The question-riddled Washington Wizards head into an uncertain offseason, with the draft lottery and expansion draft before them and a rumor involving Gilbert Arenas and Allen Iverson swirling around.
The Wizards ended a 25-57 season Wednesday with a loss to the New Orleans Hornets, marking the 14th time in 16 seasons the franchise has finished under .500. That record of futility is matched in major pro sports by only the Los Angeles Clippers and the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
“We have to stay positive, as much as all the losing has taken its toll.” first-year coach Eddie Jordan said. “You have to bring out the good things that happened and bring them to the table. I thought the growth was apparent. I thought we learned how to play a way of basketball that I think is a formula for success. And that’s not easy to do. There are old habits to break.”
General manager Ernie Grunfeld said earlier this week that he believes his team — hampered for most of the season by injuries to its leading scorers — is “not far off” from being a legitimate playoff contender. Still, his is a team that faces some key questions in the offseason:
cThe Wizards finished with the third-worst record in the league, but that gives them a very good chance of drawing one of the top three positions from the May26 lottery and a shot at the third pick in the June draft.
No matter where the lottery puts the Wizards, there is a good chance they would package the pick — and perhaps another player — in an attempt to trade for a veteran to fortify their inconsistent frontcourt.
• One rumor being circulated — and dismissed by management — is a deal that would send Arenas and the draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Iverson. But trading Arenas — six years Iverson’s junior — would send a message that the Wizards are more interested in regaining fans than they are with fielding a long-term winner. Home attendance declined by 4,500 a game after Michael Jordan was dismissed.
When Arenas signed as a free agent last summer, he promised the Wizards would make the playoffs. Despite that prediction, he remains one of the most optimistic players on a team with little reason to feel that way.
“If we’re not hurt, we’re up there with anybody in the East,” he said of next season. “Give us at least 15 games where we’re together, and I know we can win at least 10. That’s probably good enough to get us in the playoffs.”
• What do the Wizards do with Jerry Stackhouse? Or, more precisely, what can they do with Stackhouse?
Stackhouse missed 57 games this season following knee surgery. He will turn 30 in November and will be viewed around the league — until he proves otherwise — as an “old” 30.
Stackhouse ran afoul of management when he announced after a Feb.28 game against the Lakers that he felt it was in his best interest to “shut it down” for the rest of the season without consulting Eddie Jordan or Grunfeld.
Medically cleared, Stackhouse sat out the next six games before returning against Atlanta. Eventually, he assumed a reserve role, and his season ended prematurely on April9, when he developed sore ankles against Philadelphia.
Grunfeld has publicly given Stackhouse the benefit of the doubt. Grunfeld said he believes Stackhouse, who has three years left on his contract, can return to the form that made him a two-time All-Star. But the questions markedly reduce Stackhouse’s trade value.
The Wizards also have the option of leaving him unprotected for the June22 Charlotte expansion draft, two days before the regular draft, which would remove Stackhouse’s $7.5million salary from the Wizards’ books next season and give them more flexibility in pursuing free agents.
• The Wizards are allowed to protect eight players under contract — including restricted free agent Etan Thomas — for the expansion draft that will populate the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats begin play next season in a new Southeast Division where they will be joined by the Wizards, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.
Teams are forbidden to make public the names of the players they plan to expose to the draft. However, it is likely the Wizards will place Christian Laettner, who was suspended this season for failing to comply with the league’s drug policy, on the unprotected list.
• Guard Larry Hughes played with heart after suffering a broken left wrist, and he will be the subject of trade inquiries. Hughes averaged more than 18 points this season and carried the offensive load in the absence of Arenas and Stackhouse. Hughes has the added upside of being 25 — younger than Juan Dixon — and having one year left on his contract.
Hughes sounded excited about returning to the Wizards next season to start in the backcourt alongside Arenas, with whom he played on the Golden State Warriors.
“We like each other; we like playing with each other,” Hughes said of Arenas. “We know what the other one can do. We’re kind of figuring out at certain times in the game when to get it done. That comes with being out there together, being out there fighting. We’ll be good.”
Of course, Stackhouse also wants to play the two-guard position currently occupied by Hughes.
• This summer the Wizards have exclusive negotiating rights with power forward Kwame Brown if they choose to offer him an extension. However, the Wizards aren’t likely to rush into talks and Brown’s agent, Arn Tellem, isn’t likely to pressure the club to hammer out an extension. Despite Brown’s improvement this season, the Wizards want to see him play hard and produce more consistently.
Brown at times has delivered on the potential that prompted the Wizards to draft him out of high school with the No.1 overall pick in 2001. In mid-March, for example, Brown scored 57 points and grabbed 30 rebounds in back-to-back games. Those efforts, however, were too often followed by performances that were ineffective.
Management’s strategy with Brown could backfire if he has a breakout year next season, because then he would be allowed to sign with any team. But because of the Bird exception rule, the Wizards could pay him more than any other team in the league without it counting against the team salary cap. The cap figure currently is under $44million, with a new figure to be determined this summer.
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