Better Know an NBA Franchise: Washington Wizards

It's been awhile since my last post, but I have returned with a brand-spanking new series I'll be starting. I'm going to shine some insight on each of the 30 NBA teams. I plan to finish it, but don't hold me to it. You can't really blame me if I don't really feel like writing at length about the Bobcats. If David Stern doesn't care about them, then why should I...right? I thought about going in alphabetical order; but Fundamentally UnSound is all about the randomness. Gut feeling would tell me to start with the Knicks; but it pains me to even watch anything they do at this present time. Anyway, to the first team...

I figured I'd start with my hometown team, the Washington Wizards. For going on five years now, they have been an "up-and-coming team" that was supposed to rise to the top of the Eastern Conference's elite. Apparently, Lebron James didn't get that memo, as he's been judge, jury, and executioner for the inhabitants of the Phone Booth for the past three postseasons. It's not a rivalry if one team does all the winning. That "sleeper team" role only passes for so long. (See: 2000-2004 Sacramento Kings)

Players: The Wizards have an abundance of team chemistry. Despite Agent Zero's scorer's mentality, the rest of the team seems to enjoy him. And while he's still the best player of the team, the most valuable is unquestionably Caron Butler. He and Antawn Jamison are the heart and grit of the Wiz. Nick Young should see more time this year, since he has a natural knack to score. With that said, as stacked as they are offensively, they lack that interior presence needed to command games on the defensive end. Brendan Haywood, Andray Blatche, and new draft pick Javale McGee are not the answers. If they don't find someone to own the paint on both ends, they keep wearing "Round 2" T-Shirts and caps in the playoffs...


Coaching/Front Office: Eddie Jordan may be one of the better coaches in the Association. He successfully incorporated the Princeton-style offense; and, when executed correctly, (read: when Gilbert doesn't decide to do his own thing) is amazing to watch. For some reason, he can't translate his defensive-minded mentality over to his whole team. Caron and DeShawn "I Can't Feel My Face" Stevenson seem to be the only ones fully committed to it. As far as the front office goes, Abe Polland believes in his "Big 3" because he locked up both Arenas and Jamison to huge multi-year deals. Gilbert even took less money than the team offered him, hopefully so they could bring that missing championship piece into the franchise.


Bonus Info: It's becoming more and more known that the Wizards are a playful bunch. From DeShawn Stevenson making the rest of the team sign contracts to talk to him, to he and Gilbert's three-point shooting challenge, they like to have fun while working. They like to play practical jokes on each other. Of course, Gilbert is the ring leader and main culprit, and his main prey are Nick Young and Dominic McGuire. Paintball fights, fake boxing matches, and games of H-O-R-S-E are all a part of those two rookies-turned-sophomores daily routine. This is also further proof that basketball players have so much free time on their hands.

Projection: The Wizards are a top eight team in the East, but need interior toughness. That act they tried to pull on the Lebrons last year wasn't them. Now with Toronto, Milwaukee and Indiana getting better in this offseason, their window isn't going to stay open for long. Either defensive intensity needs to be magically instilled in the current roster, or they'll continue to be one-and-done in April.



Peace.

Find Your Way, Mike Beasley

I took a break from writing about sports to do a little ventilation about my concerns with the television network/puppet show/new Legion of Doom that is Black Embarrassment Entertainment Television (I’m not done with that yet). I have so many ideas swirling around in my brainstorm clouds that I’ll probably be posting more frequently in the coming days and weeks. It’ll give me something to do while procrastinating on doing my homework developing about my first non-basketball post; and it’ll give you something to read if you’re dealing with anal fissures. […] <-- That’s the brief pause of me fighting back a little nausea. Or maybe something less disgusting; like sitting through 30 rounds of your baseball fantasy league's draft. To the note…


As a sports society, we’re constantly looking for the next superstar; specifically, the descendant of a previous celestial talent. For example, do I need to run down the list of NBA players that have been declared, “The Next MJ?” Let’s see: there’s Harold Miner, Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and a host of others that fall short of His Airness’ greatness. While AI and Kobe are the only lock Hall-of-Famers on this list, the reason why/how they came to be so is the subject of this note.

As I was checking the updated 2008 NBA mock draft, it reminded me of how fans/experts are looking to compare the up-and-coming prodigy to an established athletic shinobi that may be similar in technique (yes, I love the ninja/samurai culture). This brings me back to Kobe and AI. The reason why they were able to harness their transcendent talents is because each of them decided to find their own ways to compose melodies on the court. I’m sure that they, like most of us, watched that famous commercial in hopes of duplicating Jordan’s sound. But as they developed, they realized that they can take samples from His Airness and create wonderful basketball harmony. It’s similar to G.O.A.T. producer J Dilla taking this hit from the Isley Brothers; and creating this joint perfect for doing that romantic thing with that deserving someone.

This brings me to Michael Beasley. I hope whomever is his future coach will not try to mold him after a former/current player that he, “reminds them of.” See him through impartial lenses, and develop him accordingly. I started to think of a list of former players that are, “1-of-1.” That means none before it, none to come (word to Shawn Carter). So far, I’ve only come up with two people that I know that will never have their music duplicated.* One, obviously, is Michael Jordan. The other, at least to me, should also be obvious.

Oscar Robertson – Career: 25.7 ppg; 7.5 rpg; 9.5 apg

I know he’s before any of our times; but as a basketball purist, I pay respect to those that paved the way. Some people may see the rebounding stats and think that Jason Kidd does that on the daily. That’s not as true as you think, because when Magic Johnson came up with the term, “triple-double,” he was thinking about the Big O. Maybe you know of his one-of-one season of averaging said triple-double; but few realize he averaged that over his first five seasons. J-Kidd couldn’t dream of being as good a scorer as Robertson—without a three-point line. Oh, and those numbers are sort of deflated by his last four seasons in which he played with a young big man named Lew Alcindor.

I hope Mr. Beasley’s basketball growth isn’t stunted by some coach that tries to shape him in the image of someone else. Let Mike tryout several instrument combinations, then develop the one that he identifies as, “his own sheet of music.”

Peace.



*If you can make the case for a former player that qualifies, then leave it in the comments.