Let me start by saying I'm in favor of this trade because of the reasons Prada pointed out earlier. What makes me leery is introducing unknowns into an unstable and possibly imploding mix of players while removing a stabilizing influence in Kirk Hinrich. Like I said last year when the season became a lost cause, the stakes moving forward are our young players' (cough, John Wall's) belief in their ability to help this team win.
We're standing pat...I believed, as a few of us did, that either Maurice Evans or Josh Howard would be on their way to Boston to back up Paul Pierce. While we definitely would have liked to see Avery Bradley coming back, I had a feeling the Celtics would simply take the offer where they gave up the least. Guess not. Suppose Kendrick Perkins was going be leaving anyway.
Mike Bibby buyout possibility aside, I think these are our guys, and a young team got younger which exacerbates an issue near and dear to all our hearts; the lack of a transparent process for developing our army of youngbloods.
Frustration has long since peaked among fans. Hero ball combined with often indifferent defense and lazy/non-existent rebounding is what we're coming to expect. We all understand this is year one of the rebuild, and Nick Young's growth is the exception to the rule troubling many. Where's the beef? And by beef, I mean meaningful player growth. And by meaningful player growth, I mean why is Andray Baltche [sic] still jacking up 20 foot fadeaways in iso and combining with Javale McGee for five rebounds? Aren't they our starting frontcourt?
We've heard from the organization that the coaches have established the metrics and the players are aware of them, but a line has been crossed. We'll put up with the frustration so long as our players are showing progress. The problem is that too many guys are doing the same things, and the metrics we've been told exist seem more like a fantasy. We've had enough.
Transparency is one of the bywords of the new Washington franchise under Ted Leonsis. That is exactly what we are looking for following this trade. There's an open question as to just what it is we are entitled to, as fans. As fans of a rebuilding franchise, we understand winning now is not the priority. But what the Wizards organization has shown us so far this year does little to inspire hope that they can foster meaningful development in the assets we have, and have acquired from Atlanta.
Ted, let us know what you're doing. We know the published tenets of the rebuilding plan and we know young guys need time to learn. But the total collapse of effort displayed on a routine basis with mere lip service given to its solution is no longer acceptable to the people who love this team. I demand accountability.
Maybe I'm overreacting to the recent blowouts. With the trade deadline past, maybe things will settle down. If I suffered through the last few years I can make it through this. But give me a reason to believe that this trade is going to mean something more than having a few more young guys buried on the bench while the no effort guys continue getting burn.
In essence, I feel the department of player development has become a joke. The lack of effort has been going on for weeks, has been acknowledged for weeks, and it looks like nothing is happening or no one is learning. After all, John Wall played 43 minutes in a blowout loss. I'm just one more voice on the internet more patient than most, and easy to ignore. But when John Wall is openly disgusted with the effort around him, isn't something going to happen?
P.S. I would even settle for a picture of Andray Blatche placing household tools on his head with Flip Saunders pointing in the background, captioned, "When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you will head off your foes with a balanced attack." In the words of another great man, "Throw me a frickin' bone, here."