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» Thursday, May 24 2012

Nearly a month after the Wizards concluded the regular season, the team has still been extremely quiet about its plans for Coach Randy Wittman. A source with knowledge of the Wizards’ thinking recently described the situation as “an ongoing process,” adding that the team has no timetable to make a decision. Wittman and his assistants are still under contract for next season, lessening the urgency. But the silence – and lack of aggressiveness in pursuing other potential candidates – has raised speculation amongst agents and rival league executives that they all will be brought back. Washington Post

According to multiple league sources, Wittman was in Washington last week and recently had a face-to-face meeting with owner Ted Leonsis. A source that confirmed the meeting was unsure if it was a perfunctory get-to-know-you session or a formal interview. Leonsis often sat near the Wizards’ bench during games, but never had the chance to sit down with Wittman after he replaced Flip Saunders on Jan. 24. Wittman went 18-31 after taking over the team and several players – including John Wall – expressed their support for having him return for a full season. The Wizards made considerable progress, especially on the defensive end, after acquiring Nene in a trade deadline deal and finished the season on a six-game winning streak. They were 11-14 after the trade and 7-4 with Nene in uniform. Washington Post

Grunfeld has already met with Leonsis to discuss his strategy with regards to a coach, according to a league source, but his recommendation so far has been kept under wraps. Wittman and his assistants continue to operate business as usual. Assistant coach Sam Cassell recently watched playoff games and scouted point guards Chris Paul and Mike Conley with Wall in Los Angeles. Washington Post

According to multiple league sources, Wittman was in Washington last week and recently had a face-to-face meeting with owner Ted Leonsis. A source that confirmed the meeting was unsure if it was a perfunctory get-to-know-you session or a formal interview. Leonsis often sat near the Wizards’ bench during games, but never had the chance to sit down with Wittman after he replaced Flip Saunders on Jan. 24. Washington Post

 

» Wednesday, May 23 2012

 

» Friday, May 18 2012

Nene had asked to be released from the team before the FIBA Americas championship last summer, citing “personal” and “contractual” reasons. Fans and other Brazilain players were critical of the decision, but Nene was a free agent and likely didn’t want to risk injury. He eventually signed a five-year, $65-million contract with the Denver Nuggets before getting traded to the Wizards for JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf at the deadline. Barbosa also backed out of the tournament, but Brazil advanced without either player. Magnano said in a news conference that he added both players with the hope of fielding the best team. “I decided to give them another chance after personally talking to them,” Magnano said. “I wouldn’t call up a player if I didn’t have any trust in him.” Washington Post

 

» Thursday, May 17 2012

Jorge Sierra: Wizards big man Nenê and Pacers guard Leandro Barbosa are among the players in Brazil's list for the Olympics. The Brazilian National Team did great at the FIBA Americas tournament without them last year and there was some backlash in the country against both Nenê and Barbosa, who passed on playing. In the end, pragmatism kicked in. Brazil needs to be at full force to compete for the medals. Sulia

The Wizards will probably seek some perimeter help in the draft and/or free agency this offseason, so Almond also knows that he isn’t assured a spot with the Wizards — or any other team — next season. “Well, you know it’s up in the air at this point,” Almond said. “I guess being a free agent, it’s just up in the air, but right now I just want to unwind and decompress a little bit from this year. No more Eastern Europe for me, but it’s a lot of options actually, so I just have to weight everything out in the coming weeks.” Washington Post

But he might want to consider quietly walking away — because based on his short stint in Washington, Almond could go down as the greatest winner in Wizards franchise history. He didn’t win a championship or anything, but the Wizards didn’t lose a game with him on the roster. “I’m not going to say anything, but we did go undefeated in the Morris Almond era. I’ll let you put two and two together,” Almond said with a sly grin. “I went undefeated. I was 6-0. Hold onto that. It’s always fun to win, under any circumstances.” Washington Post

 

» Monday, May 14 2012

Lewis didn’t sound overly concerned about what the Wizards intend to do this offseason. “I think that’s pretty much out of my hands,” Lewis said. “My agent will talk to them and see what direction they want to take and what direction they are going to go in. ”I’ve got faith in this organization, that they are going to do the right thing and bring the right people to build around John,” Wall, Lewis said. “ If they do decide to bring me back, my main focus is to get healthy and get myself in shape to get ready to play for the Washington Wizards and get back to the playoffs. If not, then I still got healthy. I think I owe to myself and also the fans that like Rashard Lewis, to go out there and perform.” Washington Post

 

» Wednesday, May 9 2012

The Wizards have interest in bringing Singleton back, just as they did two years ago, and John Wall has already vouched for his return. But Singleton said that while coming back to Washington is an option, he will be focused on another priority when the free agency period begins. “I get married in July, go on my honeymoon, relax, just have fun. Going to Bora Bora. Get married on the 6th, Bora Bora on the 7th.” Washington Post

Singleton averaged 8.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and shot 54.7 percent from the field. And, after relying mostly on hustle and energy, Singleton also showed an ability to step out and shoot. Before the season finale, Andray Blatche joked with Singleton about the newest addition to his game. “He went all the way to China and came back with a jumper,” Blatche said. “You can buy anything in China.” Washington Post

Singleton laughed, because the 30-year-old heard similar comments from his younger teammates. “They teased me sometimes but everyone knows that I’m not the kind of guys that’s going to decline, you know. Every year I get better,” Singleton said. “I just worked on my game. I spent more than an hour, an hour and a half a day working on my jump shot with the coach that was over there, just working of different parts of my game because China is different than the NBA. Over there, it’s a lot more physical, a lot more dirty play, and they pack the lane over there. I used to be a slasher, so I had to develop a jump shot to be able to do more things. Once that opened up for me, everything just became easy. Right now the NBA is easy to me.” Washington Post

 

» Friday, May 4 2012

 

» Thursday, May 3 2012

John Wall has been invited to participate with the Team USA select team that will scrimmage with the Olympic team this summer, USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo confirmed on Thursday. Wall has long stated that one of his goals is representing this country in international competition and being a part of the select team is an important step in being part of the U.S. men’s national team pool. A few months after the Wizards made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2010, Wall said he would like to like to have a chance, “hopefully soon .” He added that it was “going to take time .” Washington Post

 
 

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