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Washington Wizards: Catching Up With The Rebuild Crew (Blatche, McGee, Nick Young)

By Ben Mehic

January 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Dallas Mavericks center JaVale McGee (11) moves to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers center Roy Hibbert (17) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Dallas Mavericks center JaVale McGee (11) moves to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers center Roy Hibbert (17) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Wizards have been relatively successful recently, but they haven’t always been that way. This rebuild trio once led the team.

The concept behind going to college goes beyond just expanding your education once high school is over. The idea of college, really, is to sell the future graduate a dream.

Every college student dreams of one day walking across the stage with the funny hat, getting the well-earned diploma and instantly landing the gig they’ve been thinking about since they were in diapers.

But it rarely ever occurs that way, even for the elite students.

Most first jobs out of college kind of suck.

Sure – you were a business major with huge aspirations for your future, but you’re likely going to be stuck working for a firm you hate out of college. That’s just the way things happen. It’s a resume boost.

It’s not much different for college athletes who were NCAA stars, but inevitably find themselves in crummy situations.

I remember watching John Wall – a household name out of Kentucky – walk across the NBA Draft stage and shake David Stern’s hand with his Washington Wizards cap on.

Wall had just gotten picked first overall.

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At 19, Wall was already a superstar.

People were comparing him to Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson and former MVP Derrick Rose.

He was going to save the Wizards, they said.

Then he actually entered the NBA.

He was officially a part of one of the most poorly run organizations in sports at the time.

The Raleigh native stepped onto the court for the first time about six years ago. He looked to his left. He looked to his right. DeMarcus Cousins wasn’t there. Eric Bledsoe wasn’t there. Patrick Patterson? Nope. Not there.

But he did get JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Nick Young, who were quite possibly the three worst players to build around in the league’s history.

Wall, like the rest of us, was hit with a reality check. The glory days were over. This was the NBA and these were going to be his teammates for the foreseeable future.

Those days, though, are somewhat behind us.

It’s been years since those three players put on a Wizards uniform and got booed by their own fans at home. Trades and finally realizing that Blatche wasn’t cut out to play in the NBA ended the rebuild crew’s time in the nation’s capital.

Because I apparently like torture, I still keep up with their careers.

No matter how bad these players were for our collective souls, they were still a part of our daily lives.

The Washington Wizards are now a completely different team than they were six years ago. They’ve abandoned the “knuckleheads,” so to speak, and they have built a roster around young players with solid character and proven vets.

Still, I decided to take a look at where Blatche, McGee and Young are currently. Sometimes it’s good to look at the old photos and realize the evolution you’ve gone through, you know?

Capt’n Dray

Fun fact: Blatche once told me that he wasn’t going to get waived by the Wizards, who committed $35 million to him following an extension. The team got sick of his antics and ate the money up. Instead of just letting his contract play out, they paid him to leave and waived him via the amnesty provision.

Dray spent some time with the Brooklyn Nets after his breakup with the Wizards, but he’s been out of the NBA since 2014.

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Like most NBA wash outs, Blatche decided to take his talents overseas in China, where mediocre NBA players put up Wilt Chamberlain type numbers.

Blatche isn’t just a regular player over there, though. He’s the highest paid player in the league’s history.

He might have been long forgotten in the NBA, but he’s made a legit career out of dominating against bad players in China. That’s kind of impressive. He took the Stephon Marbury route.

Now he just needs a statue, a bad theatrical play named “Blatche” starring Blatche and a museum named “Blatche.”

That’s “Blatche” – not “Baltche,” of course.

Swaggy P

The Los Angeles Lakers made the mistake of giving Young a long-term contract a few years ago and they’re doing everything they could to get rid of him.

It’s impossible to get taken seriously when you’re called “Swaggy P,” but it’s even worse if you gave yourself the nickname.

Young had a couple of productive years in the NBA. His constant need for attention and inability to stay out of the limelight has hurt his career. If he could buckle down and just focus on what matters, I’m certain Young would be wanted by most teams.

After the D’Angelo Russell situation blew up, the Lakers’ sense of urgency to get rid of Young understandably increased even more.

Young has been on the team’s trading block for years now, but they haven’t found any takers.

If the Lakers can’t find a trade partner for Young – and they won’t find one – they will consider buying out his contract, according to a recent report.

And no, when he becomes a free agent, the Washington Wizards won’t want a reunion.

Pierre McGee

When you look up “wasted upside,” McGee’s face should be the first to pop up.

Washington hoped that he could become a remixed Tyson Chandler, but McGee is unique in his own way – and not in a good one.

The Shaqtin a Fool MVP has bounced around the league since the Wizards traded him to the Denver Nuggets for Nene in 2012. He’s played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks since then. When the Sixers don’t want you…

McGee might become a champion soon, though.

That’s right: McGee – the guy who runs away from the basket while his team has possession – might win a ring before Wall.

The Golden State Warriors will add McGee to their roster for training camp. If he plays well enough (the Warriors lack big men and McGee has just that – height), he could find himself on one of the most impressive teams in the NBA’s history.

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Teams have been willing to take more chances on McGee than Young and Blatche because he’s ridiculously gifted physically. Like every other team, they will quickly learn that he doesn’t know how to use his physical gifts. But, he’s really good at planking.

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