By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
Not content to stand pat after a fifth-place finish and first-round playoff exit, the Atlanta Hawks went through a wholesale makeover in the offseason. Danny Ferry was hired as the new president and general manager in June, after spending five seasons as the general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers and last season as president of the San Antonio Spurs.
At an appearance at Simon Elementary School in Southeast D.C. Friday morning, Wizards point guard John Wall made it clear how important the upcoming season was going to be for him. Unfortunately, it's off to a disappointing start.
The news came as little surprise to fans in Washington, or to Andray Blatche. The Wizards made it official Tuesday, when they released the unpopular and underperforming power forward by using the amnesty provision in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.
Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld has been an all-or-nothing guy to an extent, engineering deals that are great or gross, but rarely in-between.
Last season, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sent his 14-year-old son, Nick, on stage to represent the franchise at the NBA Draft Lottery. The strategy worked.
As it turns out, Nene and Brian Cook weren't the only bigs Washington acquired when it traded JaVale McGee, Nick Young and Ronny Turiaf. The Wizards also got the new-and-improved player who was buried on their bench. Wednesday's game against Indiana presented more evidence of the discovery, yet another exciting chapter in "The Evolution of Kevin Seraphin."
Sitting in front of his locker before the Washington Wizards played the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, Andray Blatche was candid about his disappointing season, and took full responsibility for it.
Nene arrived in Washington early Saturday evening to take his physical, the final step before officially becoming a member of the Wizards.
The Wizards' new coach did not look happy Wednesday morning. And for a good reason.
The three guards stood underneath the basket after the morning session of Day 5 of Wizards training camp Tuesday. They shot baskets, passed the ball and broke into laughter at each other's jokes.
The surest sign that the 149-day NBA lockout is over is seeing the doors to Verizon Center open and the players hit the practice court, complete with its new red, white and blue logos. But all is not back to normal just yet.
The old Capital Centre in Landover, once the home of the Washington Bullets, is now a memory, but still a very vivid one for former ball boy Jerai Grant.
With a 23-59 season in the books, Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld is beginning to reshape the team for next year, but he is taking a few positives from the lessons learned this year.
Flip Saunders came to the Wizards two seasons ago expecting to coach a playoff team, but instead found himself in the middle of a tear-down and rebuild with a rookie as the centerpiece.
