SB Nation - Dee Brown

RaptorsHQ Talks with Dee Brown

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:23:35 -0000

Dee Brown talks to the media in his new role with the Springfield Armor.

Continuing our off-season interview series, RaptorsHQ's ace correspondent Ray Bala touches base with yet another Toronto Raptor alum, this time, former Slam Dunk Champ Dee Brown...

If you were to walk through the list of noteable ex-Raptors the list wouldn't be very long.

Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Charles Oakley, JYD, Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Alvin Williams, Dell Curry and Mo Pete would be among the notables but many forget some of the true stars of Toronto's first era of NBA ball.

That list would include names like Alvin Robertson and of course, Dee Brown.

RaptorsHQ's Ray Bala caught up with the former Dinos' 3-point specialist recently in his new role as coach and GM of the D-League's Springfield Armor...

Raptors HQ: I remember you as a rookie in the NBA and my favorite memory of you is the two-handed block you put on Larry Johnson in a game. I don't know if you remember that?

Dee Brown: (laughing) Yeah, I do remember that!

HQ: They call you for goaltending the play before, you came back and put a two handed block on LJ. That was insane. You were one of my favorite players from that point on. There is no way that someone six foot should be blocking someone with two hands that high!

DB: (Still laughing)

HQ: Now I want to first go into your affiliation with the Reebok Pump. Was the situation with the Pump at the Dunk Off, was that a conscious thing you did or was that something you were doing for the fans?

DB: I was doing it for the fans really. I was already a Reebok sponsored athlete so I wasn't trying to get a Reebok contract. It was something for the show. People like to see things like that, especially back then. I think I started the whole playing to the crowd more, getting people involved. People were excited about the dunk contest back then anyway, but to do something different was more the key (behind) doing that.

We still talk about it to this day because I kinda started what people call the shoe wars at that time. Nike was the big brand, Converse was kinda small. Once I did that, Reebok and Nike were the two top shoes. Obviously people were wearing Jordans at that time but people started wearing pumps at that time just because of the dunk contest and what I did.

HQ: That's an iconic image of you in the pose of the no-look dunk. Were you ever scared during the moment?

DB: Naw, I was scared I was going to hit the backboard! I had never tried that dunk before and it was the first time I ever did it. I made it up on the spot so it wasn't like I practiced the dunk. I didn't know what to expect. I was either going to be the hero, win the contest and talk about it twenty years later or be remembered as "that guy who tried to do that dunk without looking and hit the side of the backboard and almost broke his neck." One way or the other, we would have been talking about it so I'm glad I made the dunk so we could talk about in a positive way and be something iconic, and not be a joke!

HQ: Wow. It just floored me that you never tried that dunk until that night.

DB: I had no clue. I was making up that dunk when I was running from half court to about the free-throw line. I was making it up as I went along. I had no clue I was going to do that dunk. I just wanted to do a signature dunk that someone would remember me by. People remember dunks from all the other players in the past: Michael Jordan taking off from the free throw line, Dominique Wilkins with his windmill power dunk and me with the no-look.

HQ: I have a whole new respect for you now ha ha. Now getting into your basketball career, how was it going from college to the Boston Celtics?

DB: It was easy! That was the best part. I was young and that was the first time I'd ever left Jacksonville for an extended period of time, first time I'd seen snow, having the opportunity to play for the most storied franchise in basketball history. Also playing with Hall of Famers, being around Hall of Famers on a daily basis like Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy, Casey Jones, these guys were at practice every day. It was good for a young player because you respected the game a little more. You didn't feel you were entitled to be there because these guys were champions. The team had won three championships at that time (in the 80s). They were some of the best players (in the league) and they were mature. It put it in perspective that I had no excuses. I had to work hard, be the first one to practice and the last one to leave. It was a good experience as a young player to realize that so early in my career.

I feel that experience has helped keep me in the league so long just because I got to see those guys and their work ethic and the way they presented themselves in the public, they way they treated the fans. You appreciated just being there. I couldn't have asked for a better situation for me.

HQ: Was there any kind of shock when you got there?

DB: Well, it was cold! And the other shock was how much the fans knew about basketball. Culturally, it was the big city. But to me, it was the fans being so knowledgable about the game and really living and dying with what we did every game. That's how serious it was down there! I mean you can't duplicate that kind love and passion for the game.

HQ: Since you were in Boston for so long, was the trade to Toronto a shock to you?

DB: It's always a shock when you're traded, but with all the stuff that was going on in Boston at the time with Rick Pitino there, I guess it made sense as he was trying to transition from the "older Celtics guys". I was really the last link to all the great years, playing with Larry, Kevin and Chief. I was the last old soldier and you get the feeling that you're not going to be around just because he was going in a different direction with the basketball team. He wanted to move away from the Celtics' past and he wanted to build his own team from scratch. I wasn't shocked, but I wasn't surprised.

HQ: How did you feel when you found out you were traded to Toronto?

DB: When I found out I was being traded to Toronto I was excited. Again, you're disappointed because you always think that you'll be with the same team forever but once I was traded, I was really excited. I saw the city, I had played there before, I knew the fans were excited about basketball. I saw it as a new challenge and opportunity to get this team to the playoffs. I came right in when I got traded and became captain just because of my background and what I'd done in Boston. It was an honor that they felt that from day one I was a leader.

HQ: Now when you came over, you were already a veteran player with experiences in the league. Were there any rookies that you gravitated towards to mentor?

DB: The main guy was Tracy McGrady because he was a Florida guy. He was a guy I wanted to get under my wing real quick and mentor him. Now the other guy who wasn't there long enough was Chauncey Billups who came over with me in the trade. Now you're talking about two of the top young guys in the game under your wing! It was more Tracy because he was just outta high school, he needed more guidance. People were being really hard on high school guys coming up at that time. I just had to let him know that it's a process, you got to put in a lot of work, you go to spend a lot of time in the summer getting better and we did that together. I was his big brother for about two years and we did everything together. It wasn't an accident when you saw his game evolve. He was eighteen years old, I was twenty eight. My experience playing in the playoffs, coming from that storied environment, I wanted to give him some of that.

HQ: Now as a Raptor what was your favorite memory on the court?

DB: I have a lot of them really but I think opening up the new building was my favorite. It really showed the city that we're really playing basketball. Once we opened up the Air Canada Center I think it was the best memory because all of a sudden you feel like a real franchise. Before that you're practicing at a local college and you're playing in the the Skydome. NBA teams don't do that! NBA teams have their own arena. Once that happened and the ownership group did that, you now felt you were a part of the future. You're there when all the good stuff for Toronto was about to happen. And it did. We got to the Play Offs for the first time (that season). We beat some good teams. People were getting excited about the team. I think with the new building opened, you felt you were in at the new beginning of a promising franchise.

HQ: Great. Then what was your favorite off court memory as a Raptor?

DB: I just think the city, just being in the city. I tell people that if you take away a lot of the crime and the trash in New York, you have Toronto. It's a beautiful city and it's got everything. It was just so relaxing. As a basketball player, you could fit in anywhere there. I could go to different restaurants, going down Bloor St shopping, on Yonge St just hangin' around when the weather's nice or cold. This is a major metropolitan city, the New York of Canada. It was great! You never heard of guys getting in trouble in Toronto because it wasn't that serious (of an environment). People were just trying to have a good time. I loved that off the court because I always felt I could go anywhere and there was always support for you.

HQ: There has always been a stigma in the NBA about coming to Toronto. Was there that same feeling when you were traded?

DB: It was that in the beginning more because it was an expansion team. No one wants to play on a bad team. And I like I said there were no basketball facilities so players didn't feel that they were playing on an NBA team. Players also talked about the taxes but that was overblown a little. But when you start putting talented people together and start winning games the whole demeanor changes. When guys like myself, Antonio Davis, Charles Oakley, Kevin Willis, guys like that start coming to Toronto and start saying "You're missing something up here" then the mood changed. It only happens when you have talented players and you're winning games and I think that's what we did. We changed the whole mindset of what Toronto basketball was.

HQ: Who was your favorite Raptor teammate?

DB: I think my favorite Raptor teammate was Charles Oakley because he was so down for the team. He was veteran who played on great teams. He played in New York so he understood the big city mentality. I think he was a guy that was also very professional off the court. I think he brought a lot of attention to Toronto. With him saying that this place is a great place to be, a great place to play, he brought a lot of credibility to the city.

I also really enjoyed playing with Doug Christie. Obviously, people have different stories about Doug, but as a basketball player and teammate, he worked hard, he did whatever he had to do for the franchise. He was one of the best on-the-ball defenders I've ever seen. He also really cared about the city of Toronto and establishing it as a really good franchise.

HQ: Had you always thought about going into the front office or coaching after your retired from playing?

DB: Everybody said that when I was playing "You'll probably end up as a coach sometime". Being a point guard, you're a coach on the floor. Front office guys are very cerebral, and that's me too. Once I retired, people knew that was what I was going to do, either in the front offices or in an environment where I was helping to make players better. I kinda got involved with all of that stuff right after I got done so it was a smooth transition.

I didn't retire because I couldn't play anymore. I retired because the grind of the season kinda wears you down, your body. And mentally if you don't have the passion to do it every day, you're cheating the game. I never wanted to cheat the game. I could never cheat the game that way and be the player that plays for a pay check. I left for that reason not because I wasn't good enough to make a team. I left a contract on the table but that was the decision that I wanted to do.

HQ: Now when you retired, did you want to get into coaching right away?

DB: No, I didn't. It would have been the same grind (of a season), only in a different side of the basketball. It was never about trying to get right into coaching. It was more about learning the other side of the game. I wanted to learn the business of basketball. I understood the playing part, I wanted to learn what we as players take for granted. I wanted to get more involved in understanding that.

HQ: So when you retired, were you looking for that front office position so you could begin the learning process?

DB: As soon as I retired I got offered it. I was with the Magic when I retired so they said they still wanted me around. They felt I had enough knowledge to help with players and the organization. So I retired on a Monday and Friday I got the job.

HQ: From that point on, you've been with several organizations. How was the transition from playing to front office as you got more responsibility over time in your vasious positions?

DB: It was work! You find out how hard people work behind the scenes. Like I said, we take for granted as players that we come to the games and people show up. We don't know about marketing dollars, people in the community selling tickets, corporate sponsorships. You see that and you appreciate a little more about what people do in the front office. It was a lot of work, being on the phone, going to various events, speaking to different groups. Being more hands-on with the fans being in these different positions, you have to step out of your comfort zone. You understood that there was a lot of time and effort given for the things you took for granted.

HQ: You also did a stint in broadcasting since you've ended you playing days. Do you still work in that field?

DB: No not really. ESPN will call me to do some guest work occasionally. I worked on Full Court Press for two and half years after I won Dream Job and it was fun. It was another avenue that I ventured into. Like I've said, I touched on every part of what you can do in basketball; player, coach, executive, radio and TV, general manager. I kinda got a look at every angle of what professional sport is like on the basketball side. After I did ESPN, I went to Sirius Satellite Radio and did a daily radio show for an entire season and that was fun. Radio is easier than TV because you can do radio anywhere. TV is a little more demanding. You may be there for four hours to do a fifteen or twenty second hit and you're done for the day. But you're standing around there because you gotta make sure you got your facts, do your research, watch all the games so it's a little more time-consuming doing TV. But obviously the face value you can't beat being on ESPN having your face plastered all over the country. In radio you don't really get that same look.

In the summer time, I did some shows like City Slam things that really didn't have to do with NBA but was just basketball related that was off-the-cuff stuff that was fun. I've done it all and it was a good experience because you get a chance to see and present yourself to different people in different ways where they say "Wow, he's not only a good basketball player but his also talented too."

HQ: Now can you give us an idea of Edge Basketball. Do you still work with the program?

DB: I'm still working with it. I'm still doing high end, elite training for elementary, middle school, high school players. Obviously a lot of the top pro players in the area train with me like Grant Hill, DeShawn Stevenson, guys like that. But our core is the middle school, high school kids. Once I had the time to put in to making people better because I felt that so many people that gave me the information to me when I was younger, put the time into me, that was my hands on giving back. Not just doing a basketball camp once a summer, it's doing it on daily basis year round to me brings more value to the kids because they know that they always have a place to get better.

Playing games don't make you better, it's what you do before and after the games that make you the difference. That's what I heard and saw when I got with the Celtics as a rookie. Larry Bird didn't get better during the games. He was working three hours before practice and didn't leave until three hours after (practice). You're talking about one of the best players to ever play the game who was always the first there, even late in his career. I realized that at an early age in my professional life, but I understood that before I even got to the NBA because that's how I became better. I wasn't a highly recruited guy, I wasn't a big time All-American coming out of college or in high school. I just worked hard and made sure that I was a very skilled player when opportunity came. And that's what we try to relay to the kids. We never tell a kid that walks in the door that this will get you a college scholarship or get you to the NBA or WNBA. What it will do is make you a better player than you were before and give yourself an opportunity to reach what you want to become, depending on what you put into it.

HQ: Have you noticed any players that have blossomed into elite level players who have been with the program?

DB: Yeah, we have Ashley Jones who was Miss Basketball in Florida who's now a freshman at Mississippi State. A kid that goes to Ole Miss named Chris Warren, a great young player that has put his time in. My daughter, she's rated as one of the top ninth graders in Florida. For selfish reasons, the facility was built for her so she can get better really. But again the success is not these big time kids, the success is the kid that didn't make the team in ninth grade but made it in tenth grade, the kid that went from sixth man to a starter. The success stories are the kids that were at one place the year before and after training and putting in time and effort they achieved that goal that they thought they couldn't get to.

HQ: Congratulations on being the first coach and GM of the Springfield Armor. As an exec and coach, how much have you done with the new franchise so far?

DB: We've got a lot of stuff on the business side to do. We're trying to get staff together, ticket sales, corporate sales, getting into the community, find a practice facility, find trainers, everything. We're really just trying getting into the basketball side now with trying to get players, put together the tryouts, get prepared for the draft in November. There's about 70 days before our first game and we're an expansion franchise so we're starting from scratch.

HQ: How has the process been for you so far?

DB: It's been good! I've sat in the front office before. I've coached in the WNBA and I've also ran the basketball side of that. It's nothing new, just a different environment. It's still exciting ‘cause your starting from the ground up and that's the good part.

I run the whole basketball side, the general manager handles the business side. Anything to do with the team, the players, trades and acquiring players is my responsibility. Being in that situation before when I was in the front office of the Magic doing different things from director of player development to being an assistant to the general manager and on the WNBA side being a head coach and general manager you kinda know both sides. It makes it easier for me because I understand all the different entities when you're trying to start a team.

HQ: My final question for you is what's next for Dee Brown?

DB: I'm just here (in Springfield). My job is to make Springfield the best D-League team in the world, win a championship, and give all these young guys a platform to get to where I've been. It's all about these young guys who are trying to get to where I've been before. I can give them some insight, some knowledge, put them in position on the court to be better players so they can get there and stay there. Where ever this leads me after that I'll see but this is my focus right now.

HQ: Thanks for your time Dee and best of luck both in Springfield and down the road wherever your basketball journey takes you.

Daily Links 9/3

FLCeltsFan — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:07:59 -0000

Herald     Siena standout remains with Miami Heat
Mikki Moore heads west
Tracked Down: Vanna White, Jennifer Garner, Paul Pierce & more...
Globe   Kedrick Brown among Red Claws' picks
NESN   Former Celtic Dee Brown to Coach in the D-League
Marquis Daniels Already Proven to Be a Team Player for Celtics
Enterprise    Ainge has rebuilt beast of the East

CelticsBlog    Regaining the Gold
Over/Under 57 Wins
LOY's Place    In the Books - Second Wind: Memoirs of an Opinionated Man Part 6
Tigers and Sugar Ray and Tweets, Oh My!
Celtics Town    Seven Pressing Questions for the Boston Celtics Entering 2009-2010
Looking Back At P.J. Brown
Commercial Appeal   Tree Rollins assisting Griz, more Rudy, etc...
RealGM Arroyo Wishes He Handled Things With Sloan Differently
20 Second Timeout    Lindy's Pro Basketball 2009-10 Examines Shaq-LeBron Duo, Nash's Legacy, Tex Winter's Influence on Phil Jackson
Washington Post    You Asked, I'll Answer (Part III)
ESPN     NBA Summer Forecast: East standings
Red's Army     It's Laker-hating time on The Two Man Game
2006-07 Celtics Were Bad, But Not The Worst
The new Converse Weapon
Celtics Hub      A Word on the Grand Marquis’ PG Abilities
Lex Nihil Novi     Typical Cowens
Walton: "Celtic Pride is the Sweat and Blood You Leave on the Floor and ...Walton: "Celtic Pride is the Sweat and Blood You Leave on the Floor and ...
Hondo: "There's Never Been a Celtic Who Wanted to Win More than Cowens"
Red: The Last Interview
My Second Favorite Player Ever
Bob Cousy at Holy Cross
Green Nation What Eddie House Brings
HoopsHype     NBA Rumors September 3
Pacers Pulse    Marquis Daniels signs with Celtics
NBA Obsessed     Boston Celtics sign Daniels
T. Jose Caldesports     Bosh vs Garnett - A Player Comparison
Dimemag     Random Question of the Day
5 power forwards to watch for 2009-10
The Philippines Is The NBA’s Next Frontier
Smith Television    The Story of Rajon Rondo
Golden State of Mind     Around the Association: 2009-2010 Boston Celtics- Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Dueling Couches    Marquis Daniels Injury Update
Press Herald     Red Claws seeking a grasp on their roster at draft
WMTW     Red Claws Select 10 In Expansion Draft -
Hoop Doctors    Happy 61st Birthday Nate "Tiny" Archibald
Hoopsvibe    If Cleveland wins the chip this season..

Daily Links 7/30

FLCeltsFan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:45:35 -0000

Herald Jayson Williams due in court on assault charge
Trail Blazers won’t play preseason game in NBA-less Seattle after all
Chris Paul headed back to China as basketball ambassador
Vince Carter likes Orlando Magic’s chances next year

CelticsBlog     The Challenge Of Trading Big Baby
LOY's Place    Random Thoughts on Random Things
Red's Army    Is Everyone Overrating Lamar Odom?
I'm sick of waiting for Marquis Daniels
Celtics Hub    Read and React
A Brief Statistical Appreciation of Walter Ray
Celtics Circuit    Ads on Practice Jerseys?
Deciphering Rasheed Wallace
Celtics Town    Larry Bird, A Child's Idol
CT News    UConn’s Marcus Williams Signs with Memphis
Fernsten's Follies     Gabe Pruitt Doesn't Get Any Respect
Gabe Pruitt Doesn't Get Any Respect
League Consensus: Odomless Lakers would be Vulnerable
Lex Nihil Novi     1986 Lite?
Celtics Down Waltonless Clippers (81-82)
Savannah Now   NBA Arms Race
ESPN    Pay Them By the Made Free Throw
Hoopsworld     Ranking the Eastern Conference
Average Bro    The Rise Of The NBA SuperTeam.
Dimemag    Hawks, Hornets trying to move on up; plus Steve Nash’s shot at L.A.
NBA.com    Five teams that could be headed for a fall
Al Jefferson to Hold Charity Youth Basketball Camp
Chronicle    Cavaliers release Tarence Kinsey
Detroit News    Face it: Rasheed Wallace was unorthodox, but he delivered
Inside Hoops     NBA Rumors - Thursday
Indy Star    The pressure is on you now
AZ Central    Q&A: Former Highland guard Austin Ainge
HoopsAddict    LeBron James Alienating People To Protect His Precious Image
NBA Clip KEVIN GARNETT - From Timberwolves to Celtics - Road to Glory
Scores Report    2009 NBA Free Agency: Who’s left?
Peach Tree Hoops    A Josh Childress interview that makes snarkiness difficult to avoid
NOLA   New Orleans Hornets sign free-agent forward Ike Diogu
NBA Musings    will live streaming be the downfall of civilization?
USA Today    76ers' Brand puts injuries behind him
Sun Sentinel    A logical endgame: Udonis for Lamar
BareKnucks    Ray Allen used to be a likeable guy, now no one can stand him in Boston
NY Daily News    Brooklyn's Jamaal Tinsley willing to play for Knicks at Garden for less
Dueling Couches    Brandon Jennings Goes The Glen Davis Route
Pruitt To Be Traded Or Waived
Bleacher Report    Who Will Have the Larry O'Brien Trophy Come June?
Ball Don't Lie    A quick look through Kendrick Perkins' photo album
Report: Cavs to open season against Celtics; face Lakers on Xmas
FanHouse    Nash Has Shaq's Back, Now That He's With Cavs
SI.com    Bulls place faith in Luol Deng, current roster for next season
Tiger Weekly   NBA Offseason: Winners, losers and those in-between -
Star Tribune    Would Stephon Marbury’s pain make you feel better?
Love Tripper    Celtics Star Kendrick Perkins' Wedding
Hoop Doctors   The 10 Best NBA Players Under Age 23 - Part One
Mass Live    Years with Boston Celtics help mold Springfield Armor coach Dee Brown
Boston Man Cave    Star, Buried

Daily Links 7/29

FLCeltsFan — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:21:14 -0000

Herald     Bucks excited to have Brandon Jennings signed
Bobcats, Hornets complete Okafor-Chandler deal
Globe    Guard Gabe Pruitt’s time with Celtics may be nearing an end
CT News   Celtics Role Player Bids Require Patience
Projo   Report: Nets eying deal for Celts' free agent 'Big Baby'

CelticsBlog    Twitterizing The Links
Gabe Pruitt Is Just About Done Here
LOY's Place     A Look Back at 22 Years of Futility
Celtics 17    NBA News and Notes
ESPN    NBA always keeps you on your toes
A 'Band-Aid' for the NBA offseason
Red's Army    Rajon Rondo: role model
We Read Bill Simmons, So You Don't Have To
We read Charley Rosen so you don't have to
Celtics Circuit    Pruitt May Be Done in Boston
Rambling About the Latest Headlines
Celtics Hub    Finding a PG to fit the new look bench
Celtics Town    Kevin Garnett, Overrated?
Gabe Pruitt Likely a Goner
Fernsten's Follies    Your Daily L.O. Ration
Plans B & C Not Good Options if Lamar Bolts
Nash Bitter about Gasol Deal
Lex Nihil Novi    Secrecy Shrouds Derek Smith Audition (90-91)
Celtics Fall to Suns (81-82)
Artest and the Triangle
Inside Hoops     NBA Rumors - Wednesday
Cavalier Attitude    A Look At The Cavs "New And Improved" Roster
Loud City    Some Big Name Free Agents Still Out There
NBA Games     The Celtics Catch a Glimpse of Their Future
Huntington News    Lewis’ death still has impact
Sporting News    NBA Off Season
Mass Live   Springfield Armor name former Boston Celtics player Dee Brown head coach
Green Street    Starbury TV: Ballet, Bottled Water and Vaseline
WVBR    NBA Summer Transactions Part 1
Don't Know 3     For Boston Celtics to Have A Chance At Championship This Is The Ray Allen They Need!
WEEI      Rondo Leading by Example
Hoopshype     Steph overload
NBA Musings     sorry ladies, perk is off the market (and other musings)
Sports News     In the market: Indiana adds depth by signing ex-Thunder point guard Earl Watson
Lakers Blog   Kurt Rambis feeling Minnesota?
Slam Online     Celtics Working to Acquire Marquis Daniels
Examiner    Celtics weighing their options for Daniels and Baby
NESN    Lakers the Vegas Favorites to Win Championship, Celtics Just Behind
What's Holding Up the Deal for Marquis Daniels?
LA Times    Stephon Marbury streams 24-hour meltdown live on the Internet
My San Antonio Ratliff hopes quest for ring ends with Spurs
High School Hoop    This is Sick - High School Highlights of Kevin Garnett
Wages of Wins    The Underrated in 2008-09
Sports Doing Good    Maine Basketball Managers To Be Honored In Boston
Hoopsworld    NBA PM: State Of Restriction
Need4Sheed    No Shooting Allowed at The Pistons Practice Facility
Scores Report     The latest on the Lamar Odom saga
8 Points, 9 Seconds    Talking About Pacers: July 29, 2009

Coaled-blooded Roger Mason Delivers Win For Spurs in Phoenix

Mike Lisboa — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:18:37 -0000

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

That was a really good game. As much as the loss left me feeling a bit gut shot, I liked a lot of what I saw. And for the record, I sadly called this in my Christmas poem with the line, "J-Rich needs to find his man on rotation." I do not like being prescient.

What I liked:

Energy - The 9-0 start was nice and featured some excellent ball movement. And, to mixed effect, there were lots of bodies flying around on defense. The guys came to play.

Shaq-a-Claus: The Big Santa set the tone early on both ends of the floor. He used his size to make life miserable for Tim Duncan (drawing several fouls in the process) on the offensive end and made him settle for jumpers on the defense (jumpers, sadly, that kept going in).

Amare Pays Attention - It's sad that Amare having is head in the game is something to get excited about, but he seemed completely present, if not dominant, throughout the game. Seems kind of odd to complain about focus and consistency from a guy who has record 20 or more points in the last 11 games (tying Dirk Nowitzki for longest active streak in the NBA) AND led the team in rebounding for the last 8 games, but sometimes he just doesn't seem like he's into it. Sharing balls with Shaq does that to you, I suppose.

Clearing the Glass: As poorly as Robin and Sweet Lou rebounded, the rest of the Suns were emphatic about getting to the glass. Matt Barnes and JSun Richard Sun were all over the boards and that translated to a 50-43 Suns edge.

What I didn't like:

Steve Nash and Grant Hill on the bench: Please, Dee Brown, be ready to run this offense soon. Very soon. Like before this game. The Suns are simply lost without Nash on the offensive end. And when Porter chooses to rest Hill at the same time, well, good luck finding a Suns point. Dee Brown can't suit up soon enough and the bar is slow, he should impress quickly.

Big Guys off the Bench: Sweet Lou rocked and incredible 4 TRILLION. Robin Lopez was good for 2 rebounds, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in his 8 minutes. For the first time since the trade, I miss Boris Diaw.

Not Exploiting Matt Bonner: I know Porter wanted to get Shaq going early versus Timmy, but why wasn't every offensive play of the first quarter going through Amare Stoudemire? Bonner can't keep up with Amare.

Turnovers: 14 to 6. 'Nuff said.

Cold Wings: Barbosa and Barnes combine to go 1-10 from the field? That's not going to win too many games. Barnesy at least got after the glass and finished with 7 boards.

Rotation, rotation, rotation: There's some work to be done on the defensive end. While the Suns looked good and high energy, some of that "flying around" was due to blown assignments.

Overall, there was a lot to like about this game. The Suns showed grit when the Spurs fought there way back into it. They demonstrated a consistency of effort that's been lacking and seemed focused throughout the game. At the end of the day, though, Pop AGAIN demonstrated himself to be the master of the mid-game adjustment. Nash's playmaking ability was basically nullified after the first quarter and while Amare ended up with 25 points, he was unable to assert himself against Kurt Thomas and Tim Duncan down the stretch. Also, I hope one of the skills Dee Brown brings to the table is the ability to keep Tony Parker in front of him

Yes, it sucks to lose to the Spurs yet again. However, I think the Suns are moving in the right direction. This squad is looking more cohesive with each game. And with a little more integration, J-Rich doesn't leave the 48% 3-point shooter alone in the corner the next time these teams meet. I just hope these Suns take this as "just a bad loss", instead of as a reason to give up hope.

Here's the post-game audio courtesy of Sports 620 KTAR.

And in other Suns news, Alando Tucker is going to the D-League for a rehab assignment and poor Goran will be following shortly behind (thanks, Phoenix Stan!).

Suns sign Dee Brown

Phoenix Stan — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:36:31 -0000

As rumored and preferred by this site's readers, the Suns have signed point guard Dee Brown to a non-guaranteed contract. In the process, the average age of the Suns dropped by .4yrs to 28.

Dee Brown brings the Suns a solid work ethic and defensive tenacity along with reasonable NBA experience in Washington and Utah. Brown was drafted in the 2nd round in 2005 out of the University of Illinois. Illini fans seem to be thrilled with the pick:

Awesome news Dee!! He deserves to stick with them this time. Looking forward to watching his famous one man fast break in Phoenix!

The best part of the pick aside from having a guy that come in and log minutes at the point if Nash goes down will be listening to Eddie Johnson brag on his fellow Illini. You know we are in for a full on love fest from EJ.

Brown, despite what this picture might imply, brings a great reputation and was a fan favorite in Utah and Washington for his hustle and work ethic.

The Suns signing Dee to a non-guaranteed contract means they can release him before the January 10th deadline. Starting on the 5th teams can sign players to 10 day deals. So, this means the Suns might just release Dee before the 10th and resign him to one (or two) 10-day contracts if they aren't sure about him or more likely if they think they have a shot at Janero Pargo. If Dee remains on the Suns roster on this contract past the 10th he will likely finish out the season here.

Probably the happiest fan (outside the Illini alumni) is Mr. Cut Goran Dragic. It is hard to imagine that the Suns won't send Goran to the Iowa Energy to get some much needed minutes. As we've said, the Suns are far too invested in (and obligated to) Dragic to dump him.

Hopefully, getting minutes on a regular basis in the NBADL will help Goran figure out the US game and build his confidence. The Suns still believe in the kid and are saying that he's shooting well in practice and has great vision and with enough time will develop into...well, I don't think they are talking about him being the next Nash...but perhaps he can be a solid backup PG by next season.

You can drop Dee a line at his web site or myspace page. Send him a drink or flowers or whatever it is you kids do on myspace and welcome him to Phoenix.

Here's Dee's obligatory mix tube complete with his own special song.

Does' Amare have his own song?

Oh, yes he does!

Washington Wizards Game 16 Blog vs. Portland Trailblazers

Truth About It — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:09:28 -0000

photo source: flickr/buou

No sense in any theatrics....here's the deal.

Q1

11:02: Wiz run a clear out for Dee Brown, giving him the entire left side of the lane....easy drive for a layup on Steve Blake.

10:02: I'm thinking that Antawn Jamison will have his hands full with Aldridge tonight....who easily backs his way into the lane on AJ, but misses the short jumper in the paint...LaMarcus was unable to pay AJ back for the scoop shot he just hit on him.

9:49: Wiz go right back to AJ in the post against LaMarcus on the left block. Face up, mini pump fake, one dribble and righty hook-floater. 6-4 Wizards.

9:20: With Aldridge concerned about Dee Brown driving towards the middle off an AJ pick....Jamison fades past the 3-point line...open and easy kick back for the trey. 7 straight points for AJ. 9-6 Wiz.

9:03: This time, Portland isolates Oden against McGee on the right block...easy back down, fundamental pump fake, McGee bites....foul and two Oden FTs.

8:01: Dee Brown makes his first turnover in two games....Wiz breaking off a steal, looks like a three on two with McGee streaking down low, but Brown tries to hit DeShawn trailing and doesn't see a recovering Steve Blake.

7:30: With Blatche in for McGee, Portland goes to Oden again on the high left block....and the refs make a terrible foul citing Blatche for a foul. Not only did Andray not commit the harm, but Oden actually dipped his wing into him.

At least Andray is prepared for war with cotton already stuffed in his nose for some reason.

7:14: DeShawn Stevenson hits a step-back deuce on Blake....not really sure I like that shot from him, but the shot clock was down to 9 seconds. 11-9 Wiz.

4:41: Blazers almost get a second chance...Butler pays absolutely no attention to his man, Batum, going from the left corner all the way into the lane for an offensive board. Luckily, Jamison tips it away and the Wiz get the ball. Unluckily Dee Brown gets tripped up on the break and Oden ends up with a dunk. 13-11 Portland.

4:05: Dee Brown, aka Scrappy Doo, takes a charge...completely setting up Brandon Roy whose intentions were to drive and kick to Brown's man, Blake, in the corner.

3:49: Blatche makes a nice lengthy drive on Oden...if Greg is going to take advantage of his size, might as well exploit his lack of quickness. 15-13 Wizards.

3:01: Blatche hits a baseline jumper over Oden at about the DC logo....froze him with a jab-pump-jab combo...confident looking shot, funny how those go in more often for him. 17-15 Wiz.

2:34: Scrappy Doo slaps the ball out of Oden's hands, gets the ball from Blatche and breaks the length of the court of a layup.

Someone, Caron Butler, didn't realize that Travis Outlaw checked into the game. He's left wide open in the corner for a jumper after Brown's layup. 19-17 Wiz.

1:23: Wow...Andray Blatche fights for two consecutive offensive boards while the Blazers stand around like statues....something I'd expect Andray to be doing.

0:32: Etan checks in for Andray who'd picked up two fouls. Tapscott has used ten players so far....no AD, no D Mac, and no Dixon yet. Big Oily on the inactive tonight? Yep.

Steve Blake looks older and not so much like an alien anymore....kinda.

The Wiz hold strong to finish the first up 26-19. Portland committed 7 turnovers for the quarter, 3 of them by Brandon Roy. Props to Dee Brown for setting the tone with oodles of pressure on Steve Blake which hindered the Portland offense. The Blazers were only 8-15 from the field while the Wizards were 12-21.

Q2

Antonio Daniels, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire, Darius Songaila and Etan Thomas to start the 2nd.

Damn Rudy Fernandez looks familiar...I'm going with John Turturro. Rudy yo-yos with Nick Young, who appears to kinda give up on his defensive stance. Rudy takes a step and hits a wild floater that is probably routine for him.

9:50: Nick Young gets space because of Portland's zone and nails his 2nd trey of the match. 31-24 Wiz.

The Wiz are bumbling a bit on offense...and I really don't like this lineup. Jamison checks in at the 8:42 mark.

With Brown out, AD in (and Young for Stevenson in a certain sense when considering defense), Fernandez and Rodriguez are running the show and the Blazers are able to do a lot more of what they want on offense.

6:30: Case in point: Rodriguez easily drives on McGuire, Young turns his head away from Fernandez to help...while Rudy fades deeper into the right corner....easy pass, too much space, trey ball from Rudy. Tie game at 37. Six straight field goals for the Blazers.

5:50: Jamison's high double off an Aldridge ball screen leaves LaMarcus open to drain a FT line deuce....the Blazers are 9 of 10 in the 2nd quarter and have scored on 8 straight possessions. 41-39 Portland.

Portland continues their run as the lineup of Daniels, Young, Butler, Jamison and McGee can't find a rhythm on offense. 45-39 Blazers with 3:45 left.

With about a minute and a half left, the Blazers have 8 assists on their 10 FGs in the quarter. Does Dee Brown vs. Steve Blake in the first quarter really make that much of a difference? I'm sure the Blaze O is aided by the cold Wizards O as well.

0:51: Caron hits his first FG of the evening, 45-43 Portland...I guess it's a good sign that the Wiz are only down two with Butler's lack of production.

Wiz play good D at the end and DeShawn barely missed a long trey at the buzzer...the score is what it was, 45-43 at intermission.

Steve Buckhantz's interesting stat: Wiz outscoring Portland 24-14 in the paint, but have not attempted a free-throw.

Half Points:

Blaze: Oden 9, Outlaw 9, Aldridge 6, Roy 6, Fernandez 5
Wiz: Jamison 11, Young 8, Blatche 6, Stevenson 4, Brown 4

Keep reading for the rest.

Q3

11:49: Caron starts by hitting a mid-range baseline J over Batum.

Caron forces the issue from the opposite baseline the next time down the court. Batum plays great D and forces a travel. Caron needs to get that ball moving.

10:51: Steve Buckhantz calls Steve Blake "Stevie" how affectionate...Blake goes on to hit a trey. 48-45 Blazers.

9:56: Stevenson dribbles around and jacks up a three with 7 seconds left on the shot clock....again, no ball movement.

9:22: Wiz make about three passes past half court and Butler throws up a shot from the baseline with 13 on the shot clock and a hand in his face.

8:08: Jamison misses a three, thought he got fouled, but it was still an iffy attempt. McGee gets the offensive rebound but immediately tries to throw up a wild, undisciplined shot and misses. Portland scores in transition. 56-50 Blazers.

Ed Tapscott calls timeout.....get your team together buddy. I know that Portland is playing some nice defense, but I have to believe that the Wiz can still get smarter attempts closer to the hoop.

The Wizards must get 23 more assists before the end of this game to match last night's total, which, of course, was the most dimes the Wiz have dropped in 104 games.

6:25: Wiz go on a quick 6-0 run out the timeout. Butler inside, Butler fouled inside after a scramble for the ball, 2 FTs, and a long Jamison two with Oden on him. Tied at 56.

BTW...Tapscott has his big lineup of Stevenson, Butler, Jamison, Songaila and Blatche in.

5:51: 2nd chance points....LaMarcus Aldridge out works Blatche for a loose rebound, Steve Blake ends up with a three.

4:36: Songaila fights high for a strong rebound and throws a perfect two-hand outlet to Butler almost all in one motion. Caron fights to the hoop for a layup. 62-61 Wizards, Caron has 10 points in the 3rd.

Caron Butler is Tuff Juice....hustles a ton....but why do I feel that he appears disinterested on defense at times. No, it doesn't happen a lot, but even a couple occasions per game would seemingly be unacceptable. Brandon Roy gets him with a slow crossover...Butler is somewhat with him on the drive, but gets picked by Przybilla. Roy misses the layup, but jumps to tip it back in (either him or Przybilla)...Butler just kinda watches. 63 Tie. I really wish Caron would improve his D.

1:44: Bad communication for the Wiz on D in transition. Blatche seems to have good intentions in picking up Roy to stop the ball, but DeShawn Stevenson is right there too. The guy Andray should be picking up, Aldridge, blows right by, fills the lane, receives the pass, and scores the dunk. 67-65 Blazers. Blatche did the same thing against Ryan Anderson against the Nets last night.

1:10: Blatche turns his back on Aldridge who receives the lob, gathers himself and is ultimately fouled by Songaila. 69-67 Portland.

0:05.4: Gotta be kidding me. Stevenson hits three FTs, Wizards press after....but are confused as to who is picking up whom. Being the de facto PG, Stevenson doesn't exactly realize that he needs to be stopping Sergio Rodriguez jetting up the court with the ball. Rudy Fernandez cuts to the hoop from the corner, Nick Young, in turning the wrong way, loses him and ends up fouling Rudy, who makes the bucket. Very bad defense.

The 3rd ends with Portland up 77-72. It's a competitive game, but you wouldn't know it because of the tepid, disinterested Verizon Center crowd.

Q4

Daniels, Young, McGuire, Jamison and Blatche to start the final period.

11:11: D-Mac skies for an offensive board, the Wiz eventually get some 2nd chance points of their own after good ball movement. 77-74 Blazers.

McGuire is playing great D on Outlaw, forcing him into some misses.

9:13: Jamison is left alone, he makes the Blazers pay with a trey. 78-77 DC.

I really wish that Andray Blatche would use more lower body and legs when attempting to block out. I know he's got some long arms, but most times, the upper body is all he is using.

8:30: Nick Young trey....9-0 Wizards run to start the 4th. 81-77 DC

7:40: Brandon Roy finally breaks the ice with a FT line jumper in Caron Butler's face. 81-79 Wiz.

Roy makes a lot of things happen for Portland, he scores four more to put Portland up 85-83 with under 5 minutes left.

Unfortunately, with both Blake and Fernandez in the game, guarded by Daniels and Stevenson respectively, Caron Butler is forced to guard Roy....and he's not doing a good job.

4:08: Grow that beard fast son....DeShawn Stevenson misses two FTs that would've put the Wizards down one.

3:37: Butler uses his muscle to drive hard on Blake, Oden comes to help....easy flip pass to JaVale McGee for the dunk. 86-85 Blazers.

2:24: Wiz double Roy to get the ball out of his hands, aggressively defend Blake's three attempt from the corner....he misses, but Rudy Fernandez, previously guarded by Caron Butler, streaks for the offensive board while Caron is standing almost directly under the rim, and gets the put back. 90-87 Portland.

2:00: Stevenson goes 1-2 from the FT line, Aldridge hits a tough hook on McGee. 92-88 Portland. Good teams close bad teams out.

1:30: The Wiz offense amounts to Caron Butler dribbling around, not doing much, and then getting the ball to McGee for a pressure baseline jumper with 5 seconds on the shot clock.....it's an air ball.

DeShawn has played better D against Roy...and the Wiz get a stop. On the other end, Butler drives directly to the hoop off a D-Song pick (no dribbling around) and is able to find Jamison for the lay-in. 92-90 Portland with 52 seconds left.

0:36: Roy slices between Stevenson and Daniels to the hoop while the Wizards watch. Timeout Wiz, 94-90 Blazers. Brandon Roy has 11 4th quarter points.

"That's why he was an All-Star last year."
-Steve Buckhantz on Roy.

0:29: Wizards need to score quick and they do...Butler drives and this time when he dishes it baseline, Songaila is there, a lot more open than McGee was, and drains the two. 94-92 Blazers.

0:13: Wiz try their best to run the ball out Roy's hands (he's joined on the court by shooters: Blake, Outlaw, Fernandez and Aldridge)....and they do (Songaila is almost acting like a rover in the defense Tapscott set up), but the Blazers move the ball around and find an open Blake who drives on Songaila trying to get there to close out and gets fouled.

I believe I'd rather have McGuire on the court in this situation instead of Songaila.

Blake makes both and it's not looking good for the home team. 96-92 Portland.

Bad coaching move.....the Wiz might need a three, it's not necessary, but still, I don't think Daniels and Songaila should be on the court with Butler, Jamison and Stevenson.

Not exactly sure what the play was...Jamison seems to have a window, albeit he was off balance, for a long three....but elects to pass it inside to D-Song who misses a fading baseline jumper. NOT the shot the Wizards wanted...I'm guessing.

Portland secures the board and the Wiz foul....that'll do it. I must question the late game decision making by both Tapscott and the players.

Yep, the final is 98-92 Portland Trailblazers....once again, the Wiz come up short in crunch time.

ESPN.com Box Score

Poll

Your Feelings.

Both teams played hard, it was a good game.

41 votes

Brandon Roy has very large shoulders.

231 votes

Once again, Wiz can't do it in crunch time...what's new?

51 votes

I'll politely request that Caron Butler play better defense.

15 votes

McGuire not in for D-Song for defense at the end? I guess I'll chalk this one up to Tapscott learning the ropes.

8 votes

Just like pimpin', ball movement ain't easy.

15 votes

361 votes | Poll has closed

The long-term roster plan post

Mike Prada — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:26:35 -0000

For college students, Thanksgiving is the chance to recharge your batteries so you can finish the semester. It's a time to reflect and then move forward.

During that reflection period, I couldn't help but also think about the Wizards. And when I did, the inevitable question was what to do with our roster going forward.

Before the injuries to Brendan Haywood and Gilbert Arenas, I thought the plan was pretty simple. I figured we'd just go with what we had in 2009, assuming that, with good health, this team could win 45-50 games and challenge for the second round of the playoffs. Then, in the summer of 2009 and during 2010, we could pawn off two of our 2010 expiring contracts (Etan Thomas, Antonio Daniels), throw in a youngster or two and make a move for an impact player on a team looking to rebuild and join the 2010 frenzy. We'd then contend with our Big 3+1 until Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison's contracts ran out in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Seemed like a fairly reasonable four-year plan.

But that plan rested on three assumptions that have not come to fruition. One, of course, is that we would be pretty good this year, which isn't happening even though we're clearly not this bad. Two, because we would remain pretty good, Eddie Jordan would remain our coach. This is key because, as of right now, we have a roster that's very suited to running the Princeton offense (more on this later). Three, we would stay healthy enough to be pretty good, which hasn't happened yet.

So in light of our 13-game start, we might need to rethink some things about this plan. Not everything, mind you, but some things. New sitations are arising and we need to address them in some way.

Make the jump for more.

First off, lights, camera, salaries! Click to enlarge.

The point of showing this is twofold. One, we're not getting far enough under the cap in 2010 to join the free agent frenzy. The only way it could happen is if we trade Antawn Jamison and Darius Songaila/DeShawn Stevenson for contracts that expire before 2010 and elect not to re-sign Haywood or extend Nick Young. We currently are about 3.75 million under the projected cap in 2010, but that's misleading. First off, we're adding at least two draft picks to that number, which probably puts us over the cap. Second, the projected cap number on there is based on the CBA growing at the same rate it did last year, which is unlikely to happen because of the economy and the renegotiation of the CBA. More importantly, that would give us just seven players under contract, and that seven includes Young and Haywood.

Two, whether we like it or not, Gilbert Arenas is probably in for the long haul. Trading Gilbert probably isn't going to be an option until much later in his contract. Either he stays injured, in which case nobody will want him, or he recovers, in which case we'll want him because he's playing well. If it's somewhere in the middle, then he still probably won't be traded by 2010 because most teams are going to be trying to trim salary to get in on the free agent market. I happen to think that Gilbert needs to be a part of whatever plan we have anyway, since he's 26 and was so key to our success prior to last season, so I don't have a problem with this reality.

So now that we know our salary, let's break this roster down into groups.

The true untouchables: Gilbert Arenas, JaVale McGee

We've already talked about Arenas, so I won't go any further. But any rebuilding plan we have must include McGee as well. Guys with his athleticism and height don't grow on trees, and unlike Kwame and (possibly) Andray Blatche, it seems he has the dedication to get better. We can't let that go for any reason.

Gone only if we completely flounder: Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood

Butler's not a cornerstone like Arenas, but I'm having a hard time finding a situation where trading him makes much sense. I might give him up if we could get a comporable player who's younger and more durable while being in a similar salary bracket, but because Butler is underpaid for his production, those guys aren't easy to find. Off the top of my head, the only names that remotely make sense are Josh Howard, Tayshaun Prince or Hedo Turkoglu. And in the case of Prince, we'd need to get one of Detroit's young bigs as well in return for pawning off one of our bad contracts, since Prince isn't nearly as good as Butler. So that's probably not happening.

I suppose Butler could also go if necessary to get a superstar big man, but those guys don't exactly come on the market very often. One thing's for sure, though: because of his age and contract status (three more years at a really good price), trading Butler to rebuild makes little sense. Either keep him and don't re-sign him or trade him to make an upgrade, which isn't easy considering Butler's status as a player.

Haywood's necessary because he's our best defender. He's a free agent after 2010, but we need to lock him up at a decent price. Even if Haywood becomes a backup center, you need guys like that to compete. The only way I'd let him go is if we found a better big to pair with McGee and possibly Blatche, and that's unlikely to happen.

Those four guys will be the biggest parts of our rebuilding plan, at least as far as guys on the roster. But where does everyone else fit in?

Young guys to trade only for a big upgrade: Andray Blatche, Nick Young

Blatche was in Category 1 entering the season, but McGee's play has surprised me so much that Blatche has been bumped down. Blatche's slow start to the season hasn't helped matters either. Still, it's important to remember that Blatche is under contract for just 3 million per season for the next four years. He's still quite young and if he takes another step forward and just becomes a competent reserve, we still have a bargain.

That said, I'm not so sure about where Blatche fits in anymore. I think we all hoped he could be a power forward, but thus far, he's had his most success as a center. With McGee and Haywood, center's in pretty good hands going forward, so that means Blatche will have to become a power forward again. And I'm not sure how well he can do that. Not to mention that, since neither Haywood nor McGee are strong rebounders, a bruising Charles Oakley-type at the 4 is probably a better fit for this team going forward.

Young doesn't have that problem. The backcourt is thin, so we probably need him in some capacity. I'm still dubious of his ability to be a starter on a top-notch team because of his defense and passing struggles, but he can still be valuable as a sixth man. Because of that, though, I'm reluctant to say he's an untouchable.

Here only because of their contracts: Antonio Daniels, Etan Thomas

Both expire in 2010, so we should keep them in order to facilitate a trade for an impact player. There's not much more to say beyond that.

Filler: Oleksiy Pecherov, Dee Brown, Juan Dixon, Dominic McGuire

Pech may have value to other teams, while McGuire may develop enough value for us to keep him around. But none of these guys are important for the future. We can do better than all four of these guys at their positions.

Role players of the previous regime: DeShawn Stevenson, Darius Songaila

My feeling is that both of these guys need to go, but for entirely different reasons. Stevenson needs to go because he has underperformed. The initial hope was that he could be the wing that plays 24 minutes a game, gives excellent defense so that Butler's issues can be hidden and can be the yin to Nick Young's yang. As recently as last season, I thought he could play that role long-term. But I don't think he can do it anymore because of his declining defense, not because of his offense.

DeShawn's defense has always been decent rather than awesome, but that's simply not the case anymore. This season, the Wizards are giving up 19.6 more points/100 possessions with DeShawn on the court. Even last season, DeShawn didn't have any tangible effect on the team's defensive efficiency. I don't think DeShawn is as bad as he's been this year, but we need an upgrade on his position going forward. We need someone who is a little more athletic and can cover 3s as well as 2s. DeShawn's a little small, which really hurts, and he's too slow to guard the quickest wings.

DeShawn was a nice find by EG, but he needs to be phased out. I don't think anyone would take DeShawn now, but once his play picks up, I'd look to move him and get out of his contract.

Darius, however, needs to go because he has overperformed. Songaila's skills are very useful for a contending team looking to add a piece to his bench, but they're too much of a luxury here, both because of his contract and because of the presence of all our young bigs.

In terms of his contract, Darius runs all the way until 2011 for just under the mid-level exception. That's not an albatross, but it's not chump change either. We can use that money for more useful purposes down the road. Those include re-signing our impact rookies, signing a backup point guard to eventually replace AD, signing a guy to replace DeShawn or getting a veteran backup center. All of those are important areas to fill; more important areas that the position Songaila occupies.

To that final point, our frontcourt remains pretty crowded with young bigs. There's JaVale and 'Dray, plus Pech if we think he's worth anything. If we go big with our lottery pick this year (which makes a lot of sense), that's another young guy. For a team that isn't contending, it makes more sense to trot out the young guy for backup minutes to see what they can do. If we were making a push to be a player in the playoffs, then it's fine to give those minutes to Songaila in an attempt to win, but since we aren't going to be a playoff team most likely, there's no point. Songaila was also signed to be a Princeton player, so he loses some value now that we're scrapping that system.

His value is high now because he's playing very well, so I'd see if we can get anything for him. Denver could use another big, so maybe we can get Chucky Atkins (3.24 million, expires in 09) and Renaldo Balkman (young'in who can be a cheap wing defender) for Darius. Maybe Toronto will give us Joey Graham and Roko Ukic for Darius (wing defender and potential point guard). New Orleans doesn't have many assets, but Darius seems like a good fit there. Ditto for Cleveland, though they'd probably aim higher. Perhaps we could do Songaila straight up for Sasha Pavlovic (expires in 09).

Either way, these two role players have long contracts and are blocking key youngsters, so they should go.

That leaves us with...

I don't know what to do: Antawn Jamison

This is tough. On the one hand, Jamison's still really productive, popular and a huge part of the team. For all his faults, if we trade Jamison, it may be very difficult to find somebody to fill his spot in the lineup. We also just re-signed him, so trading him would be admitting to making a mistake.

But I think it might be time to see what we can get for him. By the time his contract runs out, he'll be 36. He may be 34 before we morph into a serious contender. At the time of the re-signing, the feeling was that we were close to making that leap, but this year clearly shows we aren't. We could potentially put the money of his contract to better use, plus with a high lottery pick, we might be able to replace him pretty easily.

The key, though, is we can't just give him away. We need one of two things back in a trade. Either we need a comporable player who is younger (e.g. Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko, Gerald Wallace), or significant cap room and a promising young guy (e.g. Jamison/Songaila for Wally Szczerbiak/J.J. Hickson).

What might be out there? We talked about Cleveland, which would be a really good fit for Antawn. We could use the same Antawn/Darius package to get Shawn Marion from Miami and then either re-sign Marion or take the cap room. Portland might want a veteran, in which case we could take back Steve Blake (expiring), Joel Pryzbilla (good second center to play behind Haywood and help develop McGee) and Sergio Rodriguez (promising backup PG). If the Lakers ever get fed up with Lamar Odom, we could offer Jamison/Songaila for his expiring contract like with Marion. Toronto could give us Anthony Parker (expiring), Kris Humphries (inside banger) and Graham.

No matter what, Antawn would yield a very nice package that may not be there in future years. With our team further away from contention than we all expected, I'd strongly consider that type of deal.

So what do we need?

Going forward, we're likely going to have a few things in place. In Arenas, Butler and Young, we have plenty of perimeter scoring. Our center position's in decent shape with Haywood and the potential of McGee and Blatche. Our lottery pick could yield us either a promising point guard to pair with Arenas (Rubio, Jennings) or a back-to-the-basket guy to score in the paint (Griffin), and if not, it'll still bring us somebody that can step right in. We can use our expiring 2010 contracts and some of our young talent to bring somebody in who can help fill those other voids.

That still does leave a lot of holes. In particular, we need help defensively. Haywood's return will help solve some of our problems, but not all of them. We have no beefy rebounders to clean up misses and be physical post defenders, particularly if we trade Jamison. We have no perimeter defenders that can help Arenas and Butler, since Stevenson isn't that guy. And with Etan Thomas' decline and suckitude, it might pay to get another solid backup center.

Offensively, we have firepower, but could still use some more parts. It'd be nice to get a post scorer who could also shoot open jumpers. Getting a backup point guard who can fill AD's role better than AD would be nice, and Butler still needs a good backup.

I'd place our needs going forward as follows, in order of importance/difficulty of obtaining:

A tough interior guy who can grab rebounds, score inside and hit jumpers to replace Jamison. Hello Blake Griffin.
An ace wing defender to split minutes with Nick Young
A point guard, preferably one who can defend and shoot while being a low-usage, low-turnover guy
A backup 4 who can rebound and score a bit inside
A solid backup center
A backup for Caron Butler

Number one can hopefully be filled through the draft. It'll have to be. We really need a stud to take that spot, and the draft is the best way to find that. The alternative is to trade for somebody, but those types of players aren't usually available.

Number two can be had in a trade or in free agency. Shane Battier and Tayshaun Prince could be available if their teams fall off. We could also get an impact scorer who can fill that role on our team. Someone like Kirilenko, Gerald Wallace, even Joe Johnson. If not, we can find someone who can fill 2 and 6 simultaneously. I bet we can get John Salmons from Sacramento pretty easily, because they're going to a youth movement (like AD and Pech). Young guys like Thabo Sefolosha could be good options as well.

Three, four and five can be found through free agency in the next couple years. While we won't have enough for a superstar, we could get a couple role players in the upcoming years. Delonte West is a free agent after 2010 (non-guaranteed deal in 2011). So is Luis Scola. Hell, we could make a run at David Lee and steal him from New York if we clear enough cap room.

It's hard to confine any of these options to certain avenues, but the key is that, save for number one, we don't need wholesale changes. We can reload rather than rebuild. In a healthy Arenas (hopefully) and Butler, you have two decent building blocks to contend soon. There's plenty of young talent in McGee, Blatche, Young and our 2009 lottery pick. We just need to replenish our role players, and that requires dealing away some guys we may like a lot.

But it can be done. We can have a plan that's between rebuilding and doing nothing and still be successful.

So what can we expect from Ed Tapscott

Mike Prada — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:35:28 -0000

One of the nice things about Ed Tapscott era is that, like Eddie Jordan, Ed is pretty vocal about what he expects from the team. He doesn't sugercoat with his soundbytes, he's nuianced and he seems to treat reporters well. That's good for them, but it's also good for us because we can clearly tell what he's trying to do with this team.

I've now had a chance to watch two games and read tons of Tapscott soundbytes, so here's my read on each of his plans.

The 8-man +2 rotation.

One of the immediate things Tapscott did was to turn to what he called the "eight plus two plan." The idea is that there are eight guys who will play solid minutes every game no matter the circumstance, with about two of the remaining four guys on the team playing based on "matchups." The question of whether a coach should play only the same guys every game or base his substitution patterns on "feel" is a continuous debate among coaches. Eddie Jordan, as we know, veered more toward the "feel" way of thinking, which drew a lot of ire among all of us.

It seems Tapscott is trying to compromise. On the one hand, there will be some guys who play every game. But since eight players over the course of the entire season is a pretty tight rotation, he'll give two other guys a chance every game. This serves two purposes. One, it keeps the end of the bench guys active and ready in practice. Two, it allows Ed to do some coaching instead of becoming predictable. In my mind, it's a pretty good plan.

The tricky part, though, is figuring out who makes up both of these groups. Eddie's problem this year was never playing his bench, it was treating all his bench players the same in terms of minutes. It was that inconsistency that bugged me in particular, because it's hard to expect players to adjust to situations like the coach can. This was a big deal with Andray Blatche, but he was hardly the only one. Darius Songaila, for example, was asked to play center, which didn't suit his strengths. Ditto for Nick Young and Juan Dixon at the point. Part of this is the roster imbalance, but part of it was poor deployment of subs.

Based on two games, it seems that the three bench guys part of the eight-man rotation are Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Darius Songaila. After that, though, it gets murky. Dominic McGuire has played pretty consistent minutes both games, and Tapscott is clearly trying to use him more, so one has to wonder if he's jumped into the top eight. Since he's been healthy, the same goes for Antonio Daniels. That's ten guys who play decent minutes already. Then, there's Etan Thomas and Juan Dixon, who play situational minutes. They're clearly part of the +2, but who is joining them?

The concept of "eight plus two" is solid, but there's still work to be done to establish that.

Turning Dominic McGuire into a defensive stopper

It seems like that's a big-time goal for Tapscott. Here's what he said about Taser:

"I'm asking him to fold himself into that role. Every team is role-defined and if you can find a niche within the team, you can find him some playing time. If he'll embrace that and go at it that way, he'll always find some time on the floor. We always need a 6-foot-8 inch athletic guy who can defend on the perimeter and can go back and get us rebounding.
The nice thing about what Dom does is Dom also has a knack for getting offensive rebounds and offensive rebounds lead to extra possessions. If he can do those things for us, he knows that he'll get a chance to play."

This doesn't surprise me in the slightest. You know Tapscott is going to try to improve the defense, and McGuire has the tools to be a good defender. I assume Eddie didn't play McGuire because of McGuire's shooting and dribbling deficiencies, which kind of annoyed me, to be honest. Taser can be horrendous offensively, but like Tapscott said, he grabs offensive rebounds and showed a knack for passing in the Summer League.

I like this move. McGuire will embrace it and hopefully give Caron Butler more rest. McGuire as a ninth man is better than Etan or Pech.

Speaking of Butler...

Running the offense exclusively through Caron and Antawn

Heard about this from David Aldridge on TNT. Apparently, Tapscott called those two into his office, told them they will be the offensive focal points so long as they become leaders and left it at that. It's clear Caron is upset by the loss of Eddie Jordan, so this was definitely a necessary thing to do on his end. Ditto for Jamison, to be honest.

But there are concerns. Number one, Caron is starting to shot-jack a bit. He had a wonderful game yesterday, but he broke the offense way too much to do it. His passing has fallen off a bit, as his assist percentage has dropped from 21.7% to 18.3%. He had six assists, but also had four turnovers in addition to his 18 shots. Part of that is the lack of options around him, but either way, Tapscott needs to remind Caron that it's on him to get people involved as well as score.

With Jamison, the shots that Tapscott references must come inside rather than outside. I hope Jamison doesn't take this to mean that he has free reign to take quick threes.

But either way, it's necessary. You have to worry about the young guys on the team becoming jealous, but they should be encouraged to grow into their roles before they do more.

Going big

Tapscott's been experimenting with more lineups that include Caron Butler playing shooting guard. It's probably a necessity with the number of bigs we need to develop, so Eddie Jordan certainly shouldn't have been so stubborn about keeping Butler at small forward. That said, I've said many times that Andray Blatche looks very uncomforable playing power forward. Putting him there more often doesn't strike me as a way to get the most out of him.

However, I'll live with them because we need to get more out of our young bigs. There also isn't exactly a ton of talent in that backcourt.

Andray Blatche

I love what I'm hearing from Tapscott with Blatche. The thing is, whenever I've defended the dude, it's not because I don't realize how badly he's played. He had a big opportunity to take that center job and didn't do it. On the other hand, the Blatche package is incredibly complex. It's never as simple as the "he doesn't get it, so sit him until he does" approach that Eddie Jordan took. In his three-plus years in D.C., Blatche has been shot, been handed inconsistent minutes and has played the three, four and five positions at different points. He's been asked to be both a wing man and an inside player. He's been forced to defend everyone from Carmelo Anthony to Yao Ming. For a young guy whose head isn't exactly screwed on perfectly straight, that's a lot to ask.

That's why this quote in particular stood out to me.

I think often times that 'Dre has had some experiences of a 22-year old guy. Not that it's making that an excuse, it's just a reality. And so, that's the process we are in: trying to keep focus and concentration on the marathon of a season and that is a learning process. I'm sure if you talk to Antawn Jamison about that, he'll tell you it took years for him to get to the point where he is now as a professional where I can almost put in ink what he's going to be able to give me on any given night. That's the process any young player goes through.

In the same sentence, Tapscott is referencing the difficult things Blatche went through while also making it very clear what Blatche needs to do. One could read this as Tapscott treating Blatche too softly, but remember, these are professional athletes with five-year contracts. You have to treat them all differently, which is something Eddie Jordan struggled to do by the end of his tenure. We'll see what kind of effect Tapscott has on Blatche, but my feeling is that it'll be positive.

More than anything, Tapscott's communication skills stand out to me. It's still early, so there's plenty of time for the players to get sick of his act, but I love that he seems to treat them all as individuals. He seems a little more patient, which is a big thing since we shouldn't exactly be thinking playoffs right now.

Big picture

It's early, but I'm a fan of Ed. He strikes me as the perfect interm coach for this roster right now. He'll ride his two stars while publicly conveying specific roles for the young guys. While it's true that the young guys somewhat unfairly tuned out Eddie Jordan, it is what it is. Tapscott seems like a different voice for them and that'll help trememdously. It also seems like Tapscott won't alienate the veterans, though obviously that group is more fragile at this point.

The key to me is Tapscott's communication skills. Like Ivan, I think that's a huge plus. Ivan wrote that either Tapscott knows his hoops or knows how to talk about hoops. I suspect it's mostly the latter, but that's what this team needs anyway. For all his strengths, I've always questioned how well Eddie communicated with many of his players (see Haywood, Brendan). I don't see that being a problem with Tapscott.

In the short term, I think we'll keep losing a lot, because without Haywood, we'll never play the type of defense Ed wants us to play. There will be games where we just don't compete as well. But Ed strikes me as patient and strikes me as someone who will develop the young talent on this team. That'll serve the next coach of this team well, whether it's Ed or someone else.

Wizards Game 12 Blog vs. Golden State Warriors: New Dawn on a Project in Construction

Truth About It — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:16:52 -0000

photo source: flickr/Jim Frazier

Well, I snuck a peak at the score before clicking to watch the game on NBA.com. After seeing the win, I couldn't help but look at the box score. Upon seeing the box, I especially noticed Andray Blatche's stat line and uttered the phrase, "This muther effer....." I told my dad that the Wiz had won and he wondered aloud if Eddie Jordan was really the problem. "Surely we won't be able to tell after one game," I said. So I watched.....

Sidebar: For some reason, Ed Tapscott reminds me of Rock Newman.

Q1

No change in starters from the last game...McGee, Brown, Butler, Jamison and Stevenson.

Crawford, Morrow, Biedrins, Jackson, Maggette for the Warriors.

Well....on the first play, JaVale McGee wins the tap, cuts to the basket...and dunk, pass from Caron Butler. The Warriors just completely ignore him.

Next: McGee block, catch, break, and dunk.....do that, Oden. Wow.

McGee then loses track of Biedrins who gets open, receives a pass, basket And1. 4-2 Wizards.

Maggette...too fast for Jamison, blows by him. 6-5 Wiz.

The Wizards are getting the ball up the court fast.

Biedrins slips a screen, gets an easy pass, AJ can't handle, and hoop....Andris much more agile on offense than I remember him being before.

The slept on asset of McGee....handles.

AJ with a fast break oop....6 points in that fast break area so far. The low risk decision from Tapscott......run, run, run. Give Warriors a taste of own medicine?

Biedrins shows handles too...blocks McGee and casually brings the ball up the court upon seeing no available guards, the result of pressure from the Wiz.

Oh really? We fire the coach and Dee Brown is hitting open trey balls now? 15-14 Wiz.

6:27: Blatche checks in for the active and out-of-breath McGee.

If McGuire is the Taser, then Dee Brown is the Laser. He jets up court, without the ball, on the break off a steal and hits the layup off the pass from Stevenson. 17-14 Wiz.

Chris Miller reports that there is a "more talkative coach in the huddle" -- hmm, interesting endorsement?

What is this I see? Andray Blatche running from one spot to another?

Blatche hitting pump-fake dribble drive pull-up baseline jumpers from almost behind the backboard? Question mark?

I feel like I'm in a bizarro world.....well, I've already seen the Andray's stat line...it had to happen somehow.

Man, the Wiz are stealing and running like their life depends on it.....the cops are chasing them and they already have two strikes. Fast break points....10. Butler hits two FTs to make it 25-18 Wiz.

Young checks in, joins Butler, Stevenson, Jamison and Andray.

Who is this Andray Blatche guy? Ya'll heard of him?

Oh yea, just noticed that AD is back in street clothes...makes sense. Don't want him trying to hang with the running men.

Nick Young hits a two at the buzzer after he bobbled the ball...we'll take it. The Wiz shoot 54% to lead 32-26 after one. 32 points = the most in the first period this season.

Q2

D-Mac in with Blatche, Dixon, Young, and Butler in to start the 2nd.

Blatche dropping passes like he used to. I just checked, and he is not wearing a retro jersey...

Whoa....Blatche actually got a rebound and immediately got it to a guard.

The Wiz are even passing the ball better. 10 assists on 15 made FG.

10:11: Gilbert coaching like Rasheed Wallace? It's no coaches board, but he does seem to be explaining a play to someone with a sheet of paper and a pen.

9:47: Butler goes down trying to get a loose ball.....on his butt, he has to clap his hands so that his teammates help him up.....they should be running over there.

Timeout, Wiz up 38-33 with 8:31 left in the 2nd. McGee just came back, with Young, McGuire, Jamison and Dixon.

McGee had really a fast start, but has missed a bunch of close ones since.....makes will come, he just needs to get stronger so he can finish in traffic.

Dixon keeps firing up some trash.....trying to do too much.....and he's taken out in favor of Stevenson with about 6:20 left.

Not one to really criticize the up-tempo offense of Don Nelson, but at least tonight, the Warriors are very helter-skelter. I guess there's a fine line between when things are clicking and the times they seem to be randomly firing up shots.

4:48: Wiz making sure to go to Jamison who had the advantage against Maggette. 1 FT - 47-37 Wizards...but the Wiz get the offensive board and McGee tries to make a spectacular slam against Anthony Randolph, but misses. The kid needs to learn how to get what's available to him....a power two-hand lay-up would've worked there, or at least got him a foul.

3:10: Blatche high with a rebound over Biedrins with TWO hands....wow.....miss, but tip make by McGee.

Down the court, AJ gets a steal, Wizards push and Butler throws a perfect oop to McGee who catches with TWO hands and throws it down. Timeout, 53-42 Wizards. Butler holds up his jersey to let everyone know what team he plays for.

2:17: D-Song makes his first appearance....joins Blatche, Jamison, Stevenson and Butler. Big lineup.

D-Song miss, follows shot, and tips the board to Butler for an easy layup. 59-47 Wiz.

Blatche jumper. Blatche block. Blatche recovery. Was Eddie Jordan really that detrimental to this kid's confidence?

The Wiz head into the locker room with a 63-49 lead. Energy was key to this half.

Jamison -17 points, 3 offensive boards
Butler - 14 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals.
McGee - 12 points, Blatche - 8

BOARDS: The Wiz are killing, up 29-18 (20-9 in the 2nd quarter alone). Not going to get too hype about this one as Golden State plays a small lineup and is skinny when big....although, Biedrins is the league's top rebounder.

Q3

Butler gets it to McGee cutting down the lane, but he gets stripped...ball out of bounds to the Wiz. McGee thinks he might have gotten fouled, but he needs to hang on to the ball. I can see why Butler calls him a LemonHead though....he gets that funny sour-puss look on his face a lot.

McGee picks up his 4th personal foul 55 seconds into the 2nd half....well, that will happen with starting him.

9:42: Warriors get 4 early 2nd chance points in the quarter...don't need that. 68-53 Wizards.

9:11: Turnover. Maggette drive and points. Tapscott timeout.

I guess we can end the Amber Alert for Andray Blatche....he hits a jumper and then blocks out while Jamison gets the board on the other end...."That's the way you do it," says Phil Chenier. 70-55 Wizards.

7:31: Stephen Jackson around Butler (new coach doesn't help man defense with Caron) and easy pass to Biedrins....oh yea, Butler previously left Jackson open for a trey. 73-60 Wizards.

6:10: Stevenson fires because that's what he does every now and then....miss.

Remember when Andray Blatche used to block shots? Yea, that's back too.....of course. He has three so this quarter I believe.

We hear "clean slate" and "Andray Blatche" from Comcast's Chris Miller....and I don't like it. When a player is playing bad....and it's HIS fault, then I'm not down with creating some reliance on "new beginnings" and "clean slates" to absolve someone of past transgressions.

Meanwhile.....Blatche is skying for two-hand rebounds....REALLY? Where the eff did that come from? Aside from this game, I haven't seen Andray get a two-handed rebound just about all year.

Warriors are providing the Wiz with some good medicine in the form of turnovers.....we'll take 'em. 88-68 Wizards with 2:13 left.

With the last shot, Nick Young dribbles too much against Stephen Jackson..nothing doing. Nonetheless, the Wizards are up 93-72 after three quarters. If they can't hold onto this one.....wait, I know they already have.

Q4

Andray Blatche starts out dunking on two Warriors....I feel so frustrated.

Three offensive rebounds by Blatche on one trip down the court. Where has this effort been all this time? I'm not saying it's the case, but it would be a damn shame if this kid's effort is contingent on someone else (Eddie Jordan) and not him.

9:33: Yep, now Andray is hitting three pointers. 104-77 Wizards.

8:12: Blatche great touch pass to Jamison over a fronting Maggette for the hoop and the foul. No FT, but the Wiz get the offensive board, their 21st, a season high. Butler eventually gets a Tuff Juice layup. 108-84 Wiz.

7:07: Andray Blatche goes out to a nice ovation and Phil Chenier immediately wonders what I do....yep, the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard are coming to town.

Wizards a swarming to every ball.

Caron Butler is hitting threes.

Dee Brown is a gnat all over the place.

Tits All Arms McGee is doing his thing.

Darius Songaila is picking on Brendan Wright.

Butler is hitting more treys....7 FGs in a row.

Wiz 120, Warriors 91. Time to bring in the walk-ons?

3:15: Dixon, Young, McGuire, McGee and Songaila are in.....sorry Etan and Big Oily Pecherov, your services are not needed.

2:12: Dixon hits a fadeaway to put it at 124-94 Wiz. Get ready for a Warriors 6-0 run to close the game.

This looks like a bad CYO game now.....if only D-Song would try his And One street moves.

The Warriors call a timeout with 1 second on the clock.

And that's it...the Wiz get win #2. What more can I say? 124-100, Washington Wizards.

Poll

Question Mark.

Hip Hip Hooray!

19 votes

OMG! We're going to rip off 10 wins in a row.

4 votes

Hold your horses chief.

14 votes

Where do I order my Andray Blatche jersey?

15 votes

Meh.

5 votes

They should fire the coach after every game.

26 votes

83 votes | Poll has closed