I didn't really do any of these in the offseason, but with training camp underway, there's a lot of information out there that should be passed along. Without further ado:
- Might as well start off with Dave Johnson's live-blogs from camp. Here's today's morning blog, which is the only one of the day since the evening practice was cancelled. Dave's quite the optimist, but he's a great guy and his optimism is shared by a lot of people that aren't working for the official Wizards website. As a few here can attest, he's also really attentive to reader questions.
- Tom Knott actually does some reporting and it makes his column on Caron Butler that much stronger. Love the title, love the concept and love that he has Butler, Butler's coach and Butler's GM all quoted. A snippet
Caron Butler is the working man's All-Star who has retained his sense of perspective and commitment, who does not succumb to the cliches of the NBA.
He is not worried about whose team it is. He is not worried about who is taking the highest number of shots. He is not worried about developing a catchy public persona.
Butler is comfortable with who he is, with where he is, with how he has evolved in his three previous seasons with the Wizards.
- Mike Jones writes about Etan Thomas and his adjustment coming back to training camp.
- Ivan Carter blogs about the backcourt and how the Wiz will cope with the absence of Roger Mason. I'll have more on this later, but just to preview, I really hope Eddie isn't serious about playing Nick Young and Juan Dixon at the same time.
- Michael Lee catches up with Bill Walker, who the Wizards drafted and promptly sold to the Celtics. I realize that Walker was once a highly-touted prospect, but considering his injury history, I don't think the Wizards made a mistake in dumping him.
- More from the official site: Eddie Jordan audio, an interview with Andray Blatche and Steve Buckhantz talks about our centers.
- Truth About It breaks down the point guard situation. I'll probably do the same when I get a chance (read: patience folks).
- Steinberg looks into Dee Brown's European hip-hop career. This was my favorite part:
"The positive rap?" asked Caron Butler with a big smile on his face. "The League," "The School," all that? Yeah, I heard it. Stick to basketball, man."
- Posting and Toasting, our SB Nation Knicks blog, has been granted access to Knick camp and is giving daily reports. In case you're wondering, I haven't asked the Wizards for the same because I'm out of market, but if I was in D.C., I most certainly would relish the opportunity.
- Blazers Edge briefly previews the Wizards. It's nice to read an outsider's perspective, but the point that Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison don't compliment each other leaves me confused. If Antawn dominates the ball so much, then how do you explain that 74 percent of his jumpers and 54 percent of his close shots were assisted last year? That's no outlier; in 2006/07, 83 percent of his jumpers and 53 percent of his close shots were assisted. Moreover, all of Jamison's shooting percentages (FG%, eFG%, TS%) were lower last year without Arenas than they were the year before with him.
- Ivan Carter and Michael Lee's chat transcript from today is here.
Drop anything else you see in the comments.