Bibby buyout has team taking look in mirror
Mike Bibby’s substantial buyout and a string of blowout losses have cast a harsh spotlight on the state of the Washington Wizards (15-44) with 23 games remaining.
In one respect, Bibby’s decision to give back the entire $6.2 million salary he was due to earn during the 2011-12 season was a personal sacrifice that will allow the veteran guard to pursue an NBA championship. But the swiftness of his departure, despite the financial benefit it provided the Wizards, also was a statement about the team he left behind, which got blown out again Monday — the fifth time in the last eight games Washington has lost by at least 17 points.
While Bibby appears likely to take his talents to South Beach, Maurice Evans and Jordan Crawford got to dissect the Wizards’ struggles for the first time in a lengthy film session Tuesday prior to their first practice since being acquired from Atlanta last week.
“I was disappointed just to see how easy it is to fall into bad habits in the sense of getting discouraged when teams make runs or things don’t go right,” Evans said. “Coming from winning organizations — not to say this isn’t — but having been on a playoff team throughout my career, things didn’t always go perfect. … We gotta put in that work, keep grinding and keep working every day.”
| UP NEXT |
| Warriors at Wizards |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV/Radio » Comcast SportsNet/106.7 FM |
| Wizards coach Flip Saunders missed practice in order to be with his ailing 90-year-old mother, Kay, in Cleveland. His status is uncertain for Wednesday. … Cartier Martin missed practice with a sprained right ankle. … John Wall was named NBA Eastern Conference rookie of the month for February, becoming the first Wizards rookie to win the honor in consecutive months. … Washington also released Al Thornton on Tuesday. |
It’s a similar challenge for Wizards’ coach Flip Saunders, who has had to weigh the risks and rewards of unloading on his players or biting his lip when the only thing that’s consistent is their inconsistency.
“That’s what happens with young players,” Saunders said. “A young player takes a step forward and plays well one night, but the next night you’re not really sure.”
At least the addition of Evans and Crawford, even though the latter is a rookie, gives Washington two more players that have been in winning locker rooms.
Asked about what he took from the Hawks, Crawford said, “How serious they take every game. … [Coach Larry Drew] was on us. He wanted to try to win every game. That was the main thing.”
Perhaps that is Bibby’s goal, too, and his buyout was an admission of how far away the Wizards are from being in that position.
“I don’t even know if I can speak on that,” Evans said. “As a guy who’s come from undrafted to scratching, fighting and clawing to earn contracts, I can’t even imagine having a contract that big in this league. So for a guy to give it back, I’m like, ‘Bib, you could’ve given it to me. I’d play for it.'”
