May

5

Grunfeld: Big Three Staying

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Main 

???????????????????????????? Washington Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld (right)

Continuity is always a good thing in the NBA - look at the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs.? Both franchises - without a ton of tinkering to their roster - have succeeded famously because their rosters haven’t changed a whole lot from season-to-season.? It looks like the Washington Wizards want to follow that team model as according to Mike Wise of the Washington Post, team president Ernie Grunfeld has assured at least one player - the player apparently Caron Butler - that the Wizards intend to re-sign free agents Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas.?

The mindset of the Wizards is the assumption that both players will be healthier, that the younger players on the roster will add muscle and maturity over time and most importantly, Grunfeld will find a key player to improve the team.? It isn’t the most popular strategy as the NBA is a “win-at-all-cost” league, but again as I mentioned earlier, continuity pays dividends.? Which brings us to how the Wizards can improve:

  • Gilbert Arenas

What to do….what to do with Agent One.? When he is healthy, there are very few guards in the league that are as good as Arenas.? He can help take Washington deeper into the playoffs.? Without him, the Wizards are a 1-and-done team.? Character-wise, he is no Dennis Rodman; granted he isn’t the “do-or-die” kind of guy.? Perhaps that argument can be revisited when he is fully healthy.? But by and large, if the Wizards do not keep Arenas, the team will regress.

  • Eddie Jordan

Do you keep him as coach?? Of course you do.? He had issues for certain, but they were issues that were out of his control: Arenas missing 69 regular-season games plus 2 playoff games.? He also didn’t have Butler for 24 games; despite all of that, the Wizards grabbed the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs - which is saying something about Jordan and the job he did with the situation given to him.? I submit that the Wizards sign him - then when the team is healthy we can see the true test of Jordan and what he can do.

  • Antawn Jamison

Jamison is 32 years old.? That’s not to say that he is on the downslope of his career by any means.? However, in the uncertainty of the league, perhaps a 3-year deal is the maximum he should be signed to as age and other factors will no doubt come into play.?

  • Wizards’ bench

They are the reason Washington went as far as they did.? Keep in mind the long stretches where Arenas and Butler were absent.? A definite keeper is Roger Mason, Jr.?as he did a stand-up job in Arenas’ spot.? Brendan Haywood appears to be the incumbent center going into next season.? Which brings up: they need a veteran power forward/center to come off the bench.? Hmmmm, Miami’s Udonis Haslem comes to mind.? Also bear in mind the uncertainty of the Eastern Conference.

Boston, while great, are getting older.? The Cleveland Cavaliers, with LeBron James, are missing that key player to sidekick with James (remember PIppen and MJ in Chicago?).? Orlando is getting better by the season, and Atlanta, with their youth, are scary good - ask the Celtics, who were taken to the 7th game of their series.? Bottom line is this:?some minor tinkering of their roster, the signing of both Jamison and Arenas and probably just as important - a healthy Wizards roster - will go a long way if they want to go beyond the first round of the playoffs next season and beyond.



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