The Washington Wizards just became officially unwatchable.
Not that the underachievers of the decade weren’t already king-sized busts. However, trading two starters to Dallas to dump salary seems unfair to fans. Why should Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood now play for a contender while Washingtonians are left watching terrible basketball? Justice would be making them stay.
Washington swapped DeShawn Stevenson, Butler and Haywood to Dallas for four players that won’t be on the team next year. Even worse, they gained Josh Howard, who is a major waste of talent. Howard would rather street race and smoke dope than score points.
By the way Josh, try not standing for the national anthem in this town and you’ll beg for your release. Washingtonians don’t tolerate such nonsense.
Antawn Jamison is among several rumored deals before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Jamison has been the real face of the franchise for the last three years, not Gilbert Arenas, who has been hurt or suspended much of that time. Jamison is too expensive to keep over rebuilding years, though. He also deserves better in the waning years of his career than being chained to a rock bottom team.
Washingtonians must once more decide whether to continue supporting a franchise that has regularly disappointed them for nearly 30 years. Aside from 2005-06 when they showed some playoff spark, the team has largely stunk since the 1970s. And they’re going to continue to stink for several years even if they lure a couple marquee free agents and draft wisely.
Right now, there’s practically no one on the roster for next season. Then again, who wants any of them? The Wizards are a disaster from the bench to the front office. The new owner should lobby the NBA for expansion team draft status.
Washingtonians have been suckers for long enough. It’s time to either walk away from this franchise or give it one last chance. And I really mean just one more chance.
The team will have a new owner by next season. It’s probably Ted Leonsis, who rebuilt the Capitals from terrible to tremendous. But, there’s no magic formula for creating a contender, otherwise Stan Kasten would have the Nationals in the playoffs like he did the Atlanta Braves.
Fans can give Leonsis the short-term option. Otherwise, watch Georgetown and Maryland for your basketball fix because the Wiz don’t deserve your attention anymore, especially this season.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or
e-mail [email protected].
