It's easy to imagine a cynical owner regarding his team's fans with a casual contempt. "They don't know what they want. Last year it's 'we play the veterans too much', then it's 'we play the wrong rookies too much', now it's 'the rookies suck so sign free agents.' And if I do you'll start screaming 'we signed the wrong ones, our cap space is gone forever' and the whole thing starts again." That's the kind of thinking that evolves when an owner stops questioning whether or not they're making the right decisions. It often results in a surety with a tendency to ignore reality while blindly doubling down on a 'sure thing'. I believe this is a trap Ted has mostly avoided. But regarding Ernie's future the question has become: who is seeing clearly?

10. Never settle--never rest--keep on improving. Around the edges to the plan, have monthly, quarterly and annual check ups. Refresh the plan when needed but for the right reasons-- "how are we doing against our metrics of success and where are we on our path to a championship." Never listen to bloggers, media, so called experts--to thine own self be true. Enjoy the ride.

Ted's Take via Hogs Haven

Transparency is a tent pole of the ten point plan but the plain truth is that we don't really know what Ted is seeing. This is pretty much all we have to calibrate with for now, before Flip's firing:

I was up close and watched a very dispirited effort by our team yesterday afternoon...I have found the best thing to do in times of stress and turmoil is to do research; be analytical; NOT emotional; and try to find ways to improve...no one is happy with the progress we are making as a team; it is important that we be measured and smart in how we move forward.

via Ted's Take

There's no doubt how the team chose to proceed, and I think we can all agree Flip needed to go. Randy Wittman is doing a better job maximizing the talents of the team Ted thought he was going to see, but there's no doubt this is not what Ted was expecting.

Odd as it sounds, I would like to hear a vote of confidence in Ernie as a GM. That would suggest to me that there is an active dialogue between the two and that Ernie has a plan Ted believes in. Right now, the silence out of the Verizon Center only suggests Ernie has until the trade deadline to prove himself. That means activity crucial to the rebuild and just what path will Ernie choose? There are plenty of paths available and his history long past and recent suggests he could go just about any which way and perhaps that's the way he wants it. Hell, that might be the only leverage the Wizards have at the deadline.

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Last week we talked about remaining patient in the face of a historically disastrous start to the season. There was still plenty to quibble over, but the level of effort against the Knicks in parallel with the PTI incident reminded me of a scene from the baseball flick For Love Of The Game. An outfielder committed an embarrassing error and mentioned with a resigned grin how he expected to see it on ESPN. The pitcher responded:

There's a bunch of cameras out there right now waiting to make a joke of this, Mick. So you can either stop, give them the sound bite, do the dance. Or you can hold your head up and walk by, and the next time we're in Boston, we'll go out there and work the wall together. Don't help them make a joke out of you.

via IMDB

It's necessary the team play with a short memory, but I'm wondering when and if this team will reach a watershed moment. There's something different in DC; the pressure of real expectations. It's been coming ever since the Wizards won the draft lottery. I was thinking the Rashard Lewis debacle is just the thing to turn this organization into a farce if it isn't handled with any kind of authority. Fortunately, 'somebody [was] trying to make up stories.'

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"Give as few orders as possible," his father had told him once long ago. "Once you've given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject."

Frank Herbert's Dune via Good Reads

Precedents are everything when delineating areas of responsibility. Anyone who has ever raised a child knows; if you break a rule you set for their children; aggrieved injustice is mere seconds away. In my case, I learned the phrase 'double standard' when I was five years old and it was all downhill from there. Once you break a rule, it stays broken. Especially when it comes to matters of import.

The league's utter failure to address anything approaching parity was put on glaring display when David Stern blocked the NO-HOU-LA trade for "basketball reasons". (What basketball reasons?) The consequence of breaking a good faith agreement to allow Hornets' GM Dell Demps to do his job? The trade market for a small market superstar has been frozen and now it is far more possible New Orleans won't even get the indignity of a traded player exception.

Back to the original quote, now that the precedent of David Stern's interference in Chris Paul's future has been established, every GM in the league thinking of trading for him has to consider that as well. Just like when a rumored agent decertification coup threatened to undercut Billy Hunter's negotiating authority with the league during the lockout, Dell Demps' ability to negotiate has likewise been all but negated. Who will talk to him? Here's an anonymous exec's take on it:

"We were all told by the league he was a trade-able player, and now they're saying that Dell doesn't have the authority to make the trade?" said an NBA executive who had periodic talks with New Orleans throughout the process. "Now, they're saying that Dell is an idiot, that he can't do it his job. [Expletive] this whole thing. David's drunk on power, and he doesn't give a [expletive] about the players, and he doesn't give a [expletive] about the hundreds of hours the teams put into make that deal."

Woj via Ziller

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Welcome to an NBA Lockout Series that will draw cinematic and/or literary parallels to present Wizards personnel.  The lockout is long, and subjects to write on have become increasingly spare.  Prepare for basketball-flavored gruel, and that is as close to an apology as you're getting. 

Without further ado, the fourth edition of Off-Topic Theater will take a look at Nick Young through the lens of Charles Dickens, and the tremendous struggles he's overcome to make it in the NBA.

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I've been doing retro-diaries for SBNation.com while the lockout is going on, in a series that will continue for a very long time.  These games come from a variety of sources (YouTube, my DVDs, etc), and they've been fun to do. 

None thus far have included the Washington basketball franchise. People tend to record games between good teams, and the Washington basketball franchise hasn't been very good. That said, if you poke around YouTube a bit, there are some games involving our beloved Bullets/Wizards.  We'll be doing diaries of them when time permits this summer.

Our first offering comes from March of 1996.  The 1995/96 Bullets were the team that first really got me interested in the NBA.  They dealt with a rash of injuries, with Chris Webber playing only 15 games, shiny new toy Mark Price down for the year and emerging point guard Robert Pack followed him after 31 games.  Guys like Brent Price, Jim McIlvane and Ledell Eackles played big roles.  CBA point guard Chris Whitney came up and never left.  And yet, despite all this, the Bullets finished 39-43 and were close to being a playoff team.  They were a great underdog story, and just wait until everyone got healthy.

On this night, their playoff hopes were slipping away, and a date with the powerful Orlando Magic awaited.  What resulted was a memorable game that ultimately summed up the Bullets' season.  They were undermanned, they fought hard, they looked like they were going to win, but ultimately didn't have enough.  Warning: you may want to fight Jim Lynam after this is over.

(To follow along with the action, click here for the video).

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Welcome to an NBA Lockout Series that will draw cinematic and/or literary parallels to present Wizards personnel.  The lockout is long, and subjects to write on have become increasingly spare.  Prepare for basketball-flavored gruel, and that is as close to an apology as you're getting. 

Without further ado, the third edition of Off-Topic Theater will take a slight detour and address the renewed Flip Saunders debate with help of Mr. Billy Joel.

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Welcome to the next installment of the Off-Topic Theater.  The lockout is long, subjects to write on will become increasingly spare.  Prepare for basketball flavored gruel, and that is as close to an apology as you're getting. 

Today's edition of Off-Topic Theater features our planking machine, JaVale McGee.  Some of you are on the fence about the planking craze, others want to get in while the getting is good.  My advice?  Leave it to the professionals like JaVale, if you value your home appliances.

Yup, we're doing this to "Home Alone."

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Welcome to an NBA Lockout Series that will draw cinematic and/or literary parallels to present Wizards personnel.  The lockout is long, and subjects to write on have become increasingly spare.  Prepare for basketball-flavored gruel, and that is as close to an apology as you're getting. 

Without further ado, the second edition of Off-Topic Theater will take a look at the story the story of John Wall and his quest to bring D.C. basketball to the promised land, as told by Orson Scott Card.

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