Commitment to defense, the team, and winning, equals, "Our Time"

Media day has come and gone, and as of 10:30 a.m., pre-season has officially begun. The new sneakers are out of the box, the i-pods are handed out, and now for the first time for the 2009-10 season all the Wizards are on the floor as a unit working towards one goal; greatness.

It appears from the first day of camp, which included a 10:30 a.m. and a 6:00 p.m. practice, that the three sub-themes of this camp will be a commitment to defense, a commitment to teammates, and a commitment to winning.  The main theme of this camp however can be read on the team shirts and hats that were given to the players last night; “Our Time.”

While the Wizards hit the floor for the first time this morning, it was last night where the themes of the season were set. Flip gathered the team for a team building activity (a hypnotist) and assigned each player an I-Pod Touch, and a t-shirt and hat which dawn the team’s slogan for this year, “Our Time.” The I-Pod’s Saunders handed out came equipped with an application containing Saunders playbook and the team’s pre-season schedule. Presumably they will also be used for video analysis during the season.

Saunders used the light-atmosphered team building activity to get the team on the same page and to unify them moving forward.

“(We’re teaching) Respecting the game, respecting your teammates, respecting your organization, respecting the fans, and not being in a situation where there are any excuses for not accomplishing anything we’re trying to accomplish,” head coach Flip Saunders said about his message to the team.

The first practice this morning saw the club focus on the basics, especially defense. Saunders spoke to the team about how a successful defense relies on trusting in teammates. Defense of course has been a point of criticism for the Wizards for years. Saunders knows it will be critical to be able to implement a commitment on the defensive end of the court this year if it will in fact be, “Our time.”

The team broke after the first practice and reconvened for night practice at 6:30. While this practice’s access was limited to the media, it was a scrimmage-based practice described as physical, competitive, and up-tempo.

Following day one, Wizards players both old and new said they appreciate the mentality this season has brought.

“We actually are going out there thinking we’re going to win a championship,” said Mike Miller. “We honestly believe that, if we play together and play the right way, we obviously believe we can (win it all).”

“I see a different mind-set,” said team captain Antawn Jamison, “I see a confident group of guys who actually believe it’s not about winning 47 games and making it to the playoffs, it’s more than that.”

For other great posts covering the pre-season check out Truth About It, Outlet, and Wizards Insider

Washington should remember Juwan Howard for what he was, not for what he wasn't

Just when you think the NBA has seen enough Juwan Howard, someone inevitably reaches out and asks for just a little bit more. This was the case last week when the talent laden Portland Trail Blazers reached out and said, eh why not…black socks and the Fab-Five never go out of style.

For many fans Juwan Howard was the embodiment of the clubs disappointing decade of the 1990’s. He, alongside fellow Michigan alumni Chris Webber, was believed to be the savior of the franchise. In the end, the only one who needed saving in Washington was Howard; from the fans.

While the power-forwards career started with a bang for Washington, he could never live up to the expectations of being the NBA’s first $100 million man and could never be the dominating post presence many anticipated. Howard never once reached All-Star status following his record breaking contract, and this left many in Washington disappointed, bitter, and angry.

But while many in Washington are left bitter about what Juwan Howard wasn’t, it is often overlooked what he actually was. No, he was not a player who could carry a franchise by scoring in the paint, or the type of player who demanded double teams in the post, or even one you could rely on to grab 10 rebounds a game. He was not a player worth $100 million or a player that the Bullets should have tried to build a franchise around.

No, Juwan Howard simply was, and is; simple and solid.

Looking at Howard’s career as a whole and expectations free, one sees an undersized power forward, with limited athletic ability, who was able to average 17 points per game or more 10 times in his 15 year career. That to anyone looking at it in the right light, is a valuable big man.

The most important thing Howard has brought to this league is not his ability to score in the post like a 55-year-old playing pick up basketball at a rec-center, but his quiet demeanor and his modesty he brought to the NBA. Some may scoff at a player signing not one, but two (one was void) $100 million deals as being modest, but when did you ever hear Howard brag, boast, showboat, or well…speak? Howard simply shut up and did his job. When his skills diminished, he re-learned how to score, always keeping his low post moves tight, and his shooting percentage high.

In Howard the Blazers received a hard working leader who can bring experience to a young squad that needs it.

Gauging the Bloggosphere, Are the Wizards as good as fans hope?

Hopes in Washington D.C are up as the Washington Wizards prepare to begin the 2009-10 preseason. The combination of a returning Gilbert Arenas, the trading for two Minnesota stars, and the addition of veteran head coach Flip Saunders have lead many Wizards fans in the District to not only talk about the playoffs, but also possible championship contention. 

Yet while high local hopes and confidence are all well and good, it’s hard to fully gauge exactly how good the team will be based on the local gab alone. In our own little bubble inside the beltway we can feed off of one another’s biases, optimism, and well boredom sparked by a terrible Nationals team and what looks to be a sub-par Redskins club.

In order to gauge the nationwide (and perhaps more accurate) opinion on just exactly what kind of team the Wizards have this season, I reached out to top NBA bloggers across the Internet. Each one answered the simple question, what do you think the Wizards will do this season?

"Adding Flip Saunders and bringing back a healthy Agent Zero is going to be huge. I thought the team had relative potential last year but some guys seemed to give up. This year, there is no question in my mind the Wizards have enough talent to compete in the East and give teams like the Cavs a very hard time. Besides the big three being healthy, I think Haywood and Blatche really need to step up and take on the other centers in the East."

-Sheed, BustaBucket.com

"The Wizards should have a much better season than last year, but by how much they improve remains to be seen.  Who knows about Arenas, and us Wolves fans know first hand just exactly what assets Foye and Miller will bring to a club (or lack thereof.)  All in all, there is hope in D.C. this season, especially if they can get a few lucky breaks along the way.  And I do think Flip will be a great coach for their squad. 

I see them finishing somewhere around 5-6 in the Eastern Conference.  If they get really lucky, maybe 4th."

-College Wolf, Twolvesblog.com

"The Wizards are like a hot, crazy girlfriend.  They seem they've got everything you would want at the beginning of each season, but eventually what could go wrong does.  I see the Wizards finishing 3rd in the East, above the Celtics, but losing in the second round of the playoffs."

 -Gene Zarnick, Favre Dollar Foot Longs

“Before you read this you must know that personally, I hate the Wizards. There's no team I despise more other than the Lakers and possibly the Jazz. So, they're in the top 3 of teams that I dislike the most, any way you slice it.

Why do I hate them? Not because of the city, the coaches, or anything like that....DC is a nice place, visited several times.

The Answer is Gilbert Arenas. He's one of the worst ball hogs I've ever seen step on to a court, no question about it. He's always gonna shoot, no matter how many guys he's covered by. Granted, I know he averaged 10 assists in his two games last year, but that's a pretty small sample size. Also, I've never liked his attitude, especially when he left my team (the Warriors) under shady terms and unveiled his new NBA live cover while his team was battling in the playoffs. I know, I know, I'm being really harsh here, and he could be the nicest guy in the world who's been caught in bad situations, but this is what I've seen of him, and I don't like it. That being said, the guy has been gone for the past two seasons, so there's a high possibility of injury, and even if he does stay healthy, there's still a lot of question marks as to whether he can run a team that can get anything more than a low to mid playoff seed in the East. As for the rest of the team, it's probably the most talented group of swingmen in the league. But therein lies the problem: they're all swingmen. Arenas, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison, Young, Miller, Foye, James, they're all swingmen. And for the most part, they're all scoring swingmen. As for the Big men in Haywood, Blatche, and Oberto, they're all trash. I mean, they're good athletes, but they're all pretty much bottom of the barrel as far as starting big men go in the NBA. They'll do their job and clog the lane, as usual.

I know I've sounded harsh here, but the bottom line is that the Wizards are still a good and talented team. But 4 swingmen and a lane clogger can only get you so far in this league, so I'd predict that if Arenas stays healthy, the wizards will grab a 6-7 seed in the east, with a good chance at upsetting in the first round. They could be higher, but there's a lot of new blood, so it will take some time to for the teammates to figure each other out.”

-Zeb, BlueBlitz.net

"I fully expect the Washington Wizards to do very well this season, thanks to a few things.  One, it was an absolute coup to acquire Mike Miller and Randy Foye to add depth to a team that needed it.  Smart move to trade for the former Minnesota Timberwolves who have the track record to start, buy may be used off the bench to form a potent punch.

Two, Brendan Haywood is back healthy, which will be a boost in the post and you still have to like the upside of Andray Blatche and Javale McGee.

Third, and most importantly, Gilbert Arenas is back.  He's looked good during the offseason thanks to working out with Michael Jordan's former trainer, Tim Grover, and should form a deadly offensive trio again with Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. 

However, you can't sleep on the fact that this will be a Flip Saunders coached team, meaning that the personnel matches the offensive thinking of Saunders.  There is enough talent here for a top four finish in the East and, possibly, take the Southeast Division crown from the Orlando Magic."

-Dennis Velasco, BarkleysMouth.com

"In recent seasons, the Washington Wizards have been a team of two faces -- one face is a brilliant, consistent super model, performing night after night at high levels; the other face is a talented star that loves the paparazzi spotlight so much that it forgets where its focus should be and stumbles on the catwalk. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are that consistent super model, bringing their bona fide star games pretty much every night. They are quality forwards that most teams would love to have. Then we have the attention-crazed, distraction that has been Gilbert Arenas and DeShawn Stevenson. On a team that is stacked with potential-laden youngsters on the bench, Arenas as a team leader is not the player that leads your team to the glory land. Arenas and Stevenson, for all of the talent that they do and don't have, have consistently shown that they don't know to quietly do their job without seeking outside unnecessary attention. The examples are numerous, but we can start with Arenas' bragging over his NBA Live cover spot whilst his team was in a tense playoff battle and Stevenson's faux public war with an out-of-his-league LeBron James, incorporating rappers into the situation.

Whilst the Wizards are still populated with the behaviour that Arenas and Stevenson have shown, the talent that they actually have will be wasted. What does this all mean for the 2009-10 season? Whilst the distractions continue (which Arenas dubiously promises they have) the Wizards will continue to battle in the East's second tier -- a distinct level below Cleveland, Boston and Orlando; on par with the likes of Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Toronto and Philadelphia. The addition of Randy Foye, Mike Miller and Fabricio Oberto and the continued growth of Nick Young, JaVale McGhee and Andray Blatche certainly helps, but does this push them to any higher hopes than pushing for fourth, at a stretch? In my humble opinion, no."

- Mookie, ASternWarning.com

Wizards top 10 plays of 09

NBA.com put together top 10 plays for all teams from last season. I'd like to note that Nick Young and JaVale McGee make up the majority of these plays, I hope their play time isn't completely taken away this year. Also of course, check out the top play of the year, and its play call for a DAGGERRRR!!!!

Sorting out the depth: The Backcourt

Some have said that this Wizards team is the deepest club the franchise has ever had. While depth brings many good things to a club, it also raises the question of playing time, rotations, and of who will be in the game in what situations. In this two-part segment, we will look at each players argument for playing time by breaking down what they have done in the past and what they can bring to the club now.

Today we will look at the backcourt:

Last season Gilbert Arenas sat out yet another year, causing the team lose an Eastern Conference worst 63 games.

There were several results of this unfortunate situation. First, young guards like Nick Young and Jarvaris Crittenton got significant playing time. Second, the Wizards piled up on guards to fill in for the injured last year, and to be in place as a contingency plan this year. Now the talented Wizards club is overloaded with guards with eerily similar games.

The major obstacle for Flip Saunders in figuring out his rotations in 2009-10 with the backcourt will be finding the player who will be able to compliment Gilbert Arenas while being able to score without taking many shots. Arenas, if healthy, will return to being one of the top players in the league but with that he will also require many shots and many touches. This means that whomever partners with him in the backcourt will need to be a player who can be effective in the same type of role Richard Hamilton was so successful in under Saunders back in 2005-06.

So without further adieu, the 2009-2010 Wizards backcourt and their respective arguments:

Gilbert Arenas- Obviously starting, obviously the key player of this team. The only question that remains is whether or not Saunders will use him as a one or a two.

Caron Butler- Butler has been the silent backbone of this Wizards franchise for the last four seasons. As a Wizard he has averaged 19.63 points per game, nearly two steals a game and consistently shot above 45 percent. The question for Butler won’t be how much playing time he will get, but where he will be used and how. At 6-7 Butler is considered a ‘guard-forward,’ meaning he can swing both between the two and the three. While Butler’s game may not change much depending on if he plays the two or the three, it will certainly dictate which players will play in the frontcourt. Playing Butler at the two will allow Mike Miller to start at the three spot for the Wizards, or it will allow them to move Jamison to the three and open up space for JaVale McGee or Andray Blatche to play the four.

Javaris Crittenton- The Wizards traded for Crittenton last year when they were in serious need of backcourt help. What they got was a young player who impressed many during his one-year at Georgia Tech, but has done little in the two years since. Crittenton was considered by many to be a future lottery pick in the NBA Draft but left after his freshman year, causing many to pass on the underdeveloped point guard. Three years into the league he is starting to show signs of development but the hopes that he may someday be a star in this league have severely faded. At 6-5 Crittenton boasts good size for a point guard but his skill set offers little else. He is a terrible three point and free-throw shooter for a point guard (14.3% and 59.3% last year) and he has a poor career assist to turnover ratio, 1.8/1.2. Jarvaris’s strongest asset for the club is that he is the only player on the roster who will attempt to take a true point guard role, and will require very few shots.

Randy Foye- Foye was traded to the Wizards this offseason along with Mike Miller. What he brings with him is strong scoring ability, solid ball handling, and a consistent outside shooting stroke. A lottery pick in 2006, Foye is a player in a Gilbert Arenas mold who has incredible athleticism, but is slightly undersized as a player who approaches the game like a two guard. Hurt most of 2007-08, Foye bounced back for the Timber Wolves in 2008-09 by scoring 16.3 PPG and racking up 4.3 assists per game. The blossoming guard will have to play a different role for the Wizards however. He will have to learn how to settle in as the number four scorer on a playoff caliber team, as opposed to a number two scorer on a terrible team. Foye will best fit into the rotation as a guard who will alternate with Arenas at the one and the two, while providing scoring ability without requiring many shots.

Mike James- James has had an odd career moving back and forth between back up and starter. In 2005-06 James averaged 37 minutes per game, 20.3 PPG, and 5.8 APG for Toronto. In 2006-07 after being traded to Minnesota those numbers plummeted to 25/10/3.6 and only one year later in Houston he fell to 16/6.5/1.6. While James may have been a victim of circumstance, and injury,  he showed in 2008-09 that he still had what it takes to contribute in the NBA. James provides a veteran presence to the Wizards and strong shooting and ball handling ability. James wont get much playing time unless the Wizards need a point guard to slow their game down and set a more modest pace.

Deshawn Stevenson- Stevenson came into the league as a hugely touted high school talent. He never lived up to expectations but his athleticism has allowed him to turn himself into a lockdown perimeter defender. There’s a lot to be said for a guy who can realize what he doesn’t have, and can make something out of what he is.  Stevenson is valuable to the team because many have accused the Wizards of being unable to play defense. While they are under a new coach, the personnel is mostly the same, and Arenas if anything will just be worse at defense after all the knee surgeries. With this Stevenson should be deserving of a good deal of playing time, even if his shooting has seemed to magically disappeared.

Nick Young- The Wizards drafted Nick Young with their first pick in 2007. Young is a tall, athletic, two guard with great scoring ability. Some believe he is ready to be a starter right now and that given the right situation, he could be a player who can put up 20 a game in the NBA. He has the athleticism and the shooting ability, and perhaps after two full seasons his mental toughness is now there. Unfortunately for Young, the stacked back court may find this talented youngster struggling for minutes. Young deserves to get playing time at the two spot because out of all the players listed here he arguably has the most potential to be an offensive star. The amount of playing time he earns will depend on his ability to shoot at a high percentage and score as part of a system. 

Church of God Shammgod Sunday Links

Michael Jordan sits down with Mike Wilbon and talks about his career, his feelings on retirement, and his feelings on the hall-of-fame. Long story short, he still want's to play.


Slam Online continued its ranking of the NBA's top 50 players and ranked Antawn Jamison the 39th best player in the league:

"I’m uncomfortable trying to let stats tell too much of the story when it comes to players. But they’re always a part of it and worth noting. So let me throw some at you. Last season, the former Tar Heel ranked in the top 11 in the NBA in points per game (11th with 22.2), minutes per game (9th with 38.2), rebounds per game (10th with 8.9) and double doubles (9th with 38)."

Michael Wilbon writes about Michael Jordan's semi-controversial acceptance speech from the other night. 

Kelly Dwyer from Ball Don't Lie writes a GRAET piece about trying to write the perfect column to sum up the perfect basketball player, Michael Jordan. She gets darn close. 

Mike Prada from Bullets Forever, wrote a piece analyzing how the Wizards biggest rival, the Cavs, will do this season...first in the east?

In MJ's speech, he called out former Wizard Byron Russel, saying he motivated him to come back the first time when Russel boasted he would have shut down Jordan were he still playing. In Jordan's speech the other night he said he'd still take down Russel. Russel says, "Bring it."

Slam Online's John Hecht breaks down, "The Wizards Rules: Sign Coach. Get Healthy. Draft Well. Trade big. Win"

Hall of fame round up

Yesterday one of the greatest classes in the history of the Basketball Hall of Fame was enshrined into the sports most elite club. David Robinson, John Stockton, and Michael Jordan were all honored, and for a few hours yesterday, we all remembered together the impact they had on our lives and the sport of basketball.

Before the induction ceremonies the honorees faced an army of press who asked a barrage of questions. Michael Lee of the Wizards insider was there covering the event, and reported on some of the best quotes from both Jordan, and the other inductees. Here were some of the highlights:

Stockton on his thoughts when he entered the NBA: "I thought teams would figure me out pretty quickly. I thought the Jazz would figure out that they made a mistake. So I saved every cent. Spent the first paycheck, saved every cent. I lived in a one-bedroom apartment that was already furnished. Never bought a television set. Went to discount, thrift stores. Bought cans of chili. Cooked my moms lasagna, stacked it in the fridge. I was pretty sure I was a one-year and out guy. I don't know if that ever changed."

Jordan on being called 'The Greatest': People say I was the greatest ever to play to the game. I cringe a little bit. I receive it as an opinion. But for me personally, I never played against Jerry West. I never played against Elgin Baylor. I never played against Wilt Chamberlain. Yeah, I would've loved to. But to say I'm better than those people is not for me to decide. I'm happy for the accomplishments and what people might say. But just to be a part of that debate is a privilege. But I would never give myself that type of accolade because I never competed against everybody in this Hall of Fame.

Michael Wilbon also weighed in on his thoughts on this, "Hall of Fame Class Like No Other" 

Mike Wise weighed in on an often overlooked side of Michael Jordan's impact on not only the game, but the world. 

Here are the other speeches:

Michael Jordan to be enshrined tonight, Wizards and Basketball fans remember

Today one of the greatest Hall of Fame classes of all time will be inducted, and as Michael Lee points out, only John Stockton has no local District ties.  

The most important inductee of course will be Michael Jordan, a man many, including myself, consider to be the greatest player in the history of the game. But as the anticipation of this night has grown, there has been many who have commented on the negative impact Jordan’s Wizard years had on the franchise, as well as his legacy.

To me Jordan’s appearance in a Washington jersey did none of those things. As the saying goes, we are all victims to our expectations. For those who expected a 38-year-old Jordan to become the transcendent superstar he was  in the late 90’s got what they had coming, disappointment. For me, however, a young Wizards fan who had never really known winning, Jordan’s return was the greatest thing in the world.

The greatest athlete in history, Michael Jordan, played night after night for Washington fans. Was he the same? No. But the magic was rekindled every few nights and it was always a show.

No matter what the critics may say, Michael still had it:

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One of the biggest marks on Jordan was that he hampered the development of young talent while soaking up the spotlight for himself. But let's be honest, who on that team really had future star potential? Richard Hamilton has proven himself to be a very good NBA player, even an All-Star. But Hamilton's development wasn't hampered, he got his fair share of shots. If anything Hamilton developed into the leader he is today (for the Pistons) because of the lessons he learned under Jordan.

The other big mark against Jordan's time with the Wizards was his choice to draft Kwame Brown first overall in the 2001 NBA Draft. When evaluating this move we have to remember that 1. the Wizards were lucky to have that pick in the first place, so it wasn't exactly the same as having the worst record in the league and drafting a bust, and 2. the 2001 lottery was garbage.

Let's also not forget, the Wizards ended up with the best player in that draft anyways, Gilbert Arenas. 

Best players drafted between Kwame and Arenas:

1. Pau Gasol, 3rd pick
2. Jason Richardson, 5th pick
3. Shane Battier, 6th pick
4. Joe Johnson, 7th pick 
5. Richard Jefferson 13th pick
6. Tony Parker 28th. 

Somethings happening here

Teams that lose 63 games aren’t supposed to be this confident, are they?


There is an odd atmosphere around the Washington Wizards this off-season. An atmosphere not felt just among the ball club but also by the local and national media as well as with the fans. It’s not a sensation often felt by a D.C sports club, a sensation that can best be described as silent confidence.

With the under the radar reports that the one-time man of the city, Gilbert Arenas, may finally be healthy again, apprehensive fans are starting to subconsciously get their hopes up once again.


Hope is a feeling that has not been kind to Washington basketball fans for a long time.

In the 1980’s the club was able to put together a mediocre squad for the good part of the decade, reaching and losing in the first round of the Eastern Conference First Round five years in a row (1983-1988). However the club was hardly anything to hope about, the team had a winning percentage of only .473 with a 194-216.

Come 1990 the mediocrity the Bullets displayed had quickly turned to flat our dreadful performances year after year. The club embarked on an 8-year stretch that saw them without a playoff appearance. In this stretch the club never won more than 30 games, despite being led by team legend turned coach Wes Unseld. It appeared there was room for hope in the mid 1990’s when the club combined two of the University of Michigan’s ‘Fab-Five’ to head a young squad of lottery picks. Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Calbert Cheaney infused Washington with energy while free-agent acquisition Rod Strickland set the pace for a Bullets squad that recorded the franchise’s first winning season in 10 years and earned their first playoff appearance in eight.

But the very next season the hope that the youthful Bullets team brought slowly disappeared along with the team’s name and home. The club moved from U.S Airways Arena after only five home games in 1997/98 to their new home, the MCI Center, along with their move they changed their name from the Washington Bullets, to the Washington Wizards. It was a disappointing season to say the least for Wizards fans. Despite Chris Webber having a breakout year and Rod Strickland leading the NBA in assists, off the court problems and on the court inconsistency led to a 42-40 record, no playoff berth, and the trading of Webber.

So much for hope.

Bullets fans that invested their heart, soul, and pride into their team saw in a single season everything they had built their dreams around turned around completely. The Wizards would go on to suffer six more losing seasons, a number one overall pick bust, and even two sub-par seasons with the greatest player in history donning their uniform.

In 2003/04 the Wizards put together the pieced of the puzzle that would land them back in the playoffs the very next year. Gone was Phil Collins and Michael Jordan, in was Eddie Jordan, Ernie Grunfeld, and Gilbert Arenas. In 2004 the club brought in sixth-man-of-the-year Antawn Jamison and the stage was set for the club to make their first true playoff run in decades.
After the club stormed into the post-season, they took out another youthful club in the Chicago Bulls. The team’s season would end in the next round by the hands of Dwayne Wade and Shaq with the Miami Heat.

Hope continued to build however as the team acquired Caron Butler and boasted a talented trio dubbed ‘the big three’ by most of the league. But between Lebron James travels, and Gilbert Arenas knee surgeries, the Wizards failed to make it out of the first round for three consecutive seasons, while last year of course going an abysmal 19-63.


Things are changing however, and Wizards fans are silently turning their heads and whispering to one another. No one wants to say it, but this could be the best Wizards team in decades.


Still in tact is the big three, Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jameson. Now joining them however will be proven veterans Mike Miller and Randy Foye. These two players have been scorers their entire career and will provide much needed scoring depth. The Wizards up and comers are poised to break out too. For the last three years Andray Blatche and Nick Young have shown slow developing promise that many think will blossom this year. Last year’s athletic rookies, Dominic Mcguire and JaVale McGee now have a year of experience under their belt and hope to be forces defensively.


Leading the club now is new head coach Flip Saunders. Saunders of course if a veteran coach who has vast playoff experience, and unlike Eddie Jordan, may institute some defensive reliability.


The pieces are in place, the table is set, and hopefully the knee is healed. If it is, watch out Orlando, watch out Boston, and (insert expletive) Cleveland.

A great piece from the Washington Wizards website

WIZARDS: Wizards Return to China After 30 Years

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What it's all about

I became a fan of the Washington Wizards (Then Washington Bullets) in the mid 1990's when Michael Jordan declared them the next big thing. The team he was referring to of course was a stacked young club staring Rod Strickland, Juwan Howard, and Chris Webber. 

Those hopes quickly dissipated. 

But then there was this: