UPDATE #11: Lots of things were said and talked about a media day, but one thing will remain unanswered: Why was Marcin Gortat wearing an Abraham Lincoln hat?
.@nbilka and I did our best to chase down Marcin Gortat wearing an Abe Lincoln hat. This is the best I could do pic.twitter.com/MQSKt2RE9E
— Umair Khan (@UKhanNBA) September 29, 2014
UPDATE #10: Seeing STOCKTON 12 on a Wizards jersey is FAR weirder than seeing Pierce in a Wizards jersey, at least to us.
A Stockton wearing a Wizards jersey pic.twitter.com/WIYvfbPlXC
— Umair Khan (@UKhanNBA) September 29, 2014
UPDATE #9: John Wall just got done talking with reporters and he dropped a few interesting nuggets:
Wall was on a low-carb diet this summer. Looks slim and ready to go.
— Ben M (@BenMehicNBA) September 29, 2014
John Wall posing for camera and admits to not being able to spin ball on his finger #WizardsMediaDay https://t.co/YwIwh8zp6A
— Hoop District (@HoopDistrictDC) September 29, 2014
John Wall says Paul Pierce has been telling him and Brad to get to the FT line more this year
— Umair Khan (@UKhanNBA) September 29, 2014
He also took a selfie with Paul Pierce and it's all kinds of weird.
"Smoove. " - @JohnWall #WizMediaDay #dcRising pic.twitter.com/U1gCylzVm9
— Monumental Network (@MonumentalNtwrk) September 29, 2014
At the end of his interview, Paul Pierce bailed Wall out to take more pictures:
UPDATE #8: Bradley Beal understands how to respect his elders:
BB-Doesn't know how old Pierce is-"doesn't dare ask him"
— N. Bilka (@nbilka) September 29, 2014
UPDATE #7: Who is going to replace Trevor Ariza as the Wizards' defensive stopper on the perimeter? According to Marcin Gortat, the answer could be...Glen Rice Jr.
Gortat is a huge fan of Glen Rice Jr. Thinks he's a guy who can step into the Ariza role if he gets the playing time
— Umair Khan (@UKhanNBA) September 29, 2014
UPDATE #6: Martell Webster continues to be vague about when he'll return from back surgery, but this is encouraging.
"I don't have a particular date. I just know I'm ahead of schedule" Martell on his timetable to return
— Wiz of Awes (@WizOfAwes) September 29, 2014
He was initially supposed to miss 3-5 months as of late June. Ahead of that schedule would mean Webster is healthy now ... so that's obviously not what he means. But maybe he plays sooner in the season than we think.
UPDATE #5: Paul Pierce is actually a freakin' Washington Wizard, people.
Pierce in the media scrum.... pic.twitter.com/vg9ebwXCVh
— WizardsXTRA (@WizardsXTRA) September 29, 2014
PP-"we need to establish home court dominance" re-Otto-"he can be a star in this league,sky is the limit""not just blowing smoke up his ass"
— N. Bilka (@nbilka) September 29, 2014
"This is becoming a destination" The Truth on the Wizards.
— Wiz of Awes (@WizOfAwes) September 29, 2014
"I haven't played on the White House court yet" Paul Pierce.
— Wiz of Awes (@WizOfAwes) September 29, 2014
"John and Brad are the engine that's going to drive this thing." - Pierce
— WizardsXTRA (@WizardsXTRA) September 29, 2014
UPDATE #4: It's not truly Media Day until Marcin Gortat and Nene have done something silly together.
#RelationshipGoals. #Wizards. pic.twitter.com/rIUlYlPTGq
— Conor Dirks (@ConorDDirks) September 29, 2014
UPDATE #3: Your prayers have been answered. Here's Otto Porter with muscles!
Otto flips the script pic.twitter.com/R1SCGl8Man
— Oz (@OBtoojiveforyou) September 29, 2014
UPDATE #2: Why don't we just rename the Wizards the Mohawks?
Wizards Mohawks: who wore it better? pic.twitter.com/0aVHytqjm2
— Sarah Kogod (@SarahKogod) September 29, 2014
The only correct answer to that question is Martell Webster. But for what it's worth, according to Marcin Gortat, he is sexual white chocolate and Webster sexual black chocolate. The more you know.
UPDATE #1: Apparently Drew Gooden's jersey will now read 'GOODEN III' on the back.
Looks like @DrewGooden will be going with the #DGIII look this year #WizardsMediaDaypic.twitter.com/yPOqY6SvoV
— Hoop District (@HoopDistrictDC) September 29, 2014
In other jersey news, DeJuan Blair will be wearing #45 this year, just like he did in San Antonio and Dallas. This is notable because it's the first time the team has issued #45 since Phil Chenier played with the Bullets.
(Pic via J. Michael of CSN Washington)
And here's Paul Pierce in his Wizards jersey, because we like showing you things that are still very weird.:
He's actually here pic.twitter.com/pc5RJ86N1A
— Umair Khan (@UKhanNBA) September 29, 2014
***
It's here. Media day! The season! That loooooooooong offseason that wasn't actually that long is finally over. It's time for one of the most heavily-anticipated Wizards seasons to get underway. Media day begins at 11 a.m. and will run until the early afternoon.
We're going to use this open thread to post in any interesting tidbits we see throughout the day. Nick and Umair will be in attendance in D.C., as will SB Nation featured writer Sarah Kogod. These are the folks to follow if you enjoy Twitter:
Our Twitter: @BulletsForever
Umair Khan, Bullets Forever: @UKhanNBA
Nick Bilka, Bullets Forever: @nbilka
Sarah Kogod, SBNation.com: @SarahKogod
Washington Wizards official: @WashWizards
Jorge Castillo, Washington Post: @jorgeccastillo
Michael Lee, Washington Post: @MrMichaelLee
Dan Steinberg, Washington Post: @dcsportsbog
J Michael, CSN Washington: @JMichaelCSN
Steve Buckhantz, CSN Washington: @SteveBuckhantz
Kyle Weidie, Truth About It: @Truth_About_It
Adam McGinnis, Truth About It: @adammcginnis
Hoop District D.C.: @hoopdistrictdc
WizardsXtra: @WizardsXtra
If you're not Twitter inclined, Amin, Jake and I will drop in insights throughout the day. Then, Nick and Umair will have much more in the coming 24 hours or so.
It's happening, y'all.