The 2009-10 Washington Wizards suffered arguably the worst season of any franchise in any sport, ever — seriously, remember that Gilbert Arenas is still in a halfway house. So the announcement Tuesday that the sale of the team from the Abe Pollin family to Ted Leonsis and his Lincoln Holdings investment group is nearly complete feels like the opening of an on-ramp to a flyover that will enable the franchise to escape from a traffic-snarled Beltway.
But is that fair to the legacy of a man who brought the NBA to D.C.? Doesn’t that disparage the memory of someone who defiantly believed in and is almost single-handedly responsible for the rebirth of downtown Washington?
Conflicted emotions best describe the transfer of power from the area’s oldest sports owner to a fresh, progressive and ebullient successor who already has transformed Verizon Center’s other principal tenant. Regardless of the outcome of the Capitals’ season, it certainly isn’t time to rename Abe Pollin Way to Ted Leonsis Lane. Does the name Jaromir Jagr trigger any thoughts? How about Michael Jordan?
But as hard as it may be for members of the Wizards’ organization to let go of the patriarch who paid their salaries and promised them they would be taken care of when he was gone, the team itself can only move forward in the offseason. They must deal with the practical aspects of potential trades, next month’s NBA Draft lottery, the NBA Draft in June and free agency — all with new ownership in place.
The truth is that while Pollin’s impact on the community as a developer and philanthropist may never be matched, his performance as the owner of the basketball team peaked more than three decades ago. The Wizards/Bullets haven’t won 50 games since 1979, and even at their best over the last decade they’ve only been as entertaining as they’ve been frustrating.
Perhaps the last act of the Pollin regime best sums up the family’s mixed history with the Wizards — an expensive, all-out attempt to make the Wizards into a short-term contender resulted not in a championship but in the detonation of the roster before the NBA trade deadline. But in the family’s selfless tradition, it also has given Leonsis the gift of a clean slate.
