Expectations were high. Production was low. Wizards fans expected the team to contend for the 8th spot, after all they did sign Arenas, extended Kwame and Haywood's deals. They drafted a sweet shooting SG, who can play the SF. Stackhouse was supposed to produce and lead this team. Instead, he hurt the team, injuries plagued them. <u>Injuries:</u> Jerry Stackhouse had off season knee surgery. It took him forever to recover though. He was out until the Allstar break, and even after that he wasnt productive. His Shooting was horrendous, his TOs were up, he lost his lift and quickness. Arenas went out with a Abdominal strain that nagged him for about a quarter of the season. Larry Hughes fractured his wrist and was out for about a month, and we went on a losing streak that capped a injury-filled season. <u>Positivies:</u> Kwame Brown contined to improve his game and play consistent almost all year, He added a nice arsenal of post moves to his game and started hitting the 15ft. Jumper. Steve Blake showed he could play with the big boys, hitting 3s, throwing nice passes and locking down on D. Arenas showed that he is destined to be a superstar in this league, recording 3 Triple Doubles and putting this team on his shoulders and carried them when times were rough. Larry Hughes continued to improve, showing that we can't win without him either. Everyone else improved. Jeffries hustled for every loose ball, Dixon was a spark plug off the bench, Haywood developed a respectable game. <u>Negatives:</u> We played no defense, we had too many turnovers, we made horrible decisions in the clutch. Those are just a few. Stackhouse's age is catching up to him, Arenas' youth affected his play in a lot of games. Youth affected the whole team in crucial parts of games and the season. <u>Next Year:</u> We will have a top 10 draft pick, most likely. Kwame and Arenas are looking like a nice 1-2 punch. We have a lot of potential in are young players, IF we could acquire a defensive minded SF this off season, I think we would improve tremendously. I am hoping for good things next yer. I can only keep my fingers crossed.
Wizards Caught All the Bad Breaks <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> "This is when you see character," Arenas recently said, not mentioning any player by name. "Some players don't want to play right now. It's been difficult for everybody. If some people don't want to be here, then I think we should get them out of here. Point blank. You're going to have people that are injured. But if you don't want to be here because you're on a bad team, I don't want you around. I'm not going to go out there and fight for you every day knowing you don't want to play." Washington can only protect eight of 11 contracted players from being selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the expansion draft on June 22. Stackhouse, who has three years and roughly $25 million left on his contract, could be made available. Nearly every Wizards player, including Stackhouse, could be considered trade bait, according to Grunfeld. </div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Wizards will target strong-willed veterans this offseason to help usher along a team that, if kept mainly intact, will still be very young next season. The Wizards' lack of veteran leadership was a big problem for the team on and off the court, coaches and management said. Swingman Mitchell Butler was a voice of reason and a stabilizing element when he played, but another veteran player who could generate support to hold teammates accountable would have been ideal, players and coaches said. </div>
Speaking of protecting players...I have Finalized mhy list 8 protected: Arenas Hughes Kwame Haywood Blake Hayes Dixon Baxter
This is mine <u>Protect</u> Gilbert Arenas Steve Blake Kwame Brown Juan Dixon Jarvis Hayes Larry Hughes Jared Jefferies Brendan Haywood <u>Don't Protect</u> Ethan Thomas (Restricted FA) Christian Lattener Jerry Stackhouse <u>Unrestricted FA</u> Chris Whitney Mitchell Butler Lonny Baxter (Is Baxter under contract for next year?)
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">This is mine <u>Protect</u> Gilbert Arenas Steve Blake Kwame Brown Juan Dixon Jarvis Hayes Larry Hughes Jared Jefferies Brendan Haywood <u>Don't Protect</u> Ethan Thomas (Restricted FA) Christian Lattener Jerry Stackhouse <u>Unrestricted FA</u> Chris Whitney Mitchell Butler Lonny Baxter (Is Baxter under contract for next year?)</div> I dont think Baxter is under contract, But I am pretty sure we will resign him because he is a banger like Etan, but much cheaper. Etan is going to ask for a heck of a lot of cash, and I hope we dont pay him.
I'd definitely keep Dixon, Brown and Blake, I think those're your breakout stars, Arenas too, even though he's already very good, some consistency in his versatile game would be nice.
Do you know what was great, after Arenas took 3 shots against the Raptors (2-3), he had a triple double (21-10-13), then scored 35-35-27-26-28-23-40-30-28-27-27, (27.1 ppg) and shot 49.8% through those 11 games, and also averaged 6.8 assists, and 4.5 rebounds, <u>then Hughes came back.</u>
Yea, I loved that stretch of the season..Arenas was just on fire...I dont think Juan is part of our future though, his style of offense doesn't fit Eddie Jordan's style
