So it's not a torn ACL, but likely meniscus and or MCL damage?

Ooops, sorry. I guess the blog updated with the details since my above post.

As much as this stinks, it could have been worse. Just ask Shaun Livingston. At least Gil will be ready to go by training camp.

Thanks for the update, Ivan. You are a freaking fantastic reporter and writer.

Maybe teams will overlook the wizards now. Also, the wiz have nothing to lose so they can play loose, and balls out.

Dagger to the heart!

THE COURSE OF LES BOULEZ!!!

Who else can lose their two all-stars right before the playoffs, as their team is in the heat of a divisional race???

WOW

Get well soon, Gil. You're a breath of fresh air in the sport.

Completely lousy timing. Why not lose two of our best players early in the season so we can at least draft somebody decent? No, it has to come RIGHT before the playoffs.

What a way to end the season. It all started out so promising, and now this.

Ewing theory!

Ivan, can we get some background on this Marc Connell cat. specifically, how long has he been the franchise's team doctor. just asking 'cause our team doctors do not have a history of competence. was a second opinion given? is this guy a highly regarded surgeon? is he a family doctor? is there anyway this can be screwed up?

Man! That is a HUGE blow to the Wiz! Arenas was the Wizards leading scorer. This is definitely going to test the mental of this Washington Wizards basketball team to see what they are made of. One of two things can happen. Either they rally and rise to the occasion or they crumble under the pressure. Friday will be a good test against the second place Cleveland Cavaliers. We will see if the Wiz can summon that inner warrior cause it is going to be a dog fight from here on out! Get better soon, Gil and Caron! Thanks for getting us to this point. Go Wiz!

Heal up, Gil!

This could be a blessing in disguise. Now Mike Hall and D. Taylor can get some valuable minutes.

Get well soon Gil.

Time to grind up the ashes of this season and mix em in w/...
well, you get the picture.

I second that, what worry wart is saying.... can we (wizards organization) please dish out the big bucks for a "very" respectable surgen with tons of years of experience?

I think G. Wallace did it on purpose, jealous triflin punk.

I was interested in the above post which indicated that team doctors are incompetent. On what facts or circumstances is this opinion based i.e .
botched surgery on a past or current playeretc?

Well, all you Gilbert haters got what you wanted. Let's see how the teams does now. Anyone who bashed Arenas on this blog, I hope you are happy!

We love you Gil. Get better soon. Pay no attention to the haters!

Arenas is a wuss. The Wizards need to commit more to defense rather then glitz or they will always be destined for 1st or 2nd round exits each year.

If we had defense then losing Arenas wouldn't be the end of the world.

That bench is kind of short now with Gil, Caron and Blatche injured and Brenda on the shelf. Might Scottie Pippen want to come to D.C. for the playoffs?

I'm kinda hoping they lose out now and get a great lottery pick. 0-8, Please!

Just our luck, I bet Brendan Haywood will have a great game and clinch a playoff spot the last game of the season.

the reason why I would want the best surgeon out there, if were Gil or even the 'Zards organization, is because Gilbert Arenas is the face of the franchise and their most clutch player and scorer especially driving it to the rim. So i wouldn't want a young buck doing my surgery... thats all.

Thanks to Ivan for always great reporting.

I wish Gilbert and Caron quick recovery.

Is there any chance the Wiz can miss the playoffs now? I just don't see us making it out of the first round (no disrespect to the rest of the team) without Gil and Caron. So why not just tank and try to get a ping-pong ball? Pride is great, but a chance at a high draft pick in this draft would be the silver lining!

Gil, stay positive.

Now it's time for the other guys to step up and show what they are made of and if they want it bad enough. The talent is there they have to believe in themselves and demonstrate why they are in the NBA.

JORDAN MUST GO!!!

you realize even if they lose out...the pacers/knicks or whoever would have to win out for the wiz to miss the playoffs... them winning out is highly unlikely....

can we get a doctor on these comments? whats this going to do to his first step?

So after all of those years of suffering through not making the playoffs, we are now saying we would rather tank the season to get a ping pong ball? How many of those ping pong balls have helped us through the years? Certainly not the number one that we used on Kwame. We should expect to be in the playoffs no matter who is playing for our team. That seperates the good teams from the bad.

With the knicks losing last night, the wiz get into the playoffs with one win. I also think that means we get in if the Knicks lose one more, so no ping pong balls.

On the post with regard to seeing what the Wizards are made of - kind of hard to hold them to that standard right now. They just don't have the horses to win many games, no matter how much heart they put in it.

I'll third the opinion on the Wizards doctors. I hope they have someone good. Fortunately I think MCL tear is pretty basic surgery at this point, and it isn't the ACL in terms of long term problems. Fortunately, this isn't the 80's and Gilbert isn't Danny Manning.

On the dr. competency question - well, for starters, someone completely messed up with Jarvis - he should have had the surgery to start with, rather than having the same injury twice. How about Gilbert's collarbone earlier this season? Someone should have been able to spot that a bit earlier.

why god why?

THE WIZARDS MUST RELINQUISH THEIR PLAYOFF SPOT. JORDAN IS A JOKE AND THE TEAM HAS REGRESSED WITH HIM HERE...FIRST ROUND ELIMINATION LAST YEAR. MEANWHILE THE BULLS AND CAVS ARE PROGRESSING.

NO DEFENSE = EARLY PLAYOFF EXIT = MEANINGLESS SEASON

EVEN THE SUNS NEVER WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS BECAUSE THEIR DEFENSE SUCKS. AND JORDAN WANTS TO BE THE SUNS OF THE EAST.

I was afraid of that after seeing the way his knee flexed on the collision. Two of the Big three are out, and I'm not sure that Jamison isn't hobbled. Wouldn't be surprised to see him have his knee scoped right after the season.
Good news for Gil is that most of the time guys bounce back quickly from meniscus surgery. Bad news for the Wiz is this season is ending so badly. What a series of tough breaks!
We get to see if EJ can rally the guys he has left to play out the season. Get well guys! You're all still young, and we still have time to regroup for next year.

DAMN, DAMN, DAAAAAAAAAAMN!!! This is horrible timing. Oh well, so much for the takeover season. The remaining guys should do their best to make the playoffs anyway. There is no guarantee with the lottery. We may still end up with the 14th best player instead of the 17th best player. DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!

Ivan:
Could you find out when Marc Connell became the Wizards' team doctor? Stephen Haas was the doc for a long time. Has Connell replaced him, or are they both still on board?

"Those that are exalted, shall be humbled...and those that are humble, shall be exalted...

I'm hurt!
Get well Gil and Caron...see you guys next season...This really sucks! I'm just speechless right now.

This is indeed a Florida Evans moment. Can I get that one more time? F*CK!!!

And I just purchased tix to the playoff games yesterday morn! I repeat - F*CK!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Craaaaaaaazy! Get better soon Gil and Caron.

Wow! The first part of the season seems like 5 years ago. I would have never thought the season would end up in flames like this. How unfortunate. Get well Gil and Caron.

I can not believe I am seeing posts to let Gilbert go. Are you folks crazy or something. I have been watching the Bullets/Wizards since the late 1977 when I was in elementary school, and Gilbert is the best thing that has happened to the Wizards and me as a true fan.

As I have posted before, I was there with the Fat Lady Singing, The Beef Brothers, Gus Williams and Dan Roundtree (after their prime), the Kenny Green pick two slots before Karl Malone by GM Ferry, John "hotplate" Williams, The Fab two, Pollin's decision to change the whole dynamics of the college draft "slotting system" by lowballing JHoward, the Wizards forced ouster of John Nash because Susan O'Malley could not get along with him and Abe choose her over Nash, Wes Unseld and his missed picks along with trading CWebb for someone older and shorter after we had traded three #1 picks to get CWebb in the first place, trading R. Wallace for Rod "eat a hotdog before everygame" Strickland, MJ's arrival and excitement only to not get into the playoff's, MJ's departure and the Wiz then being called the laughing stock of the NBA, then the arrival of EJ and then EG, and guess what?????? The arrival of Gilbert Arenas. That is where everything changed.

For the folks who have not been long-time Bullet/Wizards fans and do not really know the history of this team and its numerous mishaps, you need to chill on those crazy comments about getting rid of Gil.

The man might desire a lot of attention, but guess what? At least he is not cocky about it. He explained himself in the NBA blog if you ever have time to read it. He is everyting a lot of superstars are not. He is accessable and he cares about his fans.

Look what he did for that young kid who lost his family in that fire years ago. He still is associated with that young man when that young kid needed some support. Look at what he is doing for the school system in the Metro area with his contributions.

Man, sometimes people (fans) don't know how to appreciate things until they are gone. Did anyone of you ever stop to think how you would be acting if your mother dropped you off in a crackhouse and left you there. Everyone needs their mother's attention, and you have to remember this guy never had it, so that may explain some of his self-promoting ways; but who cares about that. The dude is still the best thing that has happened to this franchise.

Get well Gil...... Mannnnnnnnnnn!!!1

Our team was average with Gilbert. We are one and out either way. Although no one wants o say anything, the problem is Antawn. He's too small to guard 4's and too slow to guard 3's. There's a reason he came off the bench in Dallas. The best he can do is score to offset the points he gives up but unfortunately, it doesn't happen often enough. When his man gets by him, it causes other teammates to try to help and they pick up fouls. The only way we win with him is to go with a Phoenix style running team. Blatche is the answer for us. Just wish he could shoot. BTW, I'm a season ticket holder and I've been for years. Trust me on this. Antawn needs to go.

This comes at the worse time the Wizards are rally going to havr to step there games up D. Stevenson and Jamison are going to have to be those guys that lead us and Jarvis and Antonio are going to have to prove to be be big.But first things first let's clinch a playoff spot and hope and pray for a strong perfomance.

To ExtremeSkins: DAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!! Oh James!

Mikie, you're right. Gilbert is probably the best player this franchise has ever had (with respect to Elvin and Wes). People need to shut up and stop hating. We'd be in the lottery without him.

To quote Flordia Evans from "Good Times"
DAMN, DAMN, DAMN !!!!!!! (Followed up by throwing the punch bowl to the floor.)

How do you like your TOAST?!!!!!

Gil and CBut: Speedy recovery, guys. Think of the bright side: unlike AJ, you weren't hurt by "friendly fire."

ohhh wow....loosing gil sucks!I hope that he and Caron gets better soon.

Jordan you jackass!

2 months for torn Cartlige?

Please that injury should take a maxium of 4 weeks to heal a min. of 2 weeks.

Wow. We'll I guess injuries happen, better they happen all at once and move on to next season, right? In the meantime, let's see if Blatche can really step it up.

FROM 1st place in the Eastern Conference in January...to this. Typical.

SWAAA------DAGGGGGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP........

BACKBREAKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!

Where's Bucky when you need him??????

Well, with Gilby being out, at least Les BouleS have an excuse to blow the first round of the playoffs irregardless of the fact that they most likely would have been one and done anyway.

As I said all along, the lottery looks more promising than the playoffs, but Les BouleS don't qualify for the lottery. Too bad, b/c we need the help.

Let's see what Suzy O'Malley can dream up now from a PR Marketing standpoint to get people to buy these worthless playoff tickets. Maybe she'll resort back to pitching the other team's stars again. The latest promo is "Guy's Night Out," where you get a F'n hot dog, soda, and a picture with a Wizard's cheerleader. Too bad you have to eat the hot dog.

As a smart guy once said (Derrick Coleman): "Whooop Dee D@mn Dooo...."

Stick a d@mn fork in these turkeys, they're done.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

You've gotta laugh, because otherwise you'd cry................

This has been like Ground Hog Day ever since I started writing on this blog.

CURSE OF LES BOULES!!!!

Look this will be positive. We lose the rest of our games, win the lottery, and BAM!!! Greg Oden. Of course with the curse of LES BOULEZ we probably will get the 13th pick and trade for Kwame Back

Etan, Brendan(da), Jarvis will travel for draft pick PLEASE! enough is enough!

Jim, no Ewing theory. Maybe if Caron was still healthy, but even then, Gil was definitely a help, not a hurt.

http://midatlantic.comcastsportsnet.com/shows-WPL.asp

Looks like Ivan will be on Comcast's show tonight... hope we get an update!

DAAAAGGGGAAAAARRRR!

Stick a fork in us, we're done!

Gil getting hurt sucks, but by no means dooms us. We were goin out first round the second Caron Butler went down. Just means we now lose in 4 games as opposed to 5.

Its sad Gil and Caron are out for the season. But not to lose sight that the real problem is the coach. Even with Caron and Gil playing, the team looked directionles, confused, had no chemistry, didn't pass the ball enough and played little defense. All these are coaching issues. The team is much better than this record and the coach has to go.

Our season is so over! I don't think we will win another game. The guys played hard last night and still lost to Charlotte - at home! If it was just Gil or Caron, we might stand a chance but with both out for the season - DAGGER! as Buck would say. Cleveland (and the rest of the teams we play) must be licking their chops.

To all you Gilbert bashers...shame on you. He is the most exciting thing to happen to this team in a long time. And a good person. Too bad for the Gilbert scores for schools foundation. Despite his theatrics, he is a pretty simple guy in NBA terms. He does not build multi-million dollar houses with everything known to man, travel with an entourage, BITE HIS NAILS, and put down Stephon Marbury's sneaker brand like the almighty King James. That in itself is a breath of fresh air.

Get well, Gil!

It's time for the real fans to step up and all the bandwagon jumpers to get the hell off. If there was ever a time this team needed the support of its real fans, it's now.

It's a wrap!!!

What in the world are you people talking about this being Jordan's fault!Since he got here he's gotten us into the playoffs three straight years. Do you think Doug Collins or Bernie Bickerstaff did a better job? Seriously. Open your eyes and realize we DON'T HAVE THE PERSONNEL. Guys like Michael Ruffin and Calvin Booth should not even be in the league. We need to go out and bring in someone who actually plays defense and rebounds kinda like Deshawn Stevenson. I love Gil and Twan but they're soft. IF we bring in some bruisers we'll be competing w/the Bulls and the Pistons instead of contemplating tanking to get a lottery pick. We missed out on Chris Wilcox but there's other guys like that.

LES BOULEZ?

No way. the Curse is when you've traded for a guy who ends up eating his way to the bench, threatening to break his seat. Or hiring a guy as coach without experience whose best strategy is to drag his old butt onto the court. Finally, a number one pick who sees Shaq coming and runs the other way.

So guys who get hurt during the season? Just a by-product of guys who play hard.

I'm not honestly expecting the Ewing theory either. But AD is a better passer than Gil, and seemed to get Etan involved a bunch last night. If Blatche comes back soon and Songaila keeps playing better, I think it's not impossible they could do OK against the right team. I still don't think that's getting them far, but it beats talking about the Redskins in April/May.

I seriously hope we lose the rest of our games and don't make the playoffs so I can get a refund on me purchasing playoff tix 10 hours before Areans went down.......

F*CK!!!!

One name for next year Kevin Garnett! Everyone is expendable except Arenas and Butler! Holla if you hear me Mr.G

"Despite his theatrics, he is a pretty simple guy in NBA terms. He does not build multi-million dollar houses with everything known to man, travel with an entourage, BITE HIS NAILS, and put down Stephon Marbury's sneaker brand like the almighty King James. That in itself is a breath of fresh air. - Lisa"

Geez, if Gilbert is a simple guy, I guess most simple guys pull up to the b-ball courts in Barry Farms, SE, DC in their Ferraris too. Or, us simple guys like to rent out Love and throw ourselves a million dollar birthday party and hiring P.Diddy to MC the event.

Since you're his main groupie, he must got you brainwashed and needs to throw you some more crumbs when he got that Jones for some Souf East luvin'.

This sucks!

Get well soon Agent Zero, this was probably Gil best year, and it's WHACK this had to happen. But seriously, Wizards didn't have a chance to get passed the second round. The teams they played last year in the playoffs both improved their talent and defense, except us. Our defense went down compared to last year. I would not put all the blame on Jordan, but that other bama...Mr. Grunfield. The man don't know talent. Name a draft pick he made that has paid off(blossom into contributor) for the wizards since he's been the GM or whatever he is. Juan and Steve are gone.

Here's the million dollar question:

What if Les BouleS enter the playoffs and win their first round while looking spectacular. I know this is a stretch, but what if they do? Does it mean Gilby's perceived value to this team is less if the TEAM as a whole plays better, does better, and does some damage in the playoffs?

"Mr. Grunfield. The man don't know talent. Name a draft pick he made that has paid off(blossom into contributor) for the wizards since he's been the GM or whatever he is. Juan and Steve are gone.

Posted by: Skel | April 5, 2007 01:02 PM "

Caldm down Skel, don't forget what was divulged recently. This team is on a tight budget, and can't attract or acquire the players that management wants because of this. Dishonest Abe is asking the city for welfare to spruce up Verizon so he can charge 400K for the luxury skyboxes instead of 100K. If Grunfeld had an owner like Paul Allen, Cuban, Dolan, Mickey Arison, etc. the possibilities are unlimited.

My god Skel, you're actually putting down the guy that signed Gilbert and AD, traded the 7 foot tall pussy cat for Caron, drafted Andray, let Jeffries go and replaced him for a tenth of the price? I'm sure there are a couple others I'm not thinking of, but you're acting as if Isiah is running the team. Displace your agony over losing Gil on someone else.

Dr. Marc Connell is an orthopaedist. Both Connell and Haas are Wizards team physicians and good orthopods to go to in DC. They also take BlueCross, which is a nice added benefit for those of us that aren't playing for the Wizards and have orthopaedic issues. Check out their website -- http://www.dcsportsmedicine.com/ Here's Connell's info page - http://www.dcsportsmedicine.com/who/mc.asp

Ok, what's done is done, so here are my instructions to the remaining key players:

1. D-Steve: from time immemorial under-talented teams have tried to equalize things by playing MEAN AND UGLY. Your role will be to set the standard for mean and ugly play.

2. AD: While D-Steve is getting the opponents' goats, your job will be to continue to get 15 assists a game and to ignore the refs totally. If it helps, you can pretend that the refs are EJ.

3. D-Song: You are officially the team's point-forward now. All plays that do not go from AD for an assist to AJ or Poet will be run through you.

4. Poet: Life ain't poetry. Time for you to get mean and ugly too. And to get 15 and 10 a night.

5. Jarvis: Please, if you have to miss, at least shoot long and hit the back of the rim. Those airballs are embarrassing.

I gotta back up Mikie and other old-times who post here. Many of yall are writing comments with the basketball memory of a 14 year old high school kid. Seriously. I'm not saying Eddie Jordan is perfect, but the Wizards have been better with him here. I'm guessing many of yall dont remember the 80s/90s lean years. Well, I do. And I'll stick with EJ for at least another few seasons.

Only one thing to do...tank the rest of the season and lottery it up for the big Oden.

ohh yeeaaaah

Forgot AJ:

6. AJ: If you keep camping out beyond the 3 point line, Abe is going to start charging you rent.

time will tell if we all burn in hell...

I think Florida Gators could sweep the wizards in best of 5. I hear a few of the And1 players available, ernie. Either Silk or AI would be cheap replacement for Gil. At least watching the Wiz would be entertaining.

Bottom line: Agent 0 is out (we wish him a very speedy recovery!!)

And with the other injured players, it's time for the rest to step up. This will give the organization an opportunity to determine who should wear the jersey in the future and who has needlessly been on the roster. I'm sure Daniels will step up and I'm hoping fellow Hoo Roger Mason II will step up as well.

Cheat,

As much as I wonder what Larry Brown could do with Gil, I want to see what Eddie can do with a talented frontcourt before I call for his head. If the Wiz had somehow traded for Shaq a couple years ago, Gil would be getting the press that DWade is getting now.

If we had a good coach, he might be able to do something with the talent we have - perhaps to tweak the line-up. It's time to see what Donnel Taylor & Mike Hall are made of. I wouldn't be surprised to see someone cut, and we sign a retired vet to attempt a rescue.

Well, now we get to see what the other guys are made of. They only need one win to clinch a playoff spot. With the heat on, we'll see who cooks and who wilts. If nothing else, it'll give the front office a good idea about which of the supporting cast to keep for next year and which to cut loose. We've already seen Etan step it up and Songaila's got it going a bit. The light's gonna be harshest on Jarvis.

Any games they win in the playoffs will be gravy.

You do not want Larry Brown here. I'm a Pistons fan (orignally from Detroit) and if you think this team is drama central now, you haven't seen anything until LB rolls into town.

This is directed to jarvis h., andrey b. and those wanting to become "THE MAN" on the wizards:

SEIZE THE DAY!!!(dead poets society 1988)

You now have no excuses, your top dogs are in done for the season. Man up!!!

Now back to our regular scheduled programming!!!!!

Hey you guys, look on the bright side, at least we have the nationals(shaking head) opppsss my bad, we can wait for skins(tearing up). Nevermind(arggghhhh) Good grief. Pro sports in this area is stank. I would like to know has this happened to another sports team a few games before the playoffs to lose two allstars within a weeks span?

dcwizfan- thanks for doc info. dont know how, but it help.

antawn does have a problem. it really hurts his game, and I wish he didn't have to confront it. but its called defense. hed be a superstar if 50% of basketball wasn't defense. a shame, really.

good luck Gilbert on your surgery & get well real soon 2 u & Caron. now Mr Grunfield, the ball is your court. what will u do this offseason? will u replace Antawn with a power forward who can bang underneath? will the three draft picks who r now playing oversees b available 4 next season? what about finding a pure point guard & moving Gilbert over 2 his natural 2 spot? and what about finding a decent replacement 4 the soon 2 b departed Haywood? How far the Wizards advance n next year playoffs depends on Ernie Grunfield.

You guys are crazy if you think the Wizards can get KG for any of our guys. Minnesota wants talent and high draft picks to rebuild. They have fans and media in Minnesota to answer to. They aren't going to except our trash. So please stop the Brenda Haywood, Etan Thomas, Michael Ruffin and Antawn Jamison for KG talk. You sound foolish.

We had no chance at Shaq - he clearly said he would only go to a big market city like NY, LA, Miami etc. We had a better chance at bringing back Big Ben or Chris Wilcox. Kevin Garnett is also unlikely since he'll want $100 mil and we know Abe would never swing that. Need to try and get one of the big men from the Knicks.. any ONE of their bigs would start here. David Lee, Balkman, Channing Frye, Eddie Curry.

Time to sell those season tickets....

I am still trying to sort through all my feelings about the latest news about Gil. Oh, my God! We have waited so long for someone like Gil. Mikie laid it all out so well. I am a long time Wizards (Bullets) fan. I stood with my son at Dulles Airport in 1978 to welcome the Champion Bullets home and got to shake hands with Elvin, Bobby, Mitch and Wes and, believe me, I can still remember the great feeling that was. I was so looking forward to experiencing that again. Oh, my God! Our future still is bright....get better Gil and know that we are waiting for you! And Caron....keep your eye on the prize. And yes, that prize will be ours one day!

If the Knicks bigs are so good, why are they 10 games under .500 then? Again, no one is taking the Wizards trash.

HABACHIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!

now he'll have all the extra time to post on his blog all day long. . . and maybe study film on getting better on the defensive side of the ball.

"Dagger to the heart!"

That's cold Lisa. :)

As the first poster said, at least it's not an ACL. Gil should be thanking his lucky stars on that one.

Jordan should also be thanking Gil and Caron because all of the injuries ensures that he will be coach next year.

This is my prediction: the Wiz will win more games going down the stretch run because they will be forced to play as a team.

This team desperately needs a point guard, hopefully EG will address that in the offseason.

- Ray

Finally, Roger Mason Jr. can shine unabatedly.

I knew it was bad when he limped off the court; Gil is a warrior. Get well soon, Agent 0

"This is my prediction: the Wiz will win more games going down the stretch run because they will be forced to play as a team. - Ray"

Ray, did you read what you wrote? "They will win more games because they will be forced to play as a TEAM!!!"

What a novelty. A team that plays together, wins together.

I hope the Wiz dont send Arenas to recover at Walter Reed!

aramey - the knicks are as bad as they are because they have five guys that basically play the same position.. ballhog. Nate RObinson, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson. Their bigs are a bright spot and I think we could potentially pry one away by offering Antawn Jamison.

If their bigs are a bright spot, why would they trade one for Jamison? Unless you think the Wizards have a serious need for Jerome James.

seeing an NBA commercial about Red Auerbach talking about how to play defense and then as soon as the commercial was over hearing Phil Buckhantz going "Welcome back to MCI center as the Wizards....." That is a perfect definition of irony.

Gilbers a wuss? Jordan must go? Who are these people? They cant be wizzards fans. LOOSER!!

Le Knicks won't want any of our garbage, especialy with Jared Jeffries being a prime example of why not.

Well how do you like that?

Gil was the reason I watch the team anyway, now he's not going to be a part of the playoffs.

Mikie, As another longtime NBA/Wizards(I still think of them as the Bullets) I second your post 100%. I've saw this franchise get rid of "The Pearl" and people said he wasn't a team player.
And then he went on to NY and won two titles as part of one of the great "teams" of all time. Most great players want to win, they'll figure out how to adjust their game as they reach their prime to do it. Gil's strength has been his ability to improve his game every year, he's only 25 his game is still on the upswing.
EG does have work to do this off season, but we all shouldn't forget how good this team performed when healthy, and we have two or maybe three guys that we already can bring in from overseas. We have our Mid cap exception available and I don't think we have to use it to resign our own player.
EJ's not getting fired this off season, with all of the injuries no one's going to fire the Allstar Coach no matter how much manny think he's part of the problem. But, watching the Bobcats and knowing Bernie Bickerstaff is out as coach I can't help but wonder if he isn't a guy that could be brought here in some role. I really like the way he has that team playing, wouldn't be a bad guy to have waiting in the wings.

I dont understand people calling for Jordons head. Are you people even from the washington area or did you just move here since Bush won the election? If you were long time washingtonians and real fans you would appreciate how the wizzards have turned from perrinial loosers to a playoff team since Eddie and Ernie have been on board. You would also learn to appreciate some of the star players they have even if they dont go to the finals every year. Do you want the old wizzards back with bad coaches, gimmicks, sorry players and even worse draft picks? Even Michael Jordan could do no better during his tenure than sell tickets. Jordan has turned them into winners and a playoff team. I guess he should go in you folks eyes because they haven't won a title. This is the wizzards not the New England Patriots!! Its a reason why Jordan and Grunfeld are coach and GM and the rest of you are bloggers on the post. They know what they are doing and you just think you know. Most of you would not last one season as a professional GM or coach but you sound good to yourselves on these blogs. Stick to blogging folks, non of you are NBA material in any way shape or form. Damm, Fire Jordan, and hire who? Some of you need to get back to work.

Ok maybe not the Knicks but someone has to want Jamison he's a nightly 20/10 guy. Any chance we can get Glen Davis in the draft or Aaron Gray. I think in a year like this they fall out being lottery picks.

Bernie's been here one and was shown the door. No retreads, please. If/when Eddie gets the boot (which will not be this offseason) it'll be either for a hot young up-and-comer who'll inject a fresh shot of adrenaline into the team or a proven winning vet who's established himself as one of the top guys.

Bickerstaff is neither. He's this generation's version of Ron Rothstein or Bob Weiss. S olid dependable unremarkable guy who fills space until you can find the real thing.

Some teams might be interested in Jamison's ability, but no one is interested in his contract.

Guess I'll weigh in here.

Stop the Gil haters comments! Telling it like it is is not hating. Well, I guess DCMANN probably qualifies as one. Look the team SUPERSTAR does not play a lick of defense and is not by all accounts a team leader. Say what you will about the Wade's, Lebron's, Kobe's, but they are definitely team leaders and play defense.

For the Wiz historians out there who love the coach and Gil etc bc we make the playoffs now, I remember all those years too, but I'm sorry they were so bad for so long that now you think first round playoff loss teams are championship caliber. This team needs major changes. That being said, with three all-star players they should be better than they are currently.

Get well Gilbert! You are a VERY GOOD player. I reserve superstar status for winning in the postseason and making your teammates better.

Well my buddy just called me as frantic as can be. We're done, he says. Forget the playoffs, he says. He may be right or maybe the Wiz will surprise us. Remember what happened w/the Eagles & D. McNabb? I'm not saying the exact thing will happen but you never know. Let's try to stay positive and check out tomorrow's game. I hope Gil uses this time to deflate that big ol head. Sorry guys but those 3-point attempts during the last 3 secs of the game is just unreal!

OK you're right. We probably can't move AJ so let's try and draft a big who isn't still under contract over seas please. Also can I just say the line of the day was just delivered by that dude fuming over the re re's asking for Eddie Jordan's head "some of you need to get back to work" That was F'g classic dude and thank you EJ is the best coach we've had here in eons and he aint going NOWHERE.

as it has been said i am sure by many posters already....the curse of les boulez is upon us again.

I so look forward to the day when AJ returns to a sixth man role where he belongs!

I am sick of the Walter Hermann's of the world turning into all-stars when they play us.

bye bye season.

Ward Clever has all the answers.

ward cleaver has all the answers.

I just went and put on my Mitch Richmond jersey.. not that anyone cares

It won't be enough, but now is the time for these guys to truly run the Princeton offense, it is the only way with the group that is left to have any chance on the offensive end. I am wondering if the Wizards should try to go zone with Arenas out of there and Daniels (who is more committted on the defensive end) in there.

I don't even think Florida Evans could utter enough DAMNs to encapsulate how I feel about what has happened to the Wizards the last week.

Again, I'm sorry our coaches have been so pathetic historically that Anonymous would think EJ is a great coach. He is a decent offensive coach and that's it. The Norv Turner of the NBA!!!!!

Doug Collins coaching this team would be an improvement.

To all the Wizards fans - that really blows - but as a Raps fan - i wish the playoffs started tommorrow!

There are some real morons here on this message board. The people who said, that we wouldn't need Arenas if we could play D shouldn't be allowed to live by him self. he should have a 24 hr nurse to feed him and wash him.

And I hope the person who wrote that this could be a blessing in disguise bc Mike Hall and Donell Taylor will get more burn def needs to stop eating paint chips.

Come on man! This sucks a@@! Get a grip on reality.

From far the worst new of the year, it's so horrible to end a season like that, especially for Gil. I really hope he gets better and re start practicing in two months... Gett better Gil, you're the best right now and it's unfair that it falls on you but it's how it is, I know you'll come back way stronger.

Gotta disagree w/a comment just made. It's not Eddie Jordan's fault we're a terrible defensive team. The players on our squad are not disciplined enough to run zone effectively and get beat by whoever they are D'g in man.. it's a matter of skill and size. We dont have it and have traded away guys who did like Big Ben. Haven't you noticed how teams kills us by rotating the ball and making a skip pass or two and finding the wide open jumper.. come on! Does the memory of game 6 last year fade that quickly?

Get rid of Eddie Jordan??? He's had to best run of any recent Bullets/Wizards Coach? So getting rid of Eddie doesn't make since injuries are a part of sports.
They are unfortunate when they do come especially right now when the Wiz are in the battle for the SE Crown with the Heat. Now we'll see what the team is really all about now. Will they fold or will they get their Game going now. Teams whether NHL MLB NFL and the NBA have key injuries and some come at near the end of the season. But the teams find someway to pull together. The Wiz will either pull together or fall apart. You never know this may be a Blessing in disguise?? How? I have no idea but you never know. We as fans should not scold Eddie Jordan he had nothing to do with Gil's knee injury nor Caron breaking a bone in his hand. It's only 8 games left let's just see what they do. We as fans need to rally around the team they need us NO we don't Caron and NO we don't have GIlbert. But we still have a Team to root for YES I said a TEAM TO ROOT FOR!!! And to those of you who want Eddie Jordan to be FIRED?? To you I say HELL + NO = HELL NO!!!

The Mavericks are going to be shaking in their boots when they see Caron and Gilbert walk on the court for game seven of the Finals.

Agree with Mikie!!!

I've been a fan all my life, and remember the days when Elvin and Wes were HUGE on the court and won the title!!!

The Bullets had been a joke ever since right after the Mahorn/Ruland era, until Abe sent MJ and his ego packing and brought in Eddie J & Ernie G. That's about 15-17 years. Now, these dudes have brought in talented good guys (Gil is eccentric yes, but a decent guy) who win enough to at least make the playoffs yearly, instead of talented, underperforming, and unappreciative knuckleheads like Webber, Howard, and Strickland. Better yet, they've stemmed the exodus of players that move to other teams to become all-stars. That's damn good progress!

Arenas=All Star, Butler=All Star, Jamison=All Star. Stevenson & Daniels are good support players, and Blatche seems to be coming on. If they can get a decent hard-nosed big man and either of those Euro players pan out, they're in great shape for the next few years regardless of the draft.

Abe P - Please don't pull a Peter Angelos or a Dan Snyder!!! Keep on building on the current foundation, stepping up the talent level when possible, as the Wizards and the college b-ball teams are bright spots in the DC sportsworld these days.

Gil & Caron - Get better soon!

Thanks to the entire team for a memorable season (so far!!!), and best of luck in the playoffs, which is where you all deserve to be.

Making the playoffs in the NBA does not separate the good teams from the bad. It separates the mediaocor teams from the bad!

Ok I like where you're coming from man but we have ABSOLUTELY no chance of going far in the playoffs. All that Kumbaya s#it might help us keep the 6 spot but it sure as hell isn't going to keep Chris Bosh or Lebron James from making it rain all over our sorry injury plagued "TEAM" - making the playoffs is a foregone conclusion we're IN already. Let's just hope we don't embarass the city by getting swept by the Cavs.

can we still miss the playoffs and get a lottery pic?

Techinically if we lose all of our eight games and the Knicks win out.. likelihood low. Here's the real question can we bring Calbert Cheaney, Tom Gugliotta and Gheorge Muresan out of retirement? Those are the dudes who were on our team when I became a fan so maybe you see why I'm not freaking out just yet. Things could be worse.

I would take Florida Gators starting 5 over the wizards starting 5 without Gil or Caron.

We're pretty much locked into the No. 6 seed... unless somehow Jersey or Orlando can make up 5 games before end of the season, right? Predictions vs. Toronto or Miami?

STOP DREAMIN ALREADY!!!!

DID SOMEBODY WRITE WALLACE DID IT ON PURPOSE? LOL, LOL. IF ARENAS HAD BEEN ON HIS GAME..HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T GOT HURT.

WHY DIDN'T HIS TIRED BEHIND COME TO THE SHOOT AROUND? NO MILK & COOKIES?
OR WAS HE SULKING AS IS HIS USUAL?
YOU FOLKS ARE DESPERATE!!

MIKIE MAN, QUIT BUYIN THAT TRASH THAT ARENAS DIDN'T HAVE HIS MOM..WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? HALF THE DUDES ON THE COURT IN NBA DIDN'T HAVE MOMS. QUIT MAKIN EXCUSES!!

FYI, Muresan supposedly recently played in a developmental league game with Sun Ming Ming, a 7-9 import from China.

The team's defensive deficiencies are equally the fault of the coach and the players, like pretty much everything that goes wrong (or right) with a sports team.

What did Abe Pollin buy this team from the devil or something??
Geez we just can't catch a break can we?
(Caron's hand doesn't count its only a fracture)
I'm tempted to say that all is lost but this may actually be a good thing for the Wizards.
Now some folks will have to step up and show their worth and we can see just what we really have on this team...who's got heart and who doesn't...who's a leader and who's not.

someone had the nerve 2 post a comment saying Doug Collins would be an improvement. ask all the players he coached with da Bulls, Pistons, and Wizards if he's an improvement. 4 all u Jordan bashers out there, what Bullets/Wizard coaches were u satisfied with before Jordan arrived? If Abe gets rid of him, he'll b hired by a new team n a matter of days. and who will replace him? Larry Brown? i hope not. college coaches better not apply. if the wizards could replace Jordan with either Popovich, Jerry Sloan, or even Doc Rivers, then i'm down for a change. But we all know that's not going happen, especially 4 the first 2 names mentioned. So face it, Jordan is the best coach 4 this team.

Gilbert Arenas is overrated. Always have been always will be. Maybe now they can play some TEAM basketball. When he's playing composed, he's one of the best players in the league, but when he plays selfishly, he's a detriment to the team. They have solid players, now they have to play as a team. That was a HUGE loss with Butler, he's a team player.

One more thing, the philadelphia eagles will win the superbowl in 2008. You heard it here first. LOL

Wiz: Call It a Season!

If losing Gil and Caron for the rest of the season and the soon-to-be-short-lived playoffs wasn't enough, we have Brendan Haywood to thank for his unprofessional conduct on the court...and on the bench.

Never have I seen such lack of character from a man who is pulling in about $4.5 million this year from the Wiz front office. From his pitiful, uninterested defensive efforts to his pathetic run-ins with Etan Thomas (no doubt due to Etan telling Brendan to "be a man and bring his game" every night), Haywood fails to show professionalism, a trademark that has been his own all season long.

Then again, from my perspective this issue with Haywood has never been about money. It's about integrity, character, and the principal of living up to one's promise to the organization and fans and to the profession one undertakes. Brendan Haywood will never be known by Wiz basketball fans for his integrity, character, or principals. What he will be known for is the way he has stolen money from the Wizards organization and its fans. [Notice "its" not "his" since, in my estimation, Haywood has few, if any, fans.]

It's a little late in coming, but Coach Eddie Jordan and GM Ernie Grunfeld have finally caught on to Haywood's ploy. Of late, Haywood has been rightfully benched due to his lack of effort on the court. [Brendan, please, step up, be a man, and admit that you're not giving 100% every night, and we'll believe you. We just want to hear it from your lying mouth.]

Moreover, while he has been riding the pine, Haywood has refused to encourage his teammates, cheer them on, get his behind off the bench and stand up on those size 20 shoes and be a part of the Wiz team. [Isn't it amazing how a player's true character shows through every time?] He has created dissension and strife and---thankfully---Ernie and Eddie have seen right through Haywood's antics, rightfully discerning that lukewarm play and a foul attitude cannot earn privileges.

Another of Haywood's problems is---like many of today's youth---his sense of entitlement. [The world owes me...I'm too valuable...I have a right to...I'm too important...I'm getting mine.]

To build my favorite team, I would find five men with great attitudes, who left everything on the court every night, and played as a team---even if they had average NBA talent. Why? Fans want to see those types of players succeed. Haywood isn't even close to being that type of player. Give me five "gym rats"---Gil, Sean Elliott, Dennis Johnson, Ben Wallace, Luke Walton---any day of the week. [Yes, two of those five are retired.] Former San Diego Padre Tony Gwynn also comes to mind as one of the hardest workers in the game. But, please, don't ever mention Haywood in the same breath as these men.

I recall a game earlier this season at Verizon Center. The Wiz had not been playing much defense early on [care to guess who was jogging, not running, up the court on defense?]. Eddie subbed in Andre Blatche and, almost immediately, his impact was felt when he played some tough "d" against the opposing center and blocked at least two shots, leading to easy transition hoops for Gil and Caron. Wouldn't you know that the Verizon Center fans went absolutely berserk? You'd have though the Wiz just won their second NBA crown!

While I am sad about the injuries that the Wiz players have suffered this year---to Andre, Antawn, Caron, Darius, Gil, et al---nothing makes me sadder than to see a team that could have easily made it to the Eastern Conference finals this year come apart at the seams late in the year. Yes, losing Caron (twice) and Antawn for long stretches has been painful---for them and for us---but this angst started long ago with Haywood's unprofessionalism rearing its ugly head...way back in the pre-season.

Ernie, please. Rid us of Haywood once and for all. We could use a five worth a plug nickel.

OK FLORIDA EVANS. Your right! and I am too LOL maybe if we give them our bench the 50 million and our draft pick lol they are in the same position we are not enough to good players to win it. Garnett Salery prevents them from signing top talent. So McHale and Grunfield make the deal. Sterns league is so watered down. I'm sorry the NBA. LOL

The whole, "Gilbert is selfish mantra" needs to go. It's nonsense. How many All-star teams did Antawn and Caron play on before they hooked up with Gilbert (an esp. valid question for Antawn since the year he went to the All-Star game wasn't even his best season)? And if Hughes hadn't been hurt, he probably would have gotten the nood too. What's he done since (or before) then? This is the 3rd season in a row where two of Arenas's teammates averaged 18 or more ppg. Three different players, all told. That doesn't happen if the team's go-to guy is a ballhog.

Eagles and Superbowl that was worth a good laugh thank you :) Love how there's only a few teams left to never win a SB and they are one of them. Talk about 40 years of futility I suddenly feel so much better about myself.

This has essentially been said already, but there is no supporting cast for Gil, CB and Antawn (who has his faults but is worth keeping. I'd keep Stevenson and Blatche and beg or pay someone to take the rest of them. Etan and Brenda are too punch drunk to offer any resistance inside, I can't take another season of Jarvis 'Brick the Rock' Hayes and the rest are retreads. I question whether Ernie Grunfeld is the mastermind he was made out to be. But getting rid of Gil is not the answer. I agree that would return us to 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s oblivion.

Hopefully, this won't be an excuse for Ernie not to make a major move this offseason. The team is good, but not consistent enough or tough enough to win a title. As much as I like Antawn, he needs to be a six man. We need a true PF at the 4 spot and something a little better/more consistent at the 5.

Right now the team is just too fragile. We loose one player and the team falls apart.

Fisrt Abe is hobbled with a broken hip then Caron and now Gil, also we will be losing Stevenston to freeagency after the season. So lets clean house and start over agian.

Gil, Gil . . .to take advantadge of your newly found time off, can I send you a copy of "Doug Moe's NBA Defense 101" DVD?

Maybe YOU CAN ACTUALLY LEARN SOMETHING FROM THAT DAMN VIDEO AND START PLAYING DEFENSE AND MAKE YOU TEAM BETTER AND NOT USING YOUR TIME COMING UP WITH STUPID NICKNAMES FOR YOUR SELF!!!!!

Stop whining about playing defense and stop wasting time with your dumb blogs and stupid "agent 0" BS!!!!!!!!!

Grunt, I hope that starts with the owner. Leonsis has been waiting too patiently in the wings.

In case you don't know, Leonsis purchased a majority share of Washington Sports and based on this, has first right to purchase Les BouleS when Dishonest Abe decides to sell. Abe says he will sell either a) when the team wins the NBA championship again, or b) he kicks the bucket. Abe is 83 this year. You figure that one out.

"The whole, "Gilbert is selfish mantra" needs to go. It's nonsense. How many All-star teams did Antawn and Caron play on before they hooked up with Gilbert (an esp. valid question for Antawn since the year he went to the All-Star game wasn't even his best season)? And if Hughes hadn't been hurt, he probably would have gotten the nood too. What's he done since (or before) then? This is the 3rd season in a row where two of Arenas's teammates averaged 18 or more ppg. Three different players, all told. That doesn't happen if the team's go-to guy is a ballhog.

Posted by: kalorama | April 5, 2007 03:07 PM "

Kalorama, how many all star games did Gilby play in before he started playing with Hughes or AJ? Uh, none. This is a "scratch my back, scratch your back" situation. These players play a big part in each other's success.

Given all that, the all star game is a popularity contest, and doesn't mean squat. Both Shaq and Yao made it and they were gone most of the 1st part of the season. Go talk to Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, Stockton, Barkley, Ewing, etc. and ask them what they would trade for championship glory.

wiz wont win another game till october (next season).....they've lost 2 in a row, ...and they will lose their next (& final) 8 regular season games....and get swept 0-4 in the 1st round of the playoffs......to end the season on a 14 game losing streak....oh the humanity.

are the wiz the worst team in the nba with this roster? maybe bucks or celtics ?

I don't think the Wizards are going to lose Stevenson. He's not going to be that expensive (by NBA standards) to keep and he's having the best season of his career. Unless some GM goes nuts and offers him a hugely overinflated offer, the Wiz will pay what it takes to keep him.

mannn wtf gerard wallace ... mannnn

"These players play a big part in each other's success.""

Well ... yeah. That was pretty obviously my point.

Calling Arenas "selfish" is silly, because if he were truly selfish, he wouldn't have two guys putting up the kinds of numbers that Hughes, Jamison, and Butler did playing with him. Truly selfish players impede the growth and success of the players around them. No one with the barest hint of objectvity can look at what Arenas has done in Washington and say he's done that. (Please note the "barest hint of objectvity" disclaimer.)

I heard Nocioni will be a free agent after this season. Being a Wizards fan, I've despised him the last few years but he's tough and might be a good pick up for the Wiz.

Marc Connell is in the same practice group has Haas. They are the best orthopedic doctors in town. They operated on my knee with a similar injury. Gilbert is in excellent hands.

The sad thing is that as a 20 year season ticket holder with the Wiz, I am resigned to this curse.

Ivan Carter does a great job. I hope he continues to cover the Wiz.

Gil, Caron-

You guys have given we Wiz fans a great season. Thank you for that; how great was it to see Washington with the best record in the East for a while there?

Get well soon, and remember that we'll be looking for you guys to drive us deep into the playoffs next year.

To the guys who'll be on the floor for this year's playoff games - we're behind ya! Make us proud.

"Well ... yeah. That was pretty obviously my point."

Yeah, but you only credited Arenas for Hughes, Caron's, and AJ's success. In turn, they should also be credited for Arenas's success.

"...if he were truly selfish, he wouldn't have two guys ..."

Oh really? I'd make that statement only if Arenas was Nash or JKidd, but he's not and doesn't function as a traditional point guard. Most of their acclaim has come from individual play.

The direct benefit with Arenas on your team is the defense may double him to free other guys up, RATHER than Arenas "having two guys putting up the kinds of numbers that Hughes, Jamison, and Butler did playing with him" via setups, pick and rolls, give and gos, etc. initiated by Arenas.

Haas operated on my knee a few years ago when I tore my meniscus. One day while I was in the waiting room I saw Wizards second round pick Rod Grizzard come in for treatment.

"I'd make that statement only if Arenas was Nash or JKidd, but he's not and doesn't function as a traditional point guard. Most of their acclaim has come from individual play."

Again, you're missing the point by a huge margin. You're arguing, quite debatably I might add, that Arenas doesn't make other players better. Whatever. But that's a completely different issue than whether he's selfish, the issue I addressed in my previous post (the post which you quoted in your response).

yo. 761-091 What's your deal with all the Gil "hating"? DC Man88 gave me his reasons, can you give me yours? I'm just trying to understand the "venom" you are spruting out towards Gil.

You keep talking about his "D", but how many of the top ten scores in the NBA are also know as defensive stoppers, other then Kobe? Especially at the "1". Is AI a defensive stopper? No, he plays the "passing lanes" like Gil. Is Steve Nash a defensive stopper? No, he plays nothing.

As for the other top scores, they are mostly 2's and 3's, so guess what? They do not have to check the opposing teams fastest man (the point guard, as Gil often has to do). They are checking guys who are not running off screens left and right and driving to the hole as much.

If you have ever played any ball you know how hard it is on the body to go out and score and then try to guard the opposing teams quickest player if you are playing at the 1.

I am not making any excuses for Gil, because he does "take off" on D sometimes but that is because he is trying to save himself for offense and all of the minutes he logs every game.

If we are able to find some more reliable scores this offseason where Gil would not have to feel he has to carry the scoring load, you will see his defense improve.

forgot my name.

I'll spell itm out for you, DC.

I am not and was not saying that Gilbert was responsible for Hughes, Jamison, and Arenas putting up the numbers they did (which seems to be the puzzling misperception on which you're basing your argument). I'm saying (pretty straightforwardly, I believe) that if Gilbert was a truly selfish player, his selfishness would have made him an obvious impediment to them having the kinds of seasons they did. But he's not and it didn't.

"But that's a completely different issue than whether he's selfish, the issue I addressed in my previous post (the post which you quoted in your response)."

Know what, I really never said he was selfish. I said he was lacking in leadership, ownership, and PG skills and my biggest gripe to date was that he did not elevate his game during that 1-4 west coast trip against mostly sub.500 teams missing their stars, the OT debacle to Toronto where he went 0-4 during crunch time, and the bobcats blowout.

He takes bad shots, and everybody does, but I've never seen him get in people's faces and set an example with tough D. If he's D challegned, then he should hammer someoen who blows by him. I don't expect him to be a young gary payton. He's got the athletic skills, so use some of it on D.

Well said, Mikie. All y'all calling for Gilbert and Jordan's respective heads don't remember how bad we were for 25 years. The only reason you're complaining now is because you finally have expectations for the team. The only reason you have expectations is because Jordan, Grunfeld and Gil have turned this ship around. Are we a perfect team? No. We need size and defensive presence/effort/tenacity/attitude desperately. But Gil? He's a friggin' point/shooting guard. He could work harder on the defensive end, to be sure, but you don't win defensive battles with point guards. We need powerful, fast and agile players up front. Brendan has disappeared into his weekly head cases, Etan has heavy hands, slow reaction time, no offensive moves and is too short to guard the elite centers. Songalia has attitude and effort to burn, he's a great part, but is slow-footed. We need to trade up in the draft (two ones or our one plus 'Twan) and get Noah or Hibbert. Maybe consider trading anyone but Gil and Caron and three number ones for Oden, who could anchor the middle for the next decade. Add Blatch, Stevenson and other smart second-round draft picks and free agents around a core of Arenas, Butler and Oden and we're only a season or two from seriously contending.

The fans have every right to question the decisions manangement for team in which they support. Don't forget, we; the fans support them, with our ticket purchases, clothing and apparell, and on and on. So, if my money is footing the bill, I am speaking my mind. No one here blogging is saying he or her has the right answers, IT'S ONLY OPINIONS, don't take it so serious(to him who says coaches are coaches and we are bloggers). When verizon and cable don't work properly for your HD TV or cell phone, dont you call and complain? WE PAY GOOD MONEY FOR THEM TICKETS IT'S TIME WE GET OUR MONEY WORTH AND NOT SEE PLAYERS LIMPING OFF TO OTHER TEAMS AND BLOSSOM! Who wants to continue seeing a average team(and that is what they are) year in and year out. Always adding to our wish list a championship with so so players. And for Jim, this is not about Isiah and displace anger. You named trades, I said name a draft pick. Okay one good trade(Caron for Kwame)and Stevie Wonder could have done that one. Everyone knew after the blow up with Kwame and Coach Jordan he was gone. And you mean to say trading away Jefferies was good for the team after his performance in last year playoffs? He will be another one amongst those drafted by the Wizards and traded away and we will say later...WHY?

"Grunt, I hope that starts with the owner. Leonsis has been waiting too patiently in the wings.

In case you don't know, Leonsis purchased a majority share of Washington Sports and based on this, has first right to purchase Les BouleS when Dishonest Abe decides to sell. Abe says he will sell either a) when the team wins the NBA championship again, or b) he kicks the bucket. Abe is 83 this year. You figure that one out."

Why couldn't Anna Nicole have gotten hitched to Abe? Guy prolly would be dead by now - - - except Anna Nicole or Howard K Stern would own the team now. lol

Oh, my God! We have waited so long for someone like Gilbert, he is the best thing that has happened to the Wizards. Get Well and Enjoy the game without you.

/Jumps off cliff

Maybe the Wiz can hire Paul Westhead as a defensive consultant to teach Gil how to play D?

Can we get a lifeguard out to the reflecting pool in front of the Monument.

I saw a group of disheveled Wizards fans walking that way looking ready to drown their sorrows - for real though.

Hey, maybe EG the GM can search the waiver wires for 2 guys to cover the 45 to 50 points/game we just lost. I'm pretty sure Donell and the rest of the "D" line won't help.

Chris Bosh has scored 17 more points against the Wiz than against any other team this season. 120 points in four games. That's 30 per. Maybe the Wiz should intentionally drop to the No. 7 seed to play Cleveland/Chicago.

OMG, Ithink GM & Gack must be crying...
get a grip fellas, really.

Marc Connell is a partner in the same medical practice as Dr. Stephen Haas, for those curious.

Just another chapter in the snake bitten town of Washington DC sports. This was the only possible scenerio for this team not to do well in the playoffs and it happened!! Almost every year, the Redskins and Wizards get some unfortunate circumstance that crumbles the season. We must be cursed.
Change the team names?

"Know what, I really never said he was selfish."

I never said you did, did I? I brought up the issue in response to Washingtonian75's post, in which he(?) said Gilbert played selfishly. You quoted my response to him and then attempted to refute my argument by going off on how he doesn't make his teammates better, thus mixing apples and oranges.

I called in sick today. That's how bummed I am about Gilbert and the Wizs.

The only good that can come out of this is

a) expectations get lowered dramatically
b) every uninjured wizard player steps up and the team gets to the second round.

"Maybe consider trading anyone but Gil and Caron and three number ones for Oden, who could anchor the middle for the next decade."

Can we consider that there's not a snowball's chance, assuming Oden declares, that whoever gets the number 1 pick would trade it for anything the Wizards have to offer, including Arenas AND Butler?

Kalorama, of the 160 some posts, did you notice that only one found Gilbert's injury funny? A few days ago when Caron broke a finger there was one poster that thought that was just a hoot too.
I wasted my time trying to make the same points you're making, you're never going to have any luck trying to reason with a person that finds any humor in players getting hurt. Nobody that is a real fan would ever get any form of glee from any player getting hurt.
I'm not sure what you'd call it when a person spends most of their day writing about a team and it's star player they are in such dislike of. I've come to the conclusion that he likes being annoying alot more that he likes basketball.
Anyway just don't let him get under your skin.
Oh, and 88er keep that Swadaggerr... out there, it won't happen this year with the injury, but I'm telling you it's catching on! Remember when the royalties start rolling in, it was mine!

I think that after the most bone-headed play in Wizards history, Michael Ruffin should cut and replaced. Right now, I do not have a good recomendation. However, in two years we absolutely must bring in Patrick Ewing Jr. By then, he will have added certain offensive skills in addition to his very strong defense, which certainly helped Georgetown on its Big East tournament and NCAA tournament runs.

Lets all bring HOYA SAXA to Verizon Center!

GM,

You don't actually think I'm trying to change his mind do you? And I certainly hope you don't think he's "gotten under my skin." I know there's no reasoning with him. I also know, when dealing with people like that, the more you use reason to counter their arguments, the more unreasonable, irrational, and divorced from fact their arguments become, and the less able they are to recognize it.

It's kind of like dangling food in front of a caged wild animal: how long will they snarl and snap at it before they finally figure out that they have no chance? Or will they just work themselves into such a frenzy that they finally wear themselves out? It's cruel, I know, but it's mildly amusing.

I had a really bad feeling when Ruffin threw that ball up that our season was going to be over....that started the ball rolling...

wow! within the past week, (1) Ruffin tossed the ball n the air 4 a toronto victory, (2)Haywood decided 2 have his mind go on spring break instead of focusing on the playoff run, (3)Caron (the 1 piece of the puzzle that could of lifted the Wizards into the 2nd round) breaks his hand on a block attempt. y was he going 4 the block anyway? it looked like he wasn't even close 2 contesting that dunk, (4) losing back 2 back to the woefull Bobcats (i bet Michael Jordan called Abe up late last night waking him up just 2 say "AH HA"), (5) & now Gilbert is gone. this april fool's week has been hell on this team. guess what? this tragic week doesn't officially end til friday. the same friday LeBron comes 2 town. what's next? Jamison goes after a lose ball & collides with Eddie Jordan. Jamison is out for 4 months & Eddie should return around the start of the second round. don't tell me it can't happen. what more proof does 1 need?

"I know there's no reasoning with him. I also know, when dealing with people like that, the more you use reason to counter their arguments, the more unreasonable, irrational, and divorced from fact their arguments become, and the less able they are to recognize it."

It's funny how people want to reason with me to convince me otherwise, but can't stand reasoning aimed at them back. It's a two way street. You think you're right, but only in your own mind.

"Oh, and 88er keep that Swadaggerr... out there, it won't happen this year with the injury, but I'm telling you it's catching on! Remember when the royalties start rolling in, it was mine!"

Where's your trademark?

It might never happen again. You'd better hope that he doesn't lose any quickness, because then he'd have to learn how to share and pass.

GM, did you buy your playoff tickets yet?

Big lost that Gil is out for the playoffs. I will be surprise if they advance past the first series. They can its just a matter of playing within the systme (team ball) and mustering a decent level of defense.

Wizards are in a psotion to end up just like New Jersey an average NBA team with some good and potential great players. What we are missing is a solid Center who can play defense (blocks and solid one-on-one play) and give us double digits in points and rebounds; does not need to be in the 20s.

I say you package Brendan Haywood, Michael Ruffin, another underperforming player at the guard position (not Jarvis) and possibly our draft pick on the team to get an up and rising center who is producing want we need. We have the backups at that position in Etan, Songalia, and Booth we do not need any young talent out of the draft for that position. We can bring our two Europe players to the team, a guard and forward to provide the young talent from the bench. The guard is good enough to back-up Gil and take some of AJ's minutes.

I will keep Jarvis one more year, only because this is his first full year back after back-to back injuries and do not want him to go somewhere else and get his full game back and produce somewhere else. He can be our good back-up fro Caron off the bench.

Cleveland and Chicago and progressing as a team because they are playing better defense than the Wizards and that is where we really need to improve.

If we do not we will be another Princeton offense team like New Jersey that can't play defense and is average, but good enough to make the payoffs and be an opponent for better teams.

My two cents after reading most of the comments.

Having been an NBA fan for 41 yrs nothing much surprises me any more, so no I'm not crying. It's going to be real interesting these last games to see how EJ rallies and deploys the players he has left.
I agree with the one earlier poster that Taylor, Hall and Mason need to treat this like a big chance to show their stuff. Blatche, when he gets back, needs to treat this like his chance to become a regular here.
Jarvis seems to wilt when he starts, so he needs to establish himself as a solid bench player. Even if he doesn't have a role here next year he may have value to us in a sign and trade deal.
Even if we can't put together a win it's highly unlikely the Knicks will win out and knock us out of the playoffs. As of today it would "shock the world" if we win a game in the playoffs.
The team did play hard last night in the loss. Better execution, being prepared to go without 2 of the big 3 and who knows?
Kalorama, Bernie is a smart vet who has done a good job putting together the Bobcats and getting them to play hard, and he does have ties to this organization. MJ is pretty much showing him the door without much of a thank you. Kind of like Frank with the Nats, I just wonder if we couldn't use him in some role.
I think when KC Jones hired him with the Bullets he was the youngest assistant in the league way back in the 70's,so he has a ton of experience. Like Del Harris with the Mav's I think a guy like that could be a hugh assest for a young head coach if he'd do it.
I do like the physical edge that he has the Bobcats playing with. Maybe if he was our defensive coach he could get off the back row during games.

GM, I have nothing against Bernie per se, and I also believe he did a nice job in Charlotte, getting that franchise up and running. It's just that he's been a head coach for a long time now and I've never seen anything from him to indicate he's the kind of coach capable of taking a team like the Wizards to the next level. And the organization already (finally) has someone in the front office in Grunfeld who knows what he's doing. Unless he was willing tobe an assistant coach for Jordan (which I think is unlikely) I really don't see any role for him in D.C.

Forget about the playoffs. Still, this is an interesting situation. There is a lot of opportunity here for the remaining players. It won't be that painful; it will be over before we know it.

I'm thinking back to the Wizards summer team last year. They sucked. Now, players from that sucky summer team are going to have some opportunity. Roger Mason, Mike Hall, Donnell Taylor, Blatche. One would think that a terrible summer league team would translate into a terrible bench. But maybe not.

All the Gilby apologists must be distraught or busy holding a vigil outside of Sibley Memorial Hospital chanting MVP, MVP, MVP....because none of them have acknowledged or come up yet with a reason why Les BouleS leader/superstar missed the pregame shootaround and was thus benched, nevermind the fact that his team is reeling from 3-7 the last 10 games while fighting for playoff positioning and even clinching a playoff spot period.

It's terrible to have lost Gilbert and Caron right before the playoffs. BUT, remember that the Wizards were losing before they lost both of these guys, so they were not going to advance deep in the playoffs anyway. Why? b/c the Wizards DO NOT play defense!! and whose fault is that? Eddie Jordan's (EJ). EJ needs to force The Wiz to play defense. Gilbert thinks (and you know I'm right based on Gilbs previous comments) that it's all about offense. Antwan Jamison has the speed of a park-bench, the toughness of a little-girl, he's to wimpy to cover the 4s, he's too slow to cover the 3s, whatever points he scores are erased by the all the times he gets BURNED, and boy does get burned, and he's not consistent.

The best player the Wiz have is CARON. Gilbert is good, but he plays no defense and he's stubborn. EJ has to go, and so does Jamison.

As long as the Wiz play no defesense they will never wing a championship. Please get LARRY BROWN NOW!!!

HE DID IT!

On PTI today, Tony K. brought out "Curse of Les Boulez..." as he's said for the past 20 years, according to him.

Alex, I understand your frustrations, but you must have totally missed Ivan's report. In it, EJ is basically exonerated of the issues with the lack of defense:

----------------------------------------------

That was as bad a defensive performance as the Wizards have turned in all season. The Charlotte Bobcats did whatever they wanted, exactly how they wanted last night in cruising to a 122-102 win over the playoff- bound Washington Wizards. Not good.

I watched the entire debacle unfould from a seat underneath one of the baskets. After watching Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace execute a basic pick-and-roll play to perfection for, oh, the 100th time, I said something to the affect of: "Why do they keep switching on that? It leaves Gilbert on a big and Antawn on a small. It doesn't make sense." The scout sitting next to me started laughing. "C'mon man, you've been watching this team play defense for two years and you're surprised? Eddie can tell these guys what to do a million times and it isn't going to change."

DCDude, there could be a multitude of reasons why Gilbert was late to shootaround. May have been a legitimate excuse. Haven't you ever been late to work? If you even have a job that is.
Obviously, it was not a big deal because no one is talking (or caring) about it but YOU. Seriously, if Gil played a PERFECT game..scoring, assisting, defending and rebounding, you would still find something wrong with his game. In fact, now that he is out for the season, it will be interesting to see how you can bash his game when he is not even in it.

I assume if it was for a legit reason, he wouldn't have been benched. Or, if he called his boss ahead of time, he wouldn't have been benched. Not surprised you're front and center to apologize.

Hey, What is Rudy Tomjanovich doing about now? Hopefully he is on his way to Washington right now!!!

If the WIZ want to improve on Defense it comes down to one move...Ernie, if you can't get KG (and I would trade any combinanation of players we have to get him except CB) we need an energetic defensive minded PF/C. I Don't even care if he hits the 7ft mark. He just has to be tough, agile and willing to ATTEMPT a shot block. Gil's defensive deficiencies will easily be offset by ANY sort of post presence. ANY sort of post presence...Anyone in the Wilcox, Bynum, David Lee, Noah, Hibbert, Chandler, prototype. And don't tell me those types don't grow on trees. EVERY single team in the league has better starting personnel in the 4/5 department than we have. Our bench is above average and I love ya Tawn, Etan, and Booth but a shot blocker is what this team needs to stop the defensive bleeding. Chandler would have been a perfect fit. 8pts and a 100 rebounds and blocks a night. Booth would be better than the guy whose name I can't bare to type, if he could carry a starters minutes. KEEP EG and EJ for two more seasons, this takes time...

To all the negative comments. Are you experts? (I think not) What are your dredentials for passing judgement on everyone and everthing?THe team has gotten stronger each of the last 3 years. These guys go out day after day and give their all (except ,I admit, for haywood who is a disgrace)S--t happpens. Its no ones fault. Injuries are part of the game. stop bashing GB he's a role model nd class act on and off the court unlight many althletes

RJK, you're obviously drinking.

These guys get paid obscene amounts of money to do what they do and you accept any pathetic performance as though it was a gold boullion. Stop the slave-beggardly mentality. Can't beleive these folks takin off work because a ball player has cartilige problems. As someone said earlier - recovery a few weeks at the most. Unbelievable!!

These lonely lost souls..get a life.

Where were you people when Abe Polin flim flamed Michael Jordan, disgraced the man who changed the course of the NBA financially & otherwise for court jesters like Arenas, dismissing him like a used up slave while pocketing the $30 mil he & O'Malley made for their drowning team?

Anonymous Coward said:

"OMG, Ithink GM & Gack must be crying...
get a grip fellas, really. "

I'm *thrilled* that anons know me by name, it really warms my heart.

I'm in the middle of preparing to relocate 1500 miles away right now, so while I'm disappointed for my team and fellow fans, it's not like I'm sitting around here thinking of new ways to say "I love Gilbert" (or "I hate Gilbert" as some of you would have it).

I'll be at tomorrow night's game, heckling Queen LeTravel, count on that.

But back to actual basketball talk, anybody catch the quote from EJ in the AP article on Gil's injury where Eddie said that the burden to score now falls on Antawn and Etan?

BTH is getting the Kwame treatment the rest of the way, you can say goodbye to him.

Well the news about Gil really takes the air out of things completely. We wish both Gil and Caron a speedy recovery. They are clearly the core of the team and I think in a year we could be in a great place. I hope they keep their heads up.

The emotion demonstrated by this forum is quite refreshing. Didn't think that many cared about the team. Folks are coming out of the woodwork. I think that some of you are bandwagon fans who think that to be a Zards fan is to never bash Gil or Ernie. No...we post because we care. In fact we care a lot! As a long time fan of the team let me give a little history because it is "deja vui all over again."

I started rooting for this team growing up in DC and the Bullets were up here in B-more. Gus Honeycone Johnson (not the knicks announcer) was doing the Dr. J before there was a Dr. J. I was just a kid but this team was entertaining. I was getting sick of the Senators and Skins losing. I remember when Earl the Pearl Monroe was added as a piece and the team got even more exciting. Yet they stunk his first year. Then they drafted #41 and went quickly to the playoffs his first year. That's right. What did Wes Unseld do before his years as a solid coch and a horrible GM? HE SOLIDIFIED THE TEAM'S HORRIBLE DEFENSE!!!. His play in the middle got us to the finals in 74, 78 and 79. Like in 1967 we are currently a team with a lot of flash but we are not anchored in the middle. Until we solve this donut problem we will be exciting wannabes. Championship teams must protect the rim. Period. If Ernie G does nothing to solve this problem this summer then he must be held accountable.

Let me say what most of us who have questioned Coach Jordan have been saying repeatedly: We like him as a person. He seems to be managing a team of interesting personalities. He gets them to play hard, despite the fact that they have a star and 2 lesser stars and very few shots to be shared after that. But his coaching seems to be mediocre at best. Yes there are worst coaches. But this team needs a coach who can get them to at least try to play D. To me the comments of the scout that Ivan quoted the other day do not get the coach off the hook. A Riley, Jackson, Brown, Thompson or Popavich will impose their will on the team. If folks don't do what they are told to do those guys show them the bench. They didn't do this after becoming great coaches. They became great coaches becasue they do this. Exhibit A is Avery Johnson. Talk is cheap. We are very thankful that Jordan has taken us to the playoffs 3 straight seasons. But other options to coach this team need to be explored seriously.

I am not an impatient fan. It has been a long time since Frank Herzog yelled, "Warm up the fat lady, warm up the fat lady" on a hot Wednesady night in the late 70s. Long time Bullet/Wizard fans will never forget that moment and are waiting and waiting and waiting for it to happen again. I think Grunfeld is quite patient and has a great handle on things and has made some great moves. But the Haywood/Thomas duo experiment must be aborted. Etan is showing flashes but this combo is not the answer.

I said Saturday that it was Don Merideth time: "turn out the lightd, the party is over." The 2 injuries of this week only mask the problems that were very clear once we failed to step it up on the recent west coast trip.To put the responsibility for our great start totally on Jordan is as unfair as blaming him for where we are now. But the long term question is who can take us to a championship?

I have faith that EG knows what to do. If he can dump Kwame he can certainly upgrade the roster using the current players we have. There are a lot of bad GM's out there. Maybe since there are so few better options out there on the coaching horizon Ernie gets another year. If so I will be pulling for him to improve as a coach.

Let's see how they react now that reality has set in.

Sorry for this long post.

koolkatt007 or anyone: Can you tell me what Doc Rivers has done in the NBA that is so notable, (and better tha EJ) that we would want him here in Washington?

I guess next time EJ won't be putting Gil in the game ice-cold in the middle of the first quarter. :(

It's funny how some/someone here have dismissed or ignored the issue that Gilby showed up late for work and was disciplined by not starting the game. This shows how his priorities are not on the game and the season. Imagine an NBA player who's got loads of free time and can't even make it to a late day shootaround when your team is reeling. What kind of example are you setting for your teammates?

And then you have Ivan Carter, doing his chat at 2:30pm right after getting off a plane at BWI. After the chat, scrambling home back home from the airport to DC and then to the game at Verizon to cover it. Hats off to you Ivan, you're a great professional.

Getting back to the subject at hand, as there are some supposed business owners out there who always talk about being busy running a business. If you indeed had a business, that lost several proposals and clients to your competitor, how would you feel? Would it make you want to work harder? How would you feel if you had a main guy on your team, the operations or general manager who didn't do his job by performing or ensuring the clients needs are met, or ensuring that his team works together cohesively?

Then, your main guy, this operations or general manager shows up late to a big meeting before the presentation with a new client for potential business. Would you stay silent also? Forgive and forget because even though the business is tanking, you know he's an odd fellow with superstar ability, but dances to the beat of his own drummer.

Your manager that you hired, busy playing online poker or shooting pool while the rest of the team is working on a project for a big client. I'm sure as the business owner, you wouldn't find it funny.