Wizards president says patience is necessary
By focusing on player development and financial flexibility instead of worrying about being competitive enough to make the playoffs, the Wizards accomplished their rebuilding goals this season, according to team president Ernie Grunfeld.
Be patient, he stressed. That’s one year down and at least one more to go.
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“We’re still going to be developing,” Grunfeld said Thursday. “Any time you have young players, you’re going to have to continue to develop. It’s not a one-year process. It’s an ongoing process, and we know it’s going to take us some time to get the whole package together. But I think the experience that our players gained is going to help us next year.”
Grunfeld described the Wizards’ 23-59 season, the third straight in which Washington finished 30 or more games under .500, as a transition year that started with Gilbert Arenas but ended with a heavy reliance on rookies and NBA Development League players. Still, that group managed to win five of the final eight games of the year.
With Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee and Nick Young all having career years, No. 1 overall draft pick John Wall all but assured of finishing second in the rookie of the year voting and the late emergence of rookie Jordan Crawford, Grunfeld endorsed coach Flip Saunders and their partnership in the execution of first-year owner Ted Leonsis’ agenda.
“Flip and I work very closely together,” said Grunfeld, who has a year remaining on his current contract. Saunders has two. “We talk a lot, and it’s evidenced by the way the players improved as the season went along because we really knew what we wanted to do. Ted came in and gave us a game plan that we had to follow.”
Grunfeld has turned the page on the failed 2009 NBA Draft, in which the Wizards traded away picks in order to add veterans.
“At that time, it was what we needed to do because our mandate was different,” he said.
He then boasted about the three picks Washington will have this year, even though the quality of the player pool has been diminished by labor uncertainty. Having rebuilt teams before, Grunfeld has faith that the Wizards and the Leonsis-owned Capitals eventually will find success together at Verizon Center in the same fashion that he did in 1994 in New York, taking the Knicks to the NBA Finals while the Rangers won the Stanley Cup.
“That’s where we want to get to someday,” Grunfeld said. “Four, five years ago, we were in the playoffs, and the Capitals were watching us. Those things kind of come around in circles. … If we could ever get to that someday, that would be great.”
If it can be considered a first step, the Wizards announced they will unveil a rebranded logo and a new red, white and blue uniform on May 10.
