Help us, Obi-Wan Leonsis. You’re our only hope…
If you weren’t totally lost in “Strasburg Mania” yesterday, you might have noticed that the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Washington Wizards to Ted Leonsis. Many fans are already having visions of a Capitals-like resurgence for the Wizards. “Teddy AOL” has proven that the Force is with him by using his Jedi mind tricks to win the NBA draft lottery. So what’s next?
Obviously the first step will be using the number one pick on University of Kentucky phenom John Wall. Wizards head coach Flip Saunders has been quoted as saying that Wall could “revolutionize” the point guard position, but I’m sure most Wizards fans would settle for a perennial All-Star and a title or two. Either way, the Wizards will be getting a guy that has “franchise cornerstone” written all over him. The steps after that aren’t so clear.
How long will Ernie Grunfeld remain with the organization? Many fans would like to see him replaced as soon as possible, while others (including myself) consider his impact in Washington to have been a net positive and think he deserves a chance to be a part of the rebuilding process. Of course the opinion that matters most is that of Leonsis. He still employs the Capitals GM that was in place when he acquired that franchise, so that would suggest that he likes continuity during ownership transfers. And since we’re so close to the draft and the subsequent free agency period, it definitely makes sense for Ernie to lead those efforts.
There is also a question of how to use the team’s impending cap space. The moves the Wizards made at the trade deadline have opened up a large amount of available money. Do they spend it on free agents, even though they are rebuilding? Ted has said that he would like to acquire more first round picks, and cap space can be useful in that respect. Many NBA teams fear paying the luxury tax and thus are willing to give up first round picks as compensation for under-the-cap teams taking salary off their hands. Some teams simply sell their picks outright for cash. I would fully expect the Wizards to use those strategies to acquire at least one more first round pick, if not more. I also expect them to be active in free agency because they have to fill out their roster, but I don’t see them offering very many longterm deals.
The biggest question is what happens to Gilbert Arenas? When the gun incident went down last fall, I immediately wanted Gilbert off the team. I would have wanted them to trade him for a bag of Doritos and a leftover ham sandwich if that was all they could get for him. But since then, I’ve really softened my stance. I’m still a bit wary, but the prospect of a reformed Arenas playing next to John Wall is very tantalizing. Gil can finally play off the ball and focus on scoring instead of getting other guys involved. I also think Arenas hurts the team less when he defends shooting guards. Yes, he’s too short to effectively contest the shots of bigger guards, but I’d rather have that than what we’ve had previously from Arenas - an open lane to the basket for every point guard in the league. And even if it doesn’t work out with Wall and Arenas, you probably still have to give Gil the chance to show that he’s healthy and can still play before you can get another team to agree to trade anything of value for him.
With the offseason mere weeks away, we don’t have very long to wait before these and other questions begin to be answered.
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“Gil can finally play off the ball and focus on scoring instead of getting other guys involved.” What? What! Since when has Arenas focused on anything else but scoring? When he’s on “defense,” and I use that crucial word only because there’s no other way to describe what he’s doing on the other side of halfcourt, you can see in his face that he’s only thinking about what his next shot is going to be. Defense has never been Gilbert’s strength and, for the last couple of years, defense hasn’t even been on the radar for the Wizards. It’s an overused cliche that “defense wins championships,” but it can’t be denied. A team can shoot the lights out and score 120 points, but if you can’t stop the opponent, eventually, they’ll lose the crucial games.
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, Gilbert has always been primarily a scorer. But he has had pressure to get other guys involved. He’s had incidents where he didn’t shoot for a game because people said he wasn’t passing enough. Most recently, he looked very passive at times this past season because he was trying to be Chauncey Billups in Flip’s offense. And throughout his time in Washington people from the media to fans have constantly debated whether he’s a really a point guard or not. So maybe he didn’t always play like a PG, but he certainly had the pressure to do so. Playing SG full-time would mean that he doesn’t have that pressure on him any more. That’s the point I was making.
Taking it a step further, playing point guard is more than just passing instead of shooting. You have to initiate the offense, get guys in the right place for the particular sets that you are running, and keep track of who’s getting the ball so that you can keep everybody happy. I have to think that for a natural scorer like Gil, having all that off his plate will be a relief. Think about Jason Terry. His career blossomed when he stopped being forced to play PG in Atlanta and was able to play off the ball full time in Dallas. Gil can do the same thing, just better.
As for your comments on defense, I agree with them 100%. Gilbert isn’t a good defensive player at either guard position. But as I said, I think he hurts the team less by guarding the other team’s off guard instead of their point guard. He’ll be going against guys who are used to getting shots for themselves, not creating shots for others. When Gil defends the point, he allows his man to get into the lane at will and that creates high percentage shots for guys who are secondary offensive options. I’d rather take my chances with him giving one guy an open look rather than letting the opponents PG get the entire team into a rhythm on offense.
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