Grunfeld presser wrap

     Ernie Grunfeld a little earlier tody gave his preseason press conference and I wish I could tell you that there was some spicy/exciting news coming out of it, but truth is, there wasn't.

     As he has repeatedly this summer, Grunfeld talked about how excited he is about this upcoming season, how talented the team is, how deep the team is. He said Flip Saunders has brought a new sense of professionalism and energy to the franchise, and that all the players are buying into it. He said Andray Blatche looks great, has been working hard and is ready to take the next step in his career.

     Grunfeld didn't weigh in on Gilbert Arenas' take that the team didn't hold him back as much as they should have because they wanted to sell tickets. All he chose to say was: “I talked to Gilbert about the situation, and obviously you get frustrated when things aren't going well, but the bottom line is he's healthy now. This is his life and what he loves to do.”

     Grunfeld said he and the guard's relationship is strong and that Gil is excited as he has ever seen him, and that he has confidence that Arenas can lead the Wizards as Flip has challenged him to do.

     As far as predictions on the season, Ernie said time will tell, but like Flip believes that the Wizards can contend with any team in the East.

     When it comes to the lineup and rotation and where players fit, Grunfeld said that will play itself out in training camp and that he believes the competitive setup that the Wizards now have on their hands will be a good thing.

     That's it in a nutshell. This time next week, we'll be on the third day of training camp watching things unfold ...

-- Mike Jones

mjones@washingtontimes.com

twitter: @sptswrtrjones