up and we'll be stuck with it.

Caron is tough and the kind of player this team should be going after. He can score well for his position, defend well for his position, and has an all around game. He's a borderline all star and that's all we would need to put us waaay over the top.

 

[polishph]

Wrong thread maybe....but what do you guys think it would take to get Butler from Washington?

 

[Bison11]

Well I am thinking that the only reason the Wiz didnt trade anyone was because their supposed big 3 were not all healthy and together.

We have to hope they all stay healthy this season so we can rip them off in a trade. We also have to hope that they somehow figure it out and start winning.

Caron "The Dew" Butler would be very nice on our team. Actually, Jamison would be awesome too.

Just stay healthy and keep sucking Wiz

 

[Numbers Guy]

Arenas and Haywood are going to tear that team down. Saying Caron has an ego is basically the pot calling the kettle black.