24 April-9 May 1996
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wtf 29 May 1996

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The Washington Bullets began their off-season on a high note (albeit a bit confusing at first). The Bullets announced on April 24 that they picked up the option year on Tim Legler's two-year contract, meaning that Tim Legler has a guaranteed contract for next season. He probably won't start the season on the active roster, but will hopefully play at some point.

The curious thing about this situation is that the Legler didn't have a guaranteed contract next year; however, the money was guaranteed. In other words, if he had been a bust last year, the Bullets could have cut him, though they would still owe the money. It's unclear whether he would have counted against the cap next year (my guess in no). Welcome back, Tim! Heal quickly!

wtf 1 June 1996
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John Nash was the featured guest on the 27 April 1996 edition of Full Court Press. Juwan Howard and John Nash met after the season to discuss the season past; Nash claims there is no ill-will between the two. (Personal opinion--there probably is some, though not to the level that Juwan's agent, David Falk, might claim.) Nash does admit that the Bullets' number one off-season priority is re-signing Juwan Howard. Other options will be considered only after it is known that Juwan is either here or gone.

One interesting point from Nash: the teams that sign players in July is going to overpay for the players (to prevent the players from leaving or to lure the players from another team; the teams that sign players in September, when cap money is tight, tend to underpay for the players. Keep that in mind.

Looking at some of the Bullets' free agents (George Michael's estimate)--Juwan Howard is going to demand $13M per year; Robert Pack is looking for $3M per year in a new deal; Jim McIlvaine will probably demand at least $1.5M per year.

wtf 28 May 1996
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Now, here's a shocker. In a power struggle within the Bullets, John Nash beat the executioner to the punch and resigned on April 30, 1996 as general manager of the Washington Bullets. Reportedly, he felt he was going to be fired and decided to resign instead. His two-page handwritten resignation note said: "For reasons that are personal, I have decided to resign from my position with the Washington Bullets, effective immediately. Mr. Pollin and the Bullets organization gave me a wonderful opportunity to help rebuild the franchise. Despite our inability to make the playoffs this past year, I truly believe that the Bullets have the quality players on their roster to be a playoff team next year and a contender by the time they become the Wizards [in 1997]...My immediate plans are uncertain, but I do intend to focus on some personal family matters."

Over the course of the next several days, it became that, while the Bullets organization may deny a decision had been made, Nash was, more than likely, going to be fired. He'd done somethings well and done some poor things. He found gems in Gheorghe Muresan and Jim McIlvaine (and eventually Brent Price) in the second round. He stepped up and made the deal for Chris Webber, and eventually unloaded problem children like Rex Chapman and Don MacLean.

But he stepped on a lot of toes along the way, hurting a lot of people's "feelings" (I have no other way of putting it). We all know about the snubs during and after the negotiations with Juwan Howard. (Howard's agent David Falk vows to make sure the Bullets don't forget.) There were also reports of Nash pissing off Webber with his demands that he be on the bench in street clothes for all games. (Not a bad demand for your $6M player, but where was Mark Price, a $3M man, all season? Doing his laundry? Where's the consistency in the demands?) I also don't think Washington Sports president Susan O'Malley, the highly trusted lieutenant to owner Abe Pollin, ever forgave Nash for being the driving force behind the 1994 firing of coach Wes Unseld.

Then there is Rex Chapman's comment after the Howard-Askins fight earlier this season (I'm paraphrasing)--"I was in that pile to see if I could find John Nash in there." While I'm no Chapman lover, Nash had become a liability for the organization. He had angered more than a few players with his negotiating and interpersonal style. At the very least, he often seemed brutal or downright dishonest (at times). (Chapman claims the Bullets reneged on a contract they had offered, among other claims.) I can come to no other conclusion.

The personal reasons for leaving, besides facing being forced out, may also include an upcoming divorce that he is supposedly facing. The Bullets will pay him for the final year of his contract, although by June, it became obvious that he was being considered for GM positions in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Dallas. He also tried out for a broadcasting role next season. His options are numerous, at moment. They just won't be with the Washington Bullets.

wtf 17 June 1996
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Well, it took one day for the Bullets to name a new general manager. And all owner Abe Pollin had to do was go down the hall, put his arm around the shoulder of his long time friend (and employee), and asked Wes Unseld to shoulder yet one more burden. And, surprisingly enough, Wes took the job.

I don't know how long Wes' contract is for (as confirmed in mid-June, 5 years). His early orders of business are to call coach Jim Lynam (who is seeking, and received?) a contract extension (even though his friend, John Nash, resigned); call Webber and Howard, to make sure things are okay; and call Howard's agent, David Falk, who is representing a lot of the Bullets' future with his upcoming negotiations.

I'm not sold on Wes as GM. Abe seems to want to run this organization as a family, with people he can trust. Wes (and Washington Sports president Susan O'Malley, and previous GM Bob Ferry) had trusting relationships with Abe, even when things were rocky. And it seems his working relationship with John Nash had been poisoned, whether from willful intervention (on O'Malley's part) or not. But Abe didn't even try interviewing outside the Bullets organization, where there are several well respected personnel men around the league looking for that GM role, which would have been (IMO) the smart move, even if you still wanted to hire Wes. It's unclear whether Wes will have the right stuff to do the job.

The other negative I see is the perception of the Bullets as an organization that limits itself to the familiar and the trusted. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad impression; does this mean that they're cheap, or does it mean that they reward hard work and good service? It's this concern that I have at the back of my head. It's probably irrational, but it lingers nonetheless.

Here's wishing the best of luch to Wes in his new role, and may he be as successful as he was as a player, and not as a coach.

wtf 17 June 1996
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The Bullets also announced during the Wes Unseld news conference that coach Jim Lynam, and his three assistant coaches, have been signed to a one-year extension. (I have since found out that the extensions were not quite done yet, that Lynam was given the option to look around the league at other opportunities (probably because Nash resigned), and then were made for two years.) All of their contracts (they were linked together) had only one year remaining. Congratulations to Jim, Bob Staak, Buzz Braman, and Derek Smith.

wtf 17 June 1996
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On May 2, center Gheorghe Muresan was voted the Most Improved Player in the NBA for the 1995-96 season, receiging 50 of a possible 113 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Muresan was the NBA leader in shooting percentage at .584 and also averaged career-highs in points (14.5), rebounds (9.6), blocked shots (2.26), assists (0.7), and steals (0.68). His scoring average went up 4.5 points per game and his rebounding average improved by 2.9 per game. He shot better than .500 from the field in 58 games and blocked two or more shots 43 times.

Eighteen players received votes. George McCloud of Dallas was second in the balloting with 23 votes and Cleveland teammates Danny Ferry and Terrell Brandon shared third place with six votes each. Other players receiving votes include Terry Murray of Toronto (4), Brian Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers (4), Elden Campbell of the Los Angeles Lakers (3), Shawn Bradley and Chris Childs, both of New Jersey (2), Alan Houston of Detroit (2), Bobby Phills of Cleveland (2), Dennis Scott of Orlando (2), David Wesley of Boston (2), Greg Anthony of Vancouver (1), Vinny Del Negro of San Antonio (1), Matt Geiger of Charlotte (1), Juwan Howard of Washington (1) and Jayson Williams of New Jersey (1).

What's interesting to note is that Muresan finished second last season in the Most Improved Player voting (behind Dana Barros), yet he's still improving enough to win the voting this year. And the league is noticing. Way to go, Ghitza!

wtf 1 June 1996
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Wes Unseld was the featured guest on the 4 May 1996 edition of Full Court Press. Out of Wes' mouth--Wes Unseld did not expect to step into another management role with the Bullets after his current responsibilities with MCI Center were done (read between the lines: he really didn't want the job). But when he was offered the job, he couldn't turn down the job. He also talks of keeping some other responsibilities like he had previously; it sounds to me like he's not planning on being a long-term GM solution.

In Wes' words, the Bullets' GM represents Abe Pollin in all negotiations. Abe has to approve all deals. So, in many ways, past negotiating stances are probably very representative of what Abe Pollin believed was appropriate.

Wes has already talked to Juwan's agent, David Falk. The dialogue will come later. But he still has to talk with Jim Lynam about the future of several players on the Bullets (e.g., Calbert Cheaney, Rasheed Wallace, Mitchell Butler, the PG situation).

wtf 28 May 1996
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This rumor does not make sense to me. However, I have to give it some consideration. The Washington Time reported that the Washington Bullets are seriously interested in signing free agent point guard Kenny Anderson. The article also reported that, in order to sign Anderson, the Bullets would have to renounce the rights to Mark and Brent Price and Robert Pack.

Let me state first that I HATE this idea. Kenny Anderson is not the point guard the Bullets need. He can't shoot (career shooting percentage below 40%), he's out of control (turnovers average well over 3 per game), and he can't play a lick of man-to-man defense (at least, I've never seen him do it). But hey, if that's what you like in a player, fine, sign him!

Robert Pack is a better shooter than Kenny Anderson, plays MUCH better defense, also turns the ball over, but here's the key--HE WON'T COST AS MUCH! His agent, David Falk, is quoted as saying Anderson will cost at least $7M per season (at least, that's the demand--I don't think he's worth it). And the Bullets haven't had a good time negotiating with Falk recently. (See this related story--coming soon.)

Plus, I don't understand this renouncing the rights of three players who will be unrestricted free agents. The only thing I can think of is that, to fit under the salary "cap," the Bullets would have to renounce their right to resign their own free agents for whatever they offer. In other words, the three players are truly unrestricted and cannot look to the Bullets to overpay just to keep him. Anyone who understands this part of the collective bargaining agreement, let me know.

In summary, just say no--NO KENNY ANDERSON!

wtf 1 June 1996
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