Things For A Washington Wizards Fan To Be Excited About

*Whew* The Washington Wizards have had a ROUGH season. I mean, they have been taking Colonel H. Stinkmeaner beatings, with no “Ass Whipping Insurance”. Even through all of the dubs, and only 14 victories, the worst part of this entire ordeal is; no one saw it coming.

OK, so the signing of Gilbert Arenas to a $111 Million contract might have been maybe, $20 million over the top I’ll say, but Abe Pollin and Ernie Grunfield are well aware of (as well as all Washington Sports Enthusiasts) what I like to call the “Washington Potenital/Talent Transference Theory” © .

The Washington Potential/Talent Transference Theory states that once a player leaves a Washington sports team, he (or she, not that there are any in remembrance) moves to another team and has unheralded success. There are numerous examples, but are mostly restricted to my two most beloved teams, the Redskins and the Wizards. For the Redskins, see Brad Johnson (Super Bowl champion), Trent Green (Led Kansas City and had 4,000 yard seasons with the Chiefs), and even David Akers (successful Eagles kicker). But this theory has most assuredly hurt the Washington Wizards more than anyone. See Richard Hamilton, Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Sloan, Muggsy Bouges, Ben Wallace, and most recently, Roger Mason Jr. Now while that might not be the most impressive lineup of players, most of the players on that list have either won an NBA Championship, or has had post season success away from the Most Powerful City in the World. There are always the ones who prove that theory false, i.e. Kwame Brown, LaVar Arrington, and others. But for the most port, the theory holds true.

Anywho, Gilbert announcing that he was going to have surgery on his knee again, right AFTER her signed that contract, was not a surprise to me, and actually very business savvy. But with Gillie the Kid playing about 20 games last season, the Wizards still managed to win games; and were the 5th seed in the paltry Eastern Conference Division. After getting blown out in game 6 against Lebron and the Lebrons, every Wizard fan said “Wait till next year!” But with Brendan Haywood going down in training camp, I still believed we would at least be competitive in the East. In the great words of Charlie Murphy, “Wrong…WRONG!” We went 1-10, and fired Eddie Jo. (Stupid choice) Next thing I know, we’re 13-35, and hoping for the most number of ping-pong balls in the NBA Draft. But fear not, Wiz Kid faithful. There are some things for us to look forward to.

1. The Wizards are a virtual lock for either the first or second pick in the NBA Draft.
The last time we had the first pick in the NBA Draft, we wasted it. No, Jordan wasted it, picking Kwame Brown over Tyson Chandler, and Pau Gasol, As I anticipate the NBA Playoffs and Finals, I also am waiting to see if we can steal the number one pick away from Sacramento in the NBA Draft Lottery. Chad Ford’s Mock Draft has the Kings at no. 1, Wizards at No. 2, and Clippers as No.3. Though I don’t believe we need big men, but as my good friend Johnathan Tillman so eloquently put it, “Everybody needs Blake Griffin.” If we do sneak in to get the No. 1 pick, we should take Blake and not gift him to the Kings or Clippers. Ford has us picking Georgetown standout Greg Monroe. But on the other hand, I hope we don’t get the first pick but rather the 2nd or 3rd and draft Spanish PG Ricky Rubio. Yes, I know most of you have never heard of him, but this guy is the truth. He was part of a Spain team that in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold Medal game gave the US Team work, and I stayed up to watch it even at 5 AM. For those of you who don’t agree, check my rhetoric. We signed Gilbert, and hope he can play to his level as he did in years before. In that second group that comes off the bench we do not have that point guard who can run the show. Mike James is not going to cut it. We dealt away Antonio Daniels (another stupid decision), so I can see Rubio coming in giving good minutes with Nick Young, Dominick McGuire, and hopefully a developing Olesky Pecherov and Javale McGee. Don’t sleep on Spaniards. I’m a slightly superstitious guy, and when we had the first pick and passed on Spaniard Pau Gasol, hope we take him 2nd and get some help while Gil is on the bench.

2. Brendan Haywood Will Be Back
Before I hear all the hems and haws about Brendan, consider this. He was a definitely a candidate for Most Improved Player in 2007-2008, raising his scoring and rebounding numbers, and especially his free throw percentage. As much as I love Etan Thomas, he should have never beat out Haywood for the center job. Haywood gives us a consistent scorer inside, a solid rebounder, and help—not a stopper, but help—against big guys like Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, and others who have been abusing us all season.

3. The Maturation of Oleksiy Pecherov
I mentioned him before, but Pech is a 7’0 center we drafted in 2006, but didn’t sign until 2007. This can play, even though his defense is more than shady. He can post up, has a decent mid-range game, and can step behind the arc and drain 3’s. Pech is the truth, ask David Zenon (my boy whom I used Pech to drop 45 on him in Live 09).

4. The Cutting of Deshawn Stevenson, and Unleashing of Nick Young

If Nick Young can learn to play defense, and score more consistently, I want him to take D-Steve’s job and never give it back. I want us to cut Deshawn, no hard feelings, but back surgery and schooling by Lebron James, and diss songs from Jay-Z, he just hasn’t been the same. He’s done for the season, and I cant help but to think (hope) that he is done with the Wizards for good.

All in all, if the Wizards do as I hope they will do, they will once again be 4-5-6 in the conference, if not better. Its not a hard fix, it will just take the patience of management, players, and fans in the Nation's Capitol.
Peace.