This article incorrectly said that Washington Wizards guard Juan Dixon was selected in the second round of the 2001 NBA draft. Dixon was chosen in the first round of the 2002 draft.
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Wizards Bring Back Dixon
Former Maryland star Juan Dixon, left, driving by Gilbert Arenas, played three seasons in Washington before moving on to Portland, Toronto and Detroit.
(By Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)
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Veteran center Etan Thomas, who missed all of last season following heart surgery, has been playing in pickup games and is cleared for full duty. Forward Darius Songaila, who elected not to play for Lithuania in Beijing after experiencing pain in his back, has also been cleared, according to Grunfeld.
Also, third year forward Oleksiy Pecherov participated in his first five-on-five action on Monday after working his way back from a sprained ankle.
Jordan said he was "grateful" but also "shocked" when Grunfeld informed him Monday that the team was picking up his option for the 2009-10 season, not because he didn't expect the move but because he had been solely focused on getting ready for the upcoming season.
"I have a contract for this year, so preparing for training camp was the only thing on my mind," said Jordan, who signed a three-year, $12.5 million extension that included a team option for 2009-10 prior to the 2006-07 season. "I wasn't thinking of those things. We're in training camp mode. The coaches went on a retreat last week, we've been the office watching tape and we've been locked in on preparing this team for the season."
One thing that won't change, according to Jordan, is the overall emphasis on defense. After allowing opponents to shoot 47.3 percent and average 104.9 points during the 2006-07 season, the Wizards held opponents to 46.1 percent shooting and 99.2 points per game last season.
"The system's in place," Jordan said. "They understand where we are defensively and the system. Certainly, it's going to be an emphasis in training camp again like last year. They understand where we need to improve and they see the benefits of it."
Wizards Note: Via a text message, Arenas said he is feeling "much better" than he was before the latest surgical procedure and is looking forward to getting into the rehabilitation process. Arenas will be in Richmond for training camp.
