• Every day the draft is getting closer and closer (less than 3 weeks to go!) and it looks like Wizards management is kicking it into high gear with pre-draft workouts.  If you want to find out how your favorite prospects measure up, Draft Express has you covered. Yesterday, I mentioned the second batch of prospects that were in Washington for workouts, here was the first group, which you'll probably notice is much more distinguished than the second group.
• Free agency is getting also getting closer and closer by the day and as it happens, more and more people are throwing their two cents in on whether or not Gilbert will be back.  Dan Steinberg and Sally Jenkins both point to Gilbert's entertainment value as one of the key factors in the decision for Wizards management.  If it means anything, Roger Mason is "100 percent sure" that Agent Zero will be back next year.  Let's just hope that Gilbert knows which day to opt out.
• You might remember last week's submission by Rook6980 into the "You be the GM" contest.  Here is his alternate plan should the Wizards be able to retain Gilbert for less than the max.
• As you've probably heard by now, Flip Saunders got the axe in Detroit.  Some members were clamoring for him to take over for Eddie Jordan here, which I understand, but I think if EG was looking for a replacement he probably would've done it when Avery Johnson and Mike D'Antoni were looking for jobs.
• Speaking of Detroit and ch-ch-changes, here's an interesting trade idea involving them and Denver.  Denver might need a draft pick to sweeten the pot, but I think it would give both teams the shake-up they're looking for.
• Here's what SLAM had to say about Isiah Thomas' brilliant signing of Jared Jeffries:

A 6″11 Forward, from Long Island City…Jared Jeffries!

LIC is supposed to be a city, hence the name, but it isn’t; it’s just an increasingly expensive neighborhood that looks across at "the city." To that end, while Jeffries is supposed to be a defensive stopper that can guard 4 out of the 5 positions on the floor, he hasn’t lived up to his billing and often resorts watching other taller-building ballers (David Lee, Renaldo Balkman) play actual defense.

This all about context: To the non-thinker (Thomas), it stood to reason that Jeffries was a defensive standout because he was arguably the best defender on the 05-06 Washington Wizards. The truth is those Wizards were a weak defensive team that relied on offensive prowess. In fact, Jeffries’s defense was kind of like the needle in a haystack of crap: s****y.

• When did ridin' dirty become all the rage again?  First, it was Andray getting arrested, leading to this response from Ernie Grunfeld.  Then Ty Lawson decided to get in on the action.  I'd make a joke about who's next, but I don't want to risk it coming true.
• Finally, here's a little montage of the top dunks from the season (Audio NSFW) that should cheer everyone up: