Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: It’s Time To Fire Ernie Grunfeld
By Ben Mehic
Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Please say goodbye to Ernie
It’s Monday — the day after one of the most boring Superbowl events in history.
I’m not an avid football fan, but man, that was super boring. And commercials will always remain commercials. I will never get excited for advertisements, because regardless of when they’re played, commercials are always annoying.
Nevertheless, we’re entering another new week.
The Washington Wizards, sadly, still suck.
Washington had the chance to secure a dominant win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, but squandered a 19 point lead and lost. We were reminded, once again, that the Wizards are bad. They will have the easiest schedule in the NBA after All-Star break, so we’re all hoping they turn thing around. But for now, they’re still bad.
Throughout the struggles, we continues to get readers and questions for days like this!
The Wizards might not be very good, but they certainly have a passionate fan base. Without you guys, it would be tough to continue writing about this team.
Thanks for asking questions, folks. Today’s questions come from Twitter and Reddit.
Should the Wizards make a trade and if so, who are some realistic targets? – via Boymankid
I actually made a list of realistic targets for the Washington Wizards.
While I don’t think the Wizards are going to be sellers at the deadline — they still think they could make the NBA Playoffs — there are going to be chances to improve the roster.
Teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, for instance, are going to look to trade everyone on their respective rosters.
The Pelicans could give up someone like Ryan Anderson, who would be a perfect fit along side Marcin Gortat. The Lakers have Brandon Bass and the Suns could put together a package involving P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris.
All of the names mentioned aren’t flashy nor popular, but they could help the Wizards become a better team overnight. It’s easy to place Anderson, Bass or Morris in the lineup and expect production. All three players have transferable skill-sets.
The Wizards need help and I think that’s pretty clear. It’d be nice if they had another star to pair with John Wall, but for now, all we can do is hope the front office at least adds a few role players. Sorry, but Drew Gooden just isn’t going to cut it.
I’m a huge fan of Mike D’Antoni, just because he’s a proven coach who gets the most out of his talent. I mean, just watch the Philadelphia 76ers play. Before D’Antoni was brought on-board, that team was unwatchable. Now, at times, they actually look like a real NBA team. Ish Smith — a journeyman point guard — looks competent under D’Antoni.
D’Antoni has done this countless times, too.
Remember when Jeremy Lin looked like the second coming of Michael Jordan in New York? That’s D’Antoni. Remember when Kendall Marshall led the league in assists per game with the Lakers? That’s D’Antoni. And, oh yeah, he did pretty well with the Suns in the mid-2000s.
People are going to be weary of D’Antoni because he’s never coached a good defensive team, but I want John Wall and Bradley Beal to be put in a situation where their talent won’t be wasted. D’Antoni will make sure that they reach their potential.
As for other potential coaches, you could look at the spectrum opposite of D’Antoni: Tom Thibodeau.
Thibs was hired by the Washington Wizards before, but didn’t last too long as assistant coach.
Other coaches that could be available this summer: George Karl, Sam Cassell, Scott Brooks, Jeff Van Gundy
As I wrote previously, there’s a chance Ernie Grunfeld will finally lose his job this summer…but there’s also a solid chance he won’t. Basically, no one knows what Ted Leonsis is thinking.
There’s a belief around the team that Grunfeld works on a year-to-year basis. If the Washington Wizards perform well, he’s back. If they don’t, then his chances of getting fired obviously increase. Over the past several years, Grunfeld’s team has gotten to the semi-finals and Leonsis has kept him around. Now that the team looks bad, there’s a chance Leonsis pulls the plug.
“Can” he fire Grunfeld? Sure, he can. “Will” he fire Grunfeld? Well, I have no idea — and neither does anyone else within the organization.
I think we can all agree on one thing, though: Grunfeld has to go.
He’s made way too many mistakes throughout the course of his 13 years as leader of the team. Those mistakes — drafting Jan Vesely over Kawhi Leonard, picking Tomas Satoranksy over Draymond Green and others — would’ve gotten anyone else fired. Someone, he’s stuck around.
This season, Grunfeld decided to sign a bunch of veterans that simply weren’t dependable enough. Then he re-signed the likes of Drew Gooden. That’s irresponsible and the Wizards suck this year as a result.
I actually have an answer to this question. Shocking, right?
Gooden has been on the earth longer than Kelly Oubre. And…that’s it.
The coaching staff — mainly Randy Wittman — prefer to play veterans. They think that the veterans, like Gooden, are more dependable. Obviously, that’s not true. Oubre is one of the team’s best perimeter defenders, he can knock down the three and he’s explosive. Gooden cannot defend, he can’t shoot, and he can’t jump over a phone book.
Occasionally, you’ll see Gooden get a tip-in layup and that will be enough to earn him minutes. It’s ridiculous, but yeah, there’s nothing we can do to change it.
The staff prefers older players.
Next: Wizards Can't Give Up On Otto Yet
Sorry for the negative pixels, but I just don’t see a reason why I should sugarcoat things.
I sincerely hope everyone has a wonderful Monday! Please try to make the most of it! To check out the previous Mailbags, click here.