Point guard unlikely to figure in team’s plans
Out of sight, out of mind.
It’s been the cruel reality for Washington Wizards guards this season, and it makes the prospects grim for reserve point guard Mike James, who returned to full practice after missing a month with a broken left hand and could barely elicit a welcome back from head coach Flip Saunders.
“He practiced today and he showed a little rust, but Mike’s always going to play hard,” said Saunders. “That’s never going to be an issue.”
But the Wizards’ fifth-highest paid player ($6.5 million) really hadn’t played at all before he got hurt, clocking 22 minutes in his only appearance of the season during Washington’s blowout loss at Indiana on Nov. 6 before suffering the injury in practice the next day.
After Randy Foye went down with an ankle sprain five days later, the Wizards (7-12) signed Earl Boykins, who has since taken over the role of fourth-quarter closer while Foye has averaged only 11.2 minutes per game since his return.
Saunders did compliment some of his reserves following the Wizards’ latest loss on Sunday in Detroit, where only two of three Washington starters scored in double figures.
“Our bench guys are playing good right now,” said Saunders. “‘Dray [Blatche] is playing probably about as well as he’s played all year. Earl’s playing great for us. Dom [McGuire] even has played well at times he’s been in games. It’s just a matter of getting our guys to play at a higher level.”
Meanwhile, James — who made 50 starts, averaging 9.6 points and 3.6 assists, after being traded to Washington last fall — knows he’ll unlikely be a significant part of the Wizards’ plans going forward.
What is more likely is that he’ll be dealt as part of a trade, although hurdles remain due to his salary, which is very high for a 34-year-old veteran. But James has done his is best not to let age slow him down. Despite having his left hand in a cast and then a splint, he worked hard to stay in shape during his layoff by running stairs at Verizon Center.
“You can’t worry about things you have no control over, and so it happened,” said James. “It’s over with now. I’m healthy. The body feels good. I got slapped in it good a couple times today, and there was no pain, so I guess I’m good.”
