![]() ![]() The Wizards are one of those teams, thanks to Grunfeld. Few teams in professional basketball feature two effective, old-school post players in their starting lineup. Wall and second-year shooting guard Bradley Beal are the franchise’s cornerstones, but they would not be gaining valuable playoff experience this season had Grunfeld not acquired mercurial power-forward Nenê in a trade that also rid the Wizards of Young and McGee and upgraded the center position by swapping the over-the-hill Emeka Okafor for the peaking Marcin Gortat. ![]() The makeover didn’t always go smoothly, but it has helped the franchise finally find success: The Wizards are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and have made the second round for the first time since 2005. After acquiring Wall in the 2010 draft, he coordinated a complete roster revamp. To his vast-and, up to this point, unrecognized-credit, Grunfeld ignored the critics. The calls for Grunfeld’s dismissal continued. To the chagrin of the team’s few hardcore fans, recurring injuries to Wall’s knees and consistently shaky play during his first three seasons raised doubts about the young point guard’s ability to resurrect Washington basketball. When the team drafted University of Kentucky phenom John Wall with the first pick of the 2010 draft, they were a middling franchise in need of a savior. The national media advocated for Grunfeld’s dismissal and criticized him relentlessly. Despite having four first-round picks between 20, Grunfeld did not select a single player of consequence. He had invested too much in Arenas and Jamison and failed to build through the draft. Grunfeld rightfully shouldered the blame for the sudden decline. ![]() Soon after, Arenas, Butler, and Jamison were gone, supplanted by Nick Young, Javale McGee, and Andray Blatche, three players who made up for in on-court cluelessness what they lacked in talent. The team hit a new low during the 2008-09 season by winning a mere 19 games. What was once an upstart team led by a rebellious misfit quickly evolved into an uncomfortable example of professional athletes exhibiting tone-deaf behavior. Then things just got weird, as Arenas admitted to storing firearms in his official team locker and received a lengthy suspension from the NBA front office for behavior detrimental to the league. With a significant portion of their salary cap tied to an injured superstar and an aging veteran, the Wizards could not attract marquee free agents. But Grunfeld doubled down on the team he had, signing Arenas and Jamison to massive contracts. He underwent several surgeries to repair the joint, but he never recovered the explosive first step that made him so un-guardable during his prime. For a moment, Grunfeld seemed like a genius: He had resurrected a franchise on life support in the narrowest of time frames.Īll at once, it all fell apart. Arenas became one of the league’s most recognizable stars, winning fans over with his colorful style of play and even more colorful commentary via the now-defunct “Agent Zero” blog. The new team clicked and made four consecutive postseason appearances. Grunfeld quickly executed a series of brilliant maneuvers: He signed unheralded free agent Gilbert Arenas and acquired Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler for pennies on the dollar. The team lacked direction and young talent to build around. When Grunfeld assumed general-manager duties in 2003, the Wizards were reeling from the departure of Michael Jordan. This isn’t the first comeback Grunfeld has engineered, of course. But it’s Grunfeld who deserves significant credit for the Wizards’ recent resurgence: The Wizards roster as it stands now has largely been his handiwork. To say Grunfeld’s tenure in Washington has been a rocky one would be a massive understatement. Case in point: In the first round of the NBA playoffs this week, the Wizards dispatched the Chicago Bulls with surprising ease, overwhelming the favored Bulls 4-1 with their size and athleticism. The lack of general visibility may be one reason few people-within the nation’s capital and outside of it-are talking about Ernie Grunfeld, the oft-criticized front-office executive who has quietly assembled a very good basketball team. Of course, a name that evokes images of young warlocks storming the parapets of Hogwarts doesn't engender brand loyalty. Walk into a random bar on a game night, and there’s a better chance televisions will be screening the World Series of Poker rather than the Wizards telecast. ![]() Statistically speaking, the Washington Wizards draw fewer fans and fill a smaller percentage of their arena than the Capitals, Redskins, and Nationals. The District of Columbia is not a professional basketball town. Ernie Grunfeld, right, congratulates point guard John Wall during a news conference to announce Wall's new contract with the NBA basketball team at the Verizon Center on Aug. ![]()
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