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Trying to Hold It Together
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One major factor in the negotiations is the desire of owner Abe Pollin to retain Jamison and Arenas in order to maintain the team's core.
Arenas and Butler missed last year's first-round playoff loss to Cleveland and this season, Arenas never was healthy while Butler battled through a string of injuries to his left hip, right knee and left wrist.
According to Arenas, Pollin said he wanted Arenas and Jamison back during an inspirational meeting with players before the team departed for Cleveland before Game 5.
"With our core group intact and the same system in place, we should be even better," Jordan said. "It's been a company stance all along, that we want to sign both of those guys, and I don't think that has changed."
Jordan, who has one season plus an option year remaining on his contract, said he would like to retain his current staff, which consists of associate head coach Mike O'Koren and assistants Randy Ayers, Phil Hubbard, Dave Hopla, Wes Unseld Jr. and director of player development Ed Tapscott.
O'Koren, Hubbard and Unseld have contracts that expire at the end of June.
"I would like to retain my staff, yes," Jordan said. "I think we had a great year. It was one of my greatest years being with assistants, my staff. We challenge each other, we discussed a lot of things. We added a whole lot to our staff."
Wizards Notes: Forward Darius Songaila said he is appealing the league's decision to suspend him for Game 6. The league ruled that Songaila intentionally hit Cavaliers star LeBron James in the face in Game 5, but Songaila and the Wizards were adamant that the contact was unintentional. Songaila, who will play this summer for the Lithuanian national team in the Olympics, was docked one game check and had to watch the game from home. . . . Grunfeld will address the media Wednesday, after he has had a chance to meet with each player individually. . . . The team's only other free agent is guard Roger Mason Jr., who averaged a career-high 9.1 points on 44.3 percent shooting.
