Hornets win draft Lottery; Wizards pick 3rd

Sources -- Washington Wizards plan to retain coach Randy Wittman - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7994863/sources-washington-wizards-plan-retain-coach-randy-wittman)

not too thrilled

Yeah me either. I'm not too big a fan of Grunfield though. There was a time when the Wiz had the big 3 and were making the playoffs I was ok with him. But 4 straight losing seasons, and each a minimum of 25 games under .500? How do you reward that? Put someone else in charge of the franchise. Leonsis' reluctancy to hold anyone accountable on both the Caps and Wiz is starting to annoy me.

David Stern asks Jim Rome, ‘Have you stopped beating your wife yet?’ in response to lottery-fixing question in radio interview | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/david-stern-asks-jim-rome-stop-beating-wife-202222756--nba.html;_ylt=Ai1cUBgWBioo3gcEbPUkU8S8vLYF)

What the hell is wrong with David Stern?


After emphasizing that his line of questioning intended no disrespect, Rome noted that he still thought the question valid, since many NBA fans and observers have openly questioned the validity and purity of the lottery. This time, Stern not only bristled — he swung.

"Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" Stern asked.



"OK," Stern said. "Listen, I've got to go call somebody important, like Stephen A. Smith, right now. He's up next."

"All right, you go make that call, and I'll go talk to somebody else, too, I guess," Rome said.

"All right," Stern said.

"All right, commissioner. Have a nice day," Rome said. "I did not hang up on him — we are officially out of time. We will come back and reset that momentarily. Stay tuned."


This guy has lost his mind. I did find the Stephen A. Smith bit funny, even though it was unprofessional as hell.

David Stern asks Jim Rome, ‘Have you stopped beating your wife yet?’ in response to lottery-fixing question in radio interview | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/david-stern-asks-jim-rome-stop-beating-wife-202222756--nba.html;_ylt=Ai1cUBgWBioo3gcEbPUkU8S8vLYF)

What the hell is wrong with David Stern?









This guy has lost his mind. I did find the Stephen A. Smith bit funny, even though it was unprofessional as hell.

Every year he makes me wonder how he still has a freakin job as the commisioner.

I just heard it. I thought it was pretty hilarious.

Ill admit at first i thought Stern was just being a complete dick and not that the phrase is the classic example of a loaded rhetorical question. Im guessing the saying was more common back when Stern was a little younger.

But as much as i hate Rome, what he asked was fair.

128 Wideo Wabbit 1956ef cedar - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPM0A-eQ6UM&feature=youtu.be&t=3m55s)

Stern is not the most pleasant guy to converse with, but even that went beyond anything I'd ever heard him say. Way inappropriate in my opinion.

I have to say I'm kind of disappointed by ESPN's coverage on this. They have their article about it headlined "Stern to Rome lottery query: 'Shame on you'" when the focus should be on what he said in regards to beating his wife. Had this been a NBA player saying the same thing to the commissioner, I imagine the headlines would read a bit different.


Also, I'm not even sure why David Stern is so offended by this. I think many people believe (including me) that the NBA is rigged in some sort of fashion. I without a doubt believe when Tim Donaghy talked about how the 2002 Western Conference playoffs were rigged in that they wanted that Lakers/Kings to extend to 7 games. So why wouldn't people think the lottery is rigged too? (not saying i believe the lottery is rigged)

David Stern's tantrum to Jim Rome another reason why it's getting time for him to leave - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--david-stern-s-tantrum-to-jim-rome-another-reason-why-it-s-getting-time-for-him-to-leave-.html)

Nice pick.

I also heard a report that Rashard Lewis and Andray Blatche WILL both be gone before the draft.

They're going to be one of the youngest teams in the league.

Wizards trade Rashard Lewis, No. 46 draft pick to New Orleans for Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza - Wizards Insider - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/sources-wizards-trade-rashard-lewis-no-46-draft-pick-to-new-orleans-for-emeka-okafor-trevor-ariza/2012/06/20/gJQAN5EjqV_blog.html)

Wizards trade Rashard Lewis, No. 46 draft pick to New Orleans for Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza - Wizards Insider - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/sources-wizards-trade-rashard-lewis-no-46-draft-pick-to-new-orleans-for-emeka-okafor-trevor-ariza/2012/06/20/gJQAN5EjqV_blog.html)

Pros: Changing the culture with proven vets who work hard. Proving to Wall that the organization is doing whatever it can to make his job easier. Solidifies a front court, balancing rebounding (Okafor) with scoring (Nene/Seraphin). Ariza can also spread the floor from the forward position, which is a major area of need.

Cons: There goes the cap space. Okafor's got an injury history, like Nene. Hopefully, this won't take minutes away from young guys like Seraphin and Booker (and even though I didn't like the Vesely pick, how do we evaluate him without proper burn?)... but there's no way Okafor's going to sit on the bench with that contract.

In all, I'm ok with the move. I guess the Wiz are hedging their bets with two centers that have injury problems. I'm not sure how many quality free agents would have come here, regardless of how much space the team had in a year. I think the biggest net is making sure Wall doesn't bolt after his contract is up.

Wizards trade Rashard Lewis, No. 46 draft pick to New Orleans for Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza - Wizards Insider - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/sources-wizards-trade-rashard-lewis-no-46-draft-pick-to-new-orleans-for-emeka-okafor-trevor-ariza/2012/06/20/gJQAN5EjqV_blog.html)

Makes me even more convinced that they're going to take Beal or MKG. Granted Robinson is the likely #2 overall pick anyway but there was the notion that he was their favorite after Davis.