Grunfeld's best off-season in Wizards' history?

What will it take for Washington to celebrate like this moment,
after a Caron Butler buzzer-beater against Indiana, come next
year in April? (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

With the Summer League over and training camp not yet begun, the Wizards 14-man roster is all but complete and highly anticipated.  With the additions of Mike Miller, Randy Foye, and Fabricio Oberto, many believe Washington is playoffs bound in 2009-10.  But how far will they go?

Michael Lee of Wizards Insider says, "this team looks better than the one that won 45 games in 2004-05," with the ongoing disclaimer, "on paper, at least."  While I compared this team's size at the center spot to the 1995-96 Washington Bullets last Friday, Lee boasts the '09 crew is the "deepest team this organization has fielded in 30 years," again, with the disclaimer of "on paper."

30 years ago, the then Washington Bullets' had a 39-43 season record and lost in the first round of the playoffs.  In the two years prior to that 1979-80 season, the Bullets had reached the NBA Finals at the end of each year, winning a championship in 1977-78 against the Seattle Supersonics and falling to the same team in 1978-79.

The Bullets' legendary duo of Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld were getting to feel their age at 34 and 33 respectively, although their numbers, "on paper," could argue.  Unseld would finish his playing career a year later and retire in 1981.  Hayes would decline in '82 and play bench, and would retire the year after in '84.  Other issues the 1979 team faced was decreased play from Richmond-born Bob Dandridge, who might be best known for his game-sealing dunk in the 1977-78 championship game, and a midseason trade that sent Phil Chenier, now a Comcast broadcaster of 23 years, to the Indiana Pacers.

Fast-forward 30 years, from the fall of a Bullets championship-caliber team to the birth of a new hopeful in the Wizards era, and the biggest question of age is Antawn Jamison.  Jamison, at 33, like Hayes before him, will likely stay productive and give Washington a window of three years to complete a championship.  Whether Gilbert Arenas can be the dominant fourth quarter threat who scores 29 a game is still a concern, but the extra firepower from Mike Miller and Randy Foye should account for not only Arenas' possible deficiencies, but act as a motivator for one of the hardest working guys in the business to go back to shooting form.

Okay, so Washington will score points this season.  What about defense?  Brendan Haywood and JaVale "Big Daddy Wookie" McGee, Dominic McGuire, Caron Butler, and a big fat question mark in the backcourt.  DeShawn Stevenson?  He likes noodles and his backyard, but can he play tenacious defense and nail threes again like he used to or does Washington need to get one of these and put it courtside for Stevenson's playoffs-weary back?

A lot of questions, but as Michael Lee so genuinely noted, it looks good "on paper."  Either way, you have to hand it to Team President Ernie Grunfeld.  I mean, if I had a quarter for every time I've heard someone call Grunfeld or Wizards Owner Abe Pollin "cheap," I could have bought the 32nd pick in the NBA Draft last month.  But until next April, we really won't be able to pat the man on the back.  Second-chance Flip Saunders has a lot to prove as head coach, and this season's 82 games will move fast for a team in need of some instant chemistry.

Reality Check:
Last Friday I suggested the WNBA's Lisa Leslie could be seen on the reality TV show "The Superstars" today in a finale episode, but the series was pushed to next Tuesday, August 4th, at 8:00 p.m. ET.  "The Bachelorette" will air today instead.  Boo.
 

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