Sacrifice

First off, VERY interseting quote about their “knuckleheads.” I’d be shocked if that meant McGee. Kid is raw and young, but that’s what they drafted him expecting, and by all accounts he’s performed better this year than in past years. Most likely, they’re talking about Blatche, Pech and (possibly) Young.

Particularly if they are looking to trade Young, I think if they can’t nab Griffin, the greatest need is probably at shooting guard. Both Taser and Caron can switch into that spot a bit, but it isn’t a great fit for either of them, and I just don’t believe that “Mister 50” is going to be able to cut it as a starter on the elite squad we want to be.

We want a defensive specialist who’s a genuine three-point threat at the 2-spot, and I think if we add that, we probably keep AJ and his 20/10/no-defense in the starting lineup, running that sweet pick&pop with Gilbert like they used to. The other option – moving Jamison in favor of a more defense-minded low post threat – still leaves us very thin at the 2-spot, and I’m just not convinced that the wizards can be converted to a grind-it-out squad.

that said, I hope we can all agree at the outset that if this offseason goes by with no substantial roster shifts, we should be howling-mad at EG. “Maybe they’ll be healthy next time” isn’t good enough this summer.

I will grant that Andre Blatche has had some legal incidents that can be described as knuckleheaded, but the term seems a bit strong for any or all of the other young players. No arrests, sexual assaults, barroom brawls, or ugly incidents with teammates.
Their crime? They don’t work as hard as they could and they like to joke around. On a winning team these players would be praised for keeping the team “loose”. Yeah, they all could probably work harder to improve their games but the term “knucklehead” should be reserved for more serious offenses.

productive career by becoming a sixth man again…. If he can give the team 15-17 points and 6-8 boards off the bench in 14-27 minutes that would be outstanding… A couple more and he would once again be Sixth Man of the Year.

So… always barring he Griffin miracle… who would take Young, Blatche, Thomas and the #4 pick for a REALLY good starting PF, a mid-round pick and a deep bench player??? Lamar Odom would of course be ideal, but more likely we are looking at trading a bit less than that and geting a David Lee, Luis Scola or Udonis Haslem. For me, the most intriguing and legitimate possibilities of all are Carlos Boozer and Shawn Marion…

I think that the Wizards are going to really roll the dice this off-season and we should be headed for way interesting times if they do.

…It’s AJ – ANTAWN JAMISON. The self proclaimed Jedi Master, O-B-1, DON CORLEON, GEPETTO, and Yoda himself.

I am so sick and tired of AJ talking about leadership instead of showing it. Calling out his teammates in the public.

Good riddance AJ, YOU ARE THE KNUCKLEHEAD. YOU ARE THE EMPEROR WITH NO CLOTHES. YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR HYPE — I DON’T. BECAUSE YOU SUCK, THE WIZ SUCK. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? JORDAN? YOU SUCK AJ!

…telling other parents and announcing to the general public that your kids are lazy kids is not parenting or leading. We know most kids are lazy. But they need to be led.

What kind of parent would publicly humiliate or shame their kids? What kind of teammate would do that? You better a complete and utter stud – someone who brings it on OFFENSE AND DEFENSE night after night.

Yeah, some kids don’t grow up until they’ve lost opportunities…but some do. AJ has got to realize that he is just exposing his own failures. That he’s not concerned about the family name but only his name.

AJ, admit you failed as a leader before you continue to dime out those who look up to you.

Aldridge’s comment about the Wizards wanting to move a couple of “knuckleheaded” young players is not surprising. This team has been both impatient with young players, and unable to develop young players for years. They want the quick fix of veterans, and are not willing to endure growing pains or the maturation process.

Just off the top of my head, look at the list of young players that the Wizards have traded for older players in recent years:

Chris Webber for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe
Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse
5th pick for Jamison
12th pick for Mark Price (Kobe was picked 13th)
Ben Wallace and others for Ike Austin
Rasheed Wallace for Rod Strickland

Exactly one of those trades can be said to have worked out (the Jamison trade). So, they will trade Nick Young or Blatche or McGee for some so-so veteran, and the kids will do great elsewhere, and the Wizards will muddle along as usual and maybe win one or two games in the playoffs. Big surprise. Bad organizations don’t make noise in the playoffs unless they luck out with a great player (e.g., Cleveland, with LeBron). Good organizations aren’t impatient, and don’t label 22 years olds who improve every year as irredeemable knuckleheads.