"When We Get Healthy..."
Here's a very good story from Michael Lee about Brendan Haywood's progression from injury. And while I'm glad to see that injured Wizards are making a comeback in a double-double fashion, I still feel the "wait and heal" approach is more of a placebo for the fans than part of a coherent management strategy. Here's why:
A Healthy Team Does Not Equate Into a Talented Team. Detriot just shut Allen Iverson down. The Suns are playing with three key guys (Shaq, Hill and Nash) who are one pad fall from calling it quits. The Spurs just got news that Ginobli is out for the remainder of the season. Simply put, all teams get bit with the injury bug sometime during the season. To think that there would be some universal parity if every team had a healthy rotation of players is an insult to every team who practices hard, employs good scouting, and runs great offensive and defensive schemes. Honestly, would a healthy Memphis Grizzlies team actually beat a healthy Houston Rockets team in a seven-games series?
There have been no significant upgrades in the past two years. Unless a team has won a championship (and sometimes even if they do) they need to have a mindset that next season's roster must be better than last season's. In Washington's case, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson arrived four and three seasons ago, respectively. Juan Dixon came here this season but (1) he's been on the team prior to this season and (2) he was never considered to be major part of the rotation. Every other addition has been rookies or youngsters. One of the GM's job is to get players who can fill gaps. Those gaps may be things like "rebounding" and "defense" but it also includes having some savvy vets who can fill in for the inevitable injury-bug period. The fans were not clamoring for JaVale McGee, Nick Young and Javaris Crittenton simply because they thought the season was lost; they wanted those guys because there was this belief that they were a better option than playing Darius Songalia (at center) Dixon and Mike James. Which tells me that those three players (as good as they are) just aren't starting material whether you're talking lottery team or a playoff team. Speaking of which: playoff teams usually don't have half a roster consisting of kids.
It's a moot stance in the absence of a head coach. Of all the subplots this season, hiring a new coach has been the subject that the team has commented on the least, as if Ed Tapscott is coming back (doubt it) or Ernie Grunfled has already made his choice (not likely). In reality, the best reason to hold steady is because a new coach will most likely bring in a new system. This new system may lead to some players finding new teams. It certainly makes more sense to say that the team should have a full-time coach before making any major roster decisions. So why not use this as the rationale?
A Healthy Team Does Not Equate Into a Talented Team. Detriot just shut Allen Iverson down. The Suns are playing with three key guys (Shaq, Hill and Nash) who are one pad fall from calling it quits. The Spurs just got news that Ginobli is out for the remainder of the season. Simply put, all teams get bit with the injury bug sometime during the season. To think that there would be some universal parity if every team had a healthy rotation of players is an insult to every team who practices hard, employs good scouting, and runs great offensive and defensive schemes. Honestly, would a healthy Memphis Grizzlies team actually beat a healthy Houston Rockets team in a seven-games series?
There have been no significant upgrades in the past two years. Unless a team has won a championship (and sometimes even if they do) they need to have a mindset that next season's roster must be better than last season's. In Washington's case, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson arrived four and three seasons ago, respectively. Juan Dixon came here this season but (1) he's been on the team prior to this season and (2) he was never considered to be major part of the rotation. Every other addition has been rookies or youngsters. One of the GM's job is to get players who can fill gaps. Those gaps may be things like "rebounding" and "defense" but it also includes having some savvy vets who can fill in for the inevitable injury-bug period. The fans were not clamoring for JaVale McGee, Nick Young and Javaris Crittenton simply because they thought the season was lost; they wanted those guys because there was this belief that they were a better option than playing Darius Songalia (at center) Dixon and Mike James. Which tells me that those three players (as good as they are) just aren't starting material whether you're talking lottery team or a playoff team. Speaking of which: playoff teams usually don't have half a roster consisting of kids.
It's a moot stance in the absence of a head coach. Of all the subplots this season, hiring a new coach has been the subject that the team has commented on the least, as if Ed Tapscott is coming back (doubt it) or Ernie Grunfled has already made his choice (not likely). In reality, the best reason to hold steady is because a new coach will most likely bring in a new system. This new system may lead to some players finding new teams. It certainly makes more sense to say that the team should have a full-time coach before making any major roster decisions. So why not use this as the rationale?
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