So this post on the official Pistons blog quotes Michael Curry, Detroit's new coach, saying that Kwame Brown "didn’t use anything as an excuse" for Kwame's lackluster career when Curry and Brown met. Curry goes on to say: "“He took responsibility for himself and, really, once he did that, for me it was easy. That’s one of the biggest things – to get athletes to hold themselves accountable."

If I were to discuss the matter with Curry, I'd warn him that Kwame's always talked a pretty good game. It's a lot easier for Kwame to say that he cares and is responsible for himself than it is for him to actually play like it.

Let's just say that if Kwame plays any differently than the shrinking violet who has underwhelmed fans and teams at every stop of his NBA career, I'll be quite surprised.

Draft Express offers a fairly detailed scouting report  of the Wizards (the Magic too). Each player is assessed based on his strengths and weaknesses. I agree with their assessments mostly, although I think the profile for Roger Mason Jr. was written by Roger Mason Jr.'s mom (or perhaps his agent). 

(For the record, I very much appreciate RMJr's play this season and would like to congratulate him for getting whoever is going to overpay him next season to do so. It's too bad Isaiah Thomas is no longer alive to give him one of those Jerome James/Jared Jeffries kind of deals (although Roger obviously lacks the proper credentials initials for such a contract.))

Anyway, check it out for yourself if you're interested.

I wasn't too surprised to learn that DeShawn Stevenson made the dreaded throat-slashing gesture during a Wiz-Cavs game (he's gotten carried away with the trash talk a little bit, IMO, and this falls in line with that), and it was no surprise at all that the NBA fined him (it seems a pretty standard practice). But I was VERY surprised to see the NBA repeatedly using the the throat-slashing gesture in its promos for tonight's game. There it was on NBA TV, a brief spot hyping Game 5 and showing DeShawn making a different gesture, then following up with the throat-slash.

I understand the point of discouraging the NBA's athletes from making such gestures. Kids watch these games and emulate their heroes on the court (I think there's also some gang connection to the gesture, but I'm so old and out of touch I'm not sure what it is). I wouldn't want either of my kids making that gesture on the court. But if the league banned the gesture because it wants to limit images of thuggishness and make the game more family-friendly, why in the world would they show it over and over in their promos? And if they are going to show it so much in an ad designed to attract viewers, how can they justify fining a player for it?

Doesn't make any sense to me, but neither does moving a team out of a cool city like Seattle for a dump like Oklahoma City, so what do I know?

In his latest Insider post, Ivan Carter waves at the  fevered fans of Bullets Forever.

Ivan writes:

Oh, and a note only the guys over at www.bulletsforever.com can truly appreciate: Did you know that Jamison is on pace to become only the 8th Bullet/Wizard to average 20 and 10 for a full season? The others: Chris Webber, Elvin Hayes (six times), Walt Bellamy (four times), Moses (twice), Gus Johnson, Jeff Ruland and, wait for it, Pervis Ellison. Never Nervous put up 20 and 10? Yes he did. It was the 1991-92 season. I would not have guessed that in a million years.

We love you too, Ivan.

I like reading Gil's blog because it's funny and controversial, but his latest post is smart and insightful too. It's must reading.

His take on Shaq going to the Suns is a lot more positive than most I've seen, and he offers some fairly convincing reasoning for his optimism (although I'm still not sure I agree).

Here's his take on the Heat side of the deal:  

Just like Dwyane Wade said, Shaquille helped his career. In turn, all he can do is be grateful. What's funny is after Shaq left a team in the past, no other players said what Dwyane Wade said. He really said it, "He's done a lot for me, I'm going to miss the big fella. Thank you, big fella." That's all the respect Shaq could ever want. You know, a player like him once in a while just wants somebody to say, "Thank you" once in a while. The other two stars, Penny (my man) and Bryant never said that.

Great stuff.

Gil says LA "hi-jacked" Paul Gasol from Memphis, "That should be a crime. You don't give away Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and a rookie. I don't care what's out there, you can get more than that. You gave away a $100 bill and you got back two nickels and a dime."

He continues:

It seems like a pretty stupid move by Chris Wallace. No offense, I don't know him personally, but you don't give away Pau Gasol for what they got back. I mean, Chicago wanted Pau Gasol. They would have given something back in return. I mean, something. Ladies and gentlemen, they have Darko and Kwame at the four and the five. That's all I'm going to say.

His take on Jose Calderon as an All-Star snub is worth reading too. Gotta love Gil.

So here's a post on TrueHoop:  

Gilbert Arenas Throws Down the Gauntlet to the Wizards

January 15, 2008 5:00 PM

On his NBA.com blog, on a day when Washington is enraptured with the other Wizards, injured star Gilbert Arenas writes:

    I want to get a six-year deal. I want to be a max player. If my team decides that they don't want me here any more and they're going to go in a different direction, then I got to look elsewhere. For me to look elsewhere, I want to go find a championship team who's a championship contender. I'm going to have to take less money, but I'm willing to do that to win a ring. If my team doesn't want me, then I'm going to another team and I'm going to take less money to go there.

I'm sure he doesn't mean it this way, and maybe we'll have a clarification soon, but it seems like Arenas is saying that he'd play for passion, and to win in some other city. But if he has to play with these scrubs in D.C. ...

Meanwhile, "those scrubs" just beat the Celtics twice in a row.

And, looking at it from the other side, if you had a championship quality team, would you use your mid-level exception on a guy who dominates the ball? Having Gilbert Arenas on the floor re-orients the stars in your offense. (If you're Cleveland, I think the answer is yes. But San Antonio? Phoenix? Dallas? You can love Arenas from here to the moon, and still swallow hard before noodling with your roster in that particular way -- especially when you consider that he's little, not a great defender, and injury prone.)

More than anything, this might be an example of why players angling for maximum deals should probably have agents manage the process. It would be smart to avoid even the slightest chance of needlessly pissing off the only good team on the planet that can afford to give you big money.

I can't read Gil's comments any other way than TrueHoop's Henry Abbott does. And reading them that way suggests Gil is selfish or stupid or both. He's demanding the max from DC but he'll play cheaper elsewhere? My response to that is not fit for a family blog. What title contender can afford him? Is he gonna take the minimum? How'd that work out for Karl Malone and Gary Payton in LA? Is he gonna sign for big bucks in a more lateral move? Ask Larry Hughes how much he's enjoying that.

I'd like to think I take into account athletes' human perspective when considering such matters, but I'm having a hard time seeing how Gil's comment about his contract situation isn't just a total dick move toward the franchise that paid him huge money already and has seen him blossom as a superstar. I'm not saying that should count for something at the negotiating table, but to say he'd sign for less elsewhere ... cripes. My first reaction is to say fuck him -- we're doing OK without him, and we can use the cap room to sign someone who doesn't pull shit like this.

The biggest benefit of having NBA League Pass is that I get to see every team in the league. I was an NBA fan for decades before I got the League Pass, but I'll never not have it again -- it's that cool. Seeing every team lets me get a look at a lot more players than just the same ones who show up on TNT and ESPN (do they even show games if Wade, LeBron or Kobe aren't involved?). I really like being able to check out players who get little or no ink, but when you see them, they really can play -- guys I wouldn't mind seeing in a Wizards uniform. In years past, I'd put players like David West and Boris Diaw in this category. Here's a few guys who I think are a lot better than the pub they're getting this year:

Linas Kleiza -- A solid SF at 6-8, 245, Kleiza can shoot from the outside and get his shot off around the basket as well. He's averaging 11 points and 4 board this season, and shoots well from the floor and the line (and passably from 3-point range) but what has struck me most is his attitude. He's just a hard-case who doesn't take shit from anyone. Has sort of a serial-killer look in his eye -- the kind of guy I'd much rather have on my team than against me.

Joel Pryzbilla -- He's pretty much been a goon his entire career, but this season, he's been an effective goon. Doesn't score much, but he shoots a high percentage from the field, and his main strengths are shotblocking and rebounding. He's just an old-school enforcer, and if you drive the lane on him, you can expect to be picking yourself up off the floor at the end of it.

Matt Bonner -- He was a free agent a few seasons ago, and I coveted him for the Wizards, but I think we landed AD that summer instead. I prefer AD, but Bonner would be a good addition to a lot of teams. Unlike Kleiza and Pryzbilla, he's not a regular, but he can shoot the 3 (.411 this season) and is 21-for-21 from the line this year. He's only averaging 7 points and 4 boards, but he makes the most of his minutes, and he always plays like a pro. A good roleplayer. He reminds me of Darius Songaila, but a better rebounder and with 3-point range -- and at half the price.

Francisco Garcia and John Salmons -- I guess you could make the case that every member of the Kings is unsung, but these guys are rarely ever mentioned, they both have dynamic offensive games with good shooting numbers, and they just no how to play. Salmons is more quiet, but Garcia plays with a mean streak.

There are a couple other guys who I'd put on the list, but my baby's waking up from a nap, so I'll end this here.

I'm taking my four-year-old daughter, Libby, to her first Wizards game at GMU this Saturday. She's totally jazzed, and so am I. My wife happened to meet a Wiz executive a few weeks ago and mentioned what big fans we are. Next thing you know, he sent us fantastic tickets to the game. How cool is that?

Libby listens to her old man enough to know that she loves Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. But I recently told her that Brendan Haywood is the tallest guy on the team, and now all she can talk about is seeing him at the game. She totally mimics everything I say, so I'm trying to be careful not to call him Haywood Jablome around her.

I'm still skeptical about whether she can sit still long enough to watch the game. She gets bored pretty quick when we watch games on TV together . I suspect she'll have a greater attention span for Gil's cartoon.

Anyways, if you go to the Dallas game Saturday and you see the cutest little girl in the world waving  a sign saying "My first Wizards game," I'll be the goofball sitting next to her.

So Kwame Brown got arrested again in Georgia. I don't understand why we ever let him get away. He's so big and athletic. And all we got for him was Caron Butler.

I'm sure Kwame will realize his full potential with the Lakers and carry them to glory, much to the delight of Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson.

The Washington Post reported today that the Wizards hired Ed Tapscott as director of player development/programs and Dave Hopla as assistant coach/player development.

I found the news particularly interesting since I know Dave Hopla from nearly 20 years ago, when he was an assistant coach at a community college in Baltimore, and I was a cub sports reporter at a tiny community newspaper that covered the college. Hopla had been the last guy cut from a CBA team that played in Baltimore a few years earlier, and even in the very early 90's, he was traveling around working as a shooting guru (his website makes clear that he still does).

I spent some time picking Dave's brain for insights on shooting (the only thing I was ever good at in hoops), and even wrote a feature story on his work as a vagabond instructor. His philosophy was fascinating, and since then, I've seen the tactics he told me about employed by numerous top players.

I'm not smart enough to know whether Dave will do a better job than Harvey Grant as the player development coach, but it was pretty cool for me to see that a guy I new way back when would be on the Wiz coaching staff.