The question didn’t even need to be asked after the Wizards announced Thursday that they had cut Adam Morrison and Sean Marks, head coach Flip Saunders said unprompted that Josh Howard looks ahead of schedule as he looks to return from a knee injury suffered in his fourth game with Washington last February.
“Tough cuts. Both guys. Of course, Sean was hurt a lot, which made it extremely tough,” said Saunders. “I thought adam did a lot of positives things. He’s probably just not quite there yet. I think There’s no question he can still play and be effective. But the way our numbers were and everything else – Josh is a little bit ahead of schedule, where we think he is, he’s moving pretty well and so it’s probably not going to be as long as maybe everyone anticipated.”
From limited observations in practice, Howard has looked good from the moment training camp has started, whether it was doing agility drills or shooting jump shots, so it isn’t surprising to see Saunders give the the thumbs up with his evaluation. Given the team’s history with Gilbert Arenas and failed comebacks, there’s also plenty of reason to still be nervous. The timeline also has never been quite clear for Howard, with conservative estimates from the team setting his return for late November or some time into December. Howard himself has always been more optimistic, but his bigger challenge right now is being patient.
“I feel good every day, just coming in with a positive attitude, knowing that I gotta work. That’s all I can do,” said Howard, who said he had no timetable when asked on Thursday. “Not being anxious to get out there too early. I love the game of basketball, love my teammates, just fun to watch those guys play. Don’t want to force myself out there too early.”
With Morrison gone, Cartier Martin becomes the lone non-guaranteed small forward on the Wizards roster – but even if he makes the team, he’s unlikely to move past Nick Young and Al Thornton, who are also vying for the starting spot next Thursday. That assumes, of course, that Saunders opts not to trot out a three-guard lineup. The status of Arenas’s groin injury – he participated fully in practice on Thursday – will also influence that decision. Kirk Hinrich was limited in practice Thursday due to a charlie horse.
Combo guard Lester Hudson and second round draft pick Hamady Ndiaye also remain in limbo with Martin. The Wizards have to submit a roster on Oct. 25.
“In this league, you’re never on until you’re on,” said Saunders of the three non-guaranteed players. “They better approach every day like they’re not on. I think in this league, especially with a young team and guys that are hungry to play, they’ve got opportunities. They’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities. They’ve made it through the first couple swings here, but they have to go out and still have that positive attitude and go out to produce every night.”
Arenas gets trimmed up, but not Young
Nick Young, who is still determined to grow out his mini-Afro but clearly has no shot of having a beard, said he wasn’t surprised to see Arenas get his hair and beard trimmed, ditching the ragged look he unveiled on media day.
“It was just a matter of time,” said Young. “Plus, he had everybody on him. He was cracking so I knew it was coming.”
