The Clock Is Ticking

Time is running out for the Wizards as free agency looms for Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas and great expectations rest on Coach Eddie Jordan. (Graphic by Adam Kipple -- washingtonpost.com)

 

The Washington Wizards' slogan for the upcoming season is "Ready to Rule." Judging from the vibe surrounding the team going into tonight's regular season opener at Indiana, they could have added "Or Else."

Star guard Gilbert Arenas plans to opt out of his contract and become a free agent next summer. Forward Antawn Jamison, who has teamed up with Arenas to guide the Wizards to three straight playoff appearances, will be a free agent as well. And Coach Eddie Jordan will be under pressure to take his team deep into the playoffs for the first time.

The franchise has not been to the conference finals since 1979, so it's hard to ignore the feeling that time is running out and the Wizards are facing a make-or-break season.

Jamison, who has been traded three times since he was drafted in 1998, said he would consider anything less than a deep playoff run "a failure" and he knows that those kinds of failures usually usher in change, even after three straight playoff appearances.

"If it's another failure situation, in our eyes, why would you bring us back?" Jamison said referring to himself and Arenas. "We've changed the image of the team, but maybe they think there is somebody out there better for the job. We both like it here but there comes a time when it's, what can we do different? Are we going to take that challenge to solidify ourselves as one of the elite teams, not only in the Eastern Conference, but in the league?"

Jordan and the team's core veterans, which include Arenas, Jamison, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson, Antonio Daniels and Darius Songaila, find themselves in such a position because of factors that are largely out of their control.

As team president Ernie Grunfeld pointed out when asked about the upcoming season, the Wizards were an Eastern Conference best 25-17 following a big home win over Detroit on Jan. 26 -- then injuries changed the season.

Jamison sprained his knee in a freak collision with Stevenson, and the team went 4-8 without him. Later, Butler missed nine games with a strained back. And in the season's final month, Butler and Arenas were lost to season-ending injuries.

The Wizards never got a chance to see how they would have performed in the wide-open Eastern Conference playoffs, a tournament that was eventually won by LeBron James and an underwhelming supporting cast of Cleveland Cavaliers who were then swept in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs.

Instead of making drastic changes, Grunfeld re-signed Stevenson, Roger Mason Jr. and talented third-year forward-center Andray Blatche and added an infusion of youth and athleticism by drafting Nick Young and Dominic McGuire.

Veteran center Etan Thomas is out indefinitely after undergoing open-heart surgery on Oct. 11, but Blatche was solid as a backup center during the preseason and the bench could be a strength if Young and McGuire develop the way the team hopes they will.

"We'll never know what could have happened last year, and it's not even worth bringing up now because it's in the past," explained Butler, who is coming off a season in which he posted career-highs in several categories and made his first all-star team. "But, we know what we have on this team. We have enough to accomplish what we need to accomplish so, no excuses. It's about doing it."