2009-2010 Washington Wizards Preview

2008 Record: 19-63, 5th in Eastern Conf. Southeast Division
Head Coach: Flip Saunders, 1st season
Key Additions: G Randy Foye, G Mike Miller
Key Losses: None
1st Round Draft Picks: None
2nd Round Draft Picks: None

2008-'09 Wizards Review:

No Gilbert Arenas, no chance. That's the long and short of Washington's miserable 19-win season, which started 4-23 and improved only marginally afterward. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison did their level best for a club who lost its coach, Eddie Jordan, early in the campaign, but under interim boss Ed Tapscott, the club didn't find much of any Wizardry, particularly on defense. If ever there was an apt occasion to take a single season and simply toss it out the window--without assigning real long-term value to 82 nights of drudgery--this wipeout in Washington fit the bill.

2009-'10 Wizards Preview:

With a healthy Arenas back at the Verizon Center, the Wizards have every chance of returning to the playoffs. New coach Flip Saunders might have failed in Detroit, but that unfulfilled tenure came at a place where NBA Finals appearances were the standard of success. In the District of Columbia, merely crashing the Eastern Conference's eight-team party rates as a big accomplishment. All told, the Wizards have the superstar and the coach needed to play into the month of May. Saunders just needs to make sure that Arenas doesn't sabotage the locker room; with the likes of Butler and Jamison on the team, Flip isn't likely to flip out. Indeed, the Wizards should be on their way back to the postseason.

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By Matthew Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

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