Yesterday's fun exercise got far more responses than I expected, which is great.  The purpose was not necessarily to find the one perfect guy (though for each individual, it was).  Really, it was for us as a collective, now having a list of who we all think would fit in best, to think about the type of player who would help us most.  Normally, we'd go from general to specific, but here, I think it paid to do the reverse.  

Based on our responses, clearly most of us feel we need to find someone who has "toughness."  That kind of what I expected, and I mostly agree with it.  Still, it's important to make the distinction between tough guys who can contribute and tough guys who can't.  Basically, if we're looking for a "banger," we should get someone who has strong rebound rates.  If we're looking for a "pure point guard," we should get someone with a good assist rate.  If we're looking for a "lockdown defender," well, that's trickier, but we should still find someone that has strong defensive numbers (and I'm not talking steals and blocks). 

For reference, here's a list of who we came up with for our price tag.  Free agents are italicized.

• Raja Bell
  
• Antonio McDyess
• Joe Smith
• P.J. Brown
• Kurt Thomas
  
• James Posey (player option)
  
• Eduardo Najera
  
• Charlie Villanueva
  
• Chris Duhon
  
• Jason Maxiell
  
• Quentin Richardson
  
• Chris Richard
  
• Francisco Elson
  
• Linas Kleiza
  
• Ronny Turiaf (restricted)
  
• Quinton Ross
• Dikembe Mutumbo
• Alonzo Mourning
• Rodney Carney
• Mikhael Pietrus
• DJ Strawberry
• John Salmons (borderline)
• Brandon Bass

We'll eventually revisit this thread (and do add to it if you so please), but for now, here's the question for the next day or two.

Eddie Jordan.  Undoubtedly, Wizards nation is divided on him keeping his job, but many of those reasons ("he's not the coach to take us to the next level") are only indirectly related to his actual coaching.

So here's today's question.   Let's ignore the question of whether Eddie should return next year for a second.  The point of this question isn't for people to advocate firing or retaining him, because the sense I get is that Eddie is neither a perfect or horrifically awful head coach. 

What are Eddie's biggest strengths?  What are Eddie's biggest weaknesses?  Spell out both, but don't decide yet whether one side outweighs the other.   Just describe both.

The year is 2003, you're reading the newest edition of ESPN the Magazine.  Inside you'll find a story about how Jason Williams and Hubie Brown are turning things around in Memphis, a 15 year old OJ Mayo is being touted as the next LeBron (who mind you, was in the middle of his rookie season at the time), someone tries to make the argument that adding Calbert Cheaney, Nick Van Exel, and Brian Cardinal was a good move after losing Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison in the off-season, and there's this little, five-paragraph article in the NCAA Basketball section titled "System Failure" about the failings of the Princeton offense, the same one that Eddie Jordan currently runs.

Even though it's fairly short, I'm pretty sure that posting the whole thing would be a no-no, so I'm just going to post part of it, and hope that you're local library has the rest if you're that interested.

Sometimes, reality gets in the way of a good story.  And so it is with the legend of the Princeton offense.  Sure, more coaches than ever are using parts of Pete Carill's system, built on motion, backdoor cuts and three-point shooting.  Problem is, teams running the pure version aren't winning.  "Everyone has caught up," says Cornell coach Steve Donahue.  "It's easier to guard."

The six teams that ran the Princeton offense last season -- the Tigers, Dartmouth, Columbia, Samford, Northwestern, Air Force -- went a combined 63-103.  Columbia coach Armond Hill took the backdoor to the unemployment line after his Lions went 2-25.  And Campbell's Billy Lee, who dabbled with the system only to see his team finish 5-22, resigned after 18 years on the job.

But didn't Herb Sendek turn it around at NC State after incorporating aspects of Carill's offense into his playobook two years ago?  Well, no.  The Pack's recent success has been in spite of the Princeton influence, not because of it.  Better ballers like Julius Hodge are the real reason for the surge.  "The way they run the offense is a joke," says one coach.  "They have no idea what they're doing in terms of angles and intricacies."

Just for a comparison to record of teams that ran this when the article came out, here's a list of the teams running the Princeton now (according to the always reliable Wikipedia), along with their record for the past season:

• Princeton: 6-23
  
• Georgetown: 28-6
  
• Air Force: 16-14
  
• Northwestern: 8-22 
• Richmond: 16-15
• Brown: 19-10
  
• Samford: 14-16
• USC: 21-12
  
• Arizona State: 21-12

Clearly, it's gotten better since '03.  The record of coaches using the Princeton has improved from 63-103 (.379 winning %) to 149-130 ( .534 winning %) this year, but again, this could be a product of better players rather than the success of the system.  The only two teams from that group that made the tournament were Georgetown and USC and they both have players that are projected to be first round picks in the draft with Roy Hibbert for Georgetown and Davon Jefferson and "the next LeBron" for USC.  Take away those two teams, and the winning percentage drops to .481.

Now am I saying that Eddie Jordan's system is handcuffing the team and that he needs to be fired?  Not necessarily.  There aren't nearly as many players in the NCAA ranks that can execute the Princeton effectively as is done in the NBA.  Not to mention, that it's not like the team's offense has been the reason the Wizards can't get past Cleveland.  But it's very interesting to note that for all of the talk of "the Wizards execute the offense better without Arenas!" and "the ball movement is AMAZING!" this year, their offensive rating was lower this year than it was the past three years when they supposedly weren't executing Eddie's offensive system.

Again, I'm not trying to turn this into some sort of a Fire Eddie post or anything like that.  I'm just saying that maybe just maybe the Princeton offense isn't all that we've cracked it up to be.  With that said, I'm not the greatest X's and O's guy out there either, so I'm open to rebuke and debate on this one.

Well I guess someone was bound to say this after Carmelo's 49 point outburst, might as well have been the coach:

I swapped an e-mail with Jeremy of Pickaxe and Roll about the issue last night and I basically said that I didn't have a problem with it.  If the Nuggets decide that they want to keep Melo on the court to preserve the lead and he takes the opportunity to try and go for 50, then it's the Wizards' job to step up and try and keep him from getting there, not to whine about feeling disrespected.

Anyway, that's my two cents on the issue, by all means feel free to disagree.  If you didn't get to see the game and you enjoy inflicting pain on yourself you can check out the highlights for yourself and form your own opinion:

I'm sure you've all seen great moments in sports history re-created in video games, but I think this one tops them all:

You can find more re-created Jordan moments here, although the rest are Bulls-focused.  I'm still holding onto the chance that someone will re-do Phil Hubbard's game-winner over Brendan Haywood.

Hurry!  We're going to miss the bus to VCU!
(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

In a very Joe Gibbs-like move, Eddie Jordan is reaching for the reset button.  According to ESPN.com Jordan is using the time between now and Thursday night's game as a "mini camp" to fix what's broken with the Wiz.

Perhaps as important, it will give Gilbert Arenas a chance to rest his knee which he said after the game felt stiff.  As Truth About It noted, Gilbert wore a compression sock during warm-ups and you'd have to guess that played a big part in Gilbert's performance on Saturday night.

If you're Eddie Jordan, what would you make the main focus for mini camp?  Please refrain from saying "Everything!" or "Breaking Hedo Turkoglu's legs."

I was really interested to read Ivan's latest blog entry, because it deals with what smart Wizards fans like us consider to be one of the team's major problems: the rotation.  

Ivan basically said that Eddie has settled on the top 8 already, which, to me, is excellent news, not just because of who's there, but also because it seems like he at least has a plan.  

Honestly, that's a nice start.  I'm overjoyed that Blatche is going to be a regular in the rotation, playing behind Brendan and Jamison.  Personally, I like the idea of playing Songaila and Blatche together in the second unit, because they complement each other so well.  Offensively, Songaila has a great jumper, while Blatche is really good around the rim, so they won't be stepping on each other's shoes.  Defensively, Blatche can (hopefully) compensate for Songaila's problems with his length and helpside rotations.  

Beyond those eight, apparently Eddie hasn't decided on the 9-12 slots.  He reportedly is leaning between Laser, Taser, Pech, and Mason as filling those last spots, but the order has yet to be determined.  

I'd guess that Pech is safely slotted as the third big man off the bench, behind Blatche and Songaila.  He probably won't play much, but it'll be nice to have a bigger body when needed.  

The other three guys (Young, Mason, McGuire) are interesting, though.  There's no doubt that each of those guys is behind Daniels, who must get a solid number of minutes.  I'm assuming Daniels will play a lot with Arenas, as he has in the past, and while my eyes tell me that the duo is not a good defensive pair, 82 games says otherwise.  Last year, when Arenas was paired with Daniels, the Wizards' defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 posessions) was 103.1.  When Arenas was paired with Stevenson, the so-called defensive stopped, the team's defensive efficiency was 107.3.  I'll admit that I was surprised by that, but it definitely means AD's got to play.

But that doesn't mean Eddie should bury Laser and Taser.  Assuming Roger Mason is the fifth guard (and if he's not, we have a problem), then how do you get our rookie combo to get good minutes?  I'd like to see McGuire play with Arenas and Daniels if Caron Butler is sitting, because it'll be nice to have someone playing small forward who can compensate when opponents blow by Arenas and Daniels.  But I also think McGuire should play alongside Caron Butler, because that lineup will be flying all over the court.  A Daniels/Butler/McGuire trio might be our best defensive lineup, and lord knows we need defense.  At the same time, though, this team has invested too much in Young to not give him at least some minutes.  Young strikes me as someone who would play best without Gilbert Arenas, so I'd play him during the 8-10 minutes a game that Gilbert would rest.  He strikes me as someone who would work best in an AD/Young/Butler trio.

But what of Stevenson?  Remember, at the end of last year, we said that Stevenson would be best used as a backup.  His defense was really move average than great, and looking now, it's possible his shooting last year was a bit of a fluke.  With all these options on the wing, plus Daniels, I feel like it only makes sense to cut his minutes down.  I'd start him still, but I wouldn't necessarily have him finish games as much as he did last season.

So where does that leave us?  I'm not quite sure, but the guard rotation will be Eddie's biggest challenge.  Hopefully, he can fulfill it, but I have my doubts.

How would you break the minutes down on the wing?    

With all due respect to the dueling centers, there's really only one personality conflict that matters on this team: that between Gilbert Arenas and Eddie Jordan.  That issue, in turn, directly affects the relationship between Eddie Jordan and Ernie Grunfeld, and if you catch my drift, that means the major question this year is how patient will Ernie be with Eddie Jordan this year.

Perhaps I was naive to think that this was a big deal at all.  After all, didn't Arenas lobby for an extension for Eddie just one offseason ago?  And while his anti-Eddie tirade after the Portland loss was disconcerting, it seemed to me that Arenas was merely venting about an incredibly frustrating game.  

Apparently, there's a hell of a lot more to the Gilbert Arenas/Eddie Jordan tension than we ever imagined, says Mike Wise.

No big deal, right?  Combine Gilbertology with the start of a fresh season, and all is well.

Not so fast.  Color me unconvinced by this Gilbert comment.

Reading between the lines, it seems like Gilbert is saying, essentially, that Eddie Jordan is "good enough" for him.  He's willing to forgive and give this thing another try, but mostly because there isn't a better option out there.  

The thing is, I think that's an accurate portrayal of Eddie Jordan, and it's one that I think Ernie Grunfeld shares.  He'll do for now, until we find someone better.

The problem is that it's one thing for someone like me, you, or Ernie Grunfeld to think that way.  It's entirely another thing for one of Eddie Jordan's own players -- nay, his star player -- to think that way.  Gilbert likes to say that he can't be a leader unless he's a veteran, but like it or not, his style defines the team's, if only because so many posessions are built around him.  The team's biggest problem is that they don't dedicate themselves defensively, and while we can debate Arenas' specific role in that problem, the fact of the matter is that he's one of the major culprits.  If the Wizards are going to actually pay more attention in games on defense, they're probably going to need Gilbert to lead the way.  

Even though Eddie is an offensive mind, you can bet that he's making defense the number one priority.  But if Arenas still harbors some resentment to Eddie for whatever reason, then how much will he digest from Eddie?  How much attention will he actually pay to playing better defense.  Oh sure, he can talk about it, but it was all talk last year, and it will certainly be all talk this year if he's not on board with Eddie as a coach.

The best way for this team to solve it's problem is if the players are on board.  Wise's column and Arenas' comments seem to tell me that the tensions that helped sabotage last season still exist somewhere, and it's only a matter of time until they come to the surface.  

And that's very, very concerning to me.  

The Celtics are hardly our natural rivals, but in the wake of purging their team for one Kevin Garnett, they have been compared extensively to the Wizards.  After all, both teams are criticized for having three great players and nothing behind them.  But as much as I would pay to see a 3 on 3 game between Pierce/Allen/KG and Arenas/Jamison/Butler, there's now a more tangible reason to not like the Celtics.  They have hired the assistant coach that shall not be named.  

Funny how Kevin Garnett changes things, huh?  This means only one thing: when we play the Celtics, we have to win to show Thibodeau what he's missing.

[HT: LOY's Place]

As a backup plan, Randy Ayers is a pretty good hire.  He doesn't quite have the defensive pedigree of Tom Thibodeau, but he's pretty close.  As an assistant coach under Larry Brown, Ayers helped to preside over a defense that spent four straight years in the top 5 in defensive efficiency (1998/99 to 2001/02).  While he failed in his short season as the Sixers head coach in 2003/04, the problem was not Phily's defense, which finished a respectable 10th in efficiency.  After two downish years on that front in Orlando, he rebounded to help Orlando finish 7th in defensive efficiency last year, despite not having many great individual defenders.  Combine that with his head coaching experience at Ohio State and with the Sixers, and he definitely has a good resume for the position.

Whether this will translate to an improved defense remains to be seen.  As good as Ayers' schemes were in Philadelphia, it certainly helped that they had the right personnel to build a defensive-first team.  During that four-year stretch, Ayers was able to work with great defenders like Theo Ratliff, Dikembe Mutumbo, Eric Snow, and George Lynch, not to mention Allen Iverson and his ability to play the passing lanes.  He doesn't have that same luxury here, although he did prove he could improve a defense even without great defensive players last year.  

The only other problem I see with Ayers is that he's not a real take-charge guy.  One of the reasons he was fired in Philadelphia was because he was too lax on Allen Iverson, and the two never had a great relationship.  I could definitely see a situation where he doesn't make a significant dent on an offensive-minded coaching staff.

Still, I think it's a pretty good hire, considering the circumstances.  There's been a pretty good discussion over whether scheming or desire matters more with defense.  I'd answer that both were significant problems last year with the Wizards, and both need improving.  It's clear that Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison in particular didn't try hard enough defensively, a point that Gilbert himself has hinted at.  On the other hand, the Wizards schemes were awful, and as cuppettcj said, there were way too many rotation breakdowns that led to open shots.  I'd argue that improved schemes can lead to improved desire.  Think about it; if your head coach is hollering at you to get tougher, but isn't leading by example with good schemes, the words will ring hollow to a certain degree.  One of the reasons the Spurs are so great defensively is that Gregg Popovich puts his players in a position to succeed with a plan.  He gives his defenders more defined roles, so that when they mess up and Popovich sits them down, they know exactly what they did wrong.  Without a good scheme, Eddie can't really do that, because Eddie can't properly verbalize to the players what specifically needs to improve.

My overarching goal is that Eddie gives Ayers sole authority over the defense, a la Marc Ivaroni in Phoenix.  It'll make both guys' jobs easier, and with Ayers pedigree, I'm confident there will be a turnaround.  It might not happen right away -- none of Ayers' teams finished in the top half of the league in efficiency in his first year -- but it'll happen sooner rather than later.  

Randy Ayers.

Press release is there.  I'll have more later, but today's a busy day at work.  For now, this is the reaction thread.

Ayers has been a head coach before with the Philadelphia 76ers, and while he wasn't very successful, he does have some quality experience.  As a backup option, he doesn't seem that bad to me.  He's definitely a defensive guy, having been an assistant for the Larry Brown/Allen Iverson teams that consistently finished in the top 5 in defensive efficiency.  

More later, but this is your reaction thread.