Most prognosticators felt the Wizards were still another year away from the playoffs, but many did not expect these kind of struggles.

Saunders appeared to have lost the team given recent actions and comments from both Andray Blatch and JaVale McGee.

That said, it’s hard to say that Saunders is mostly to blame given the lack of talent on the current roster.

Instead, it seems like general manager Ernie Grunfeld should have to face the music for a poor job in assembling the roster.

Vesely gives the team some European flair, a guy with height who likes to play out on the perimeter and can shoot the ball from the outside.

Washington later lucked out as Chris Singleton fell down the board and even tumbled past the New York Knicks at No. 17. The Knicks surprised everyone by reaching for Iman Shumphert, allowing the Wizards to grab the best defensive player in the draft.

In the second round, Washington took Butler guard Shelvin Mack. I wasn’t a huge fan of Mack, who doesn’t have a great size or quickness.

In fact, unlike most draft pundits, I wasn’t overly impressed with Washington’s draft. Vesely has a high bust factor, although he was their only real option given the weakness at the top of the draft.

Washington also traded away Hilton Armstorng, and will receive veteran Mike Bibby, rookie Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans and a first-round pick in return.

Bibby will give fans another big name to follow, but he is a washed-up veteran who has been in decline for several seasons.

Crawford is the most exciting piece of the trade, as he has the ability to score points in bunches. The draft pick will also help.

The Wizards had hoped to be somewhat of a factor at the NBA trade deadline, and Hinrich was their only bargaining chip.

Washington had to have had the Cleveland game circled on their schedule for quite awhile, knowing it was their best chance to get a win.

Nick Young lead the victorious Wizards with 31 points while John Wall added 19 points and 14 assists.

The Wizards built a 25-point lead in the third quarter and then had to withstand a furious rally from the Cavaliers.

Players joked about popping champagne after the win, but they probably felt like a big celebration was in order.

The Hornets didn’t even have the services of center Emeka Okafor, but still found little resistance against the lowly Wizards.

Nick Young lead the Wizards with 30 points and Andray Blatche chipped in 21 and nine rebounds.

At this point, Washington is only 16 more road losses away from finishing the year without a win away from home.

No team has ever accomplished that before, and you almost feel like rooting for history to be made.

Arenas told the team his knee was sore so that fellow teammate Nick Young could start at guard instead of him.

Young was feeling the pressure to show the team he was worthy of playing time, so Arenas decided it would help if he took his place.

Young did play much better, so the move might have helped, but the Wizards were certainly not amused.

Arenas has been much more serious this year, but he crossed the line with his latest move.

Leonsis predicted that the league would shortly be instituting a hard salary cap instead of the luxury tax currently set up.

That clearly didn’t make NBA commissioner David Stern very happy, and he was hit with a large fine.

Leonsis took over the team less than a year ago, so this isn’t the way he wants to be making news.

He should probably try to sit back and fly under the radar a little bit until he becomes more established in the league.

The combo guard, who is known to speak about almost anything, might have a hard time not bringing up the incident at some point in the future.

Arenas has served his suspension and is excited about returning to the court and getting back to his old ways.

Stern said he is personally excited to see Arenas playing basketball again and believes he is a good person.

Many are excited about the prospect of seeing Arenas play alongside No. 1 overall draft pick John Wall.

With most college teams now holding their first practice earlier in the evening, the Midnight Madness label is no longer correct.

However, the Wizards do intent on holdin their first practice of the season at midnight on September 28.

The practice will be open to the public and feature a practice with player introductions and prizes for fans.

This is the first big example of new owner Ted Leonsis thinking outside of the box to drum up interest in the team.

Howard came over to the Wizards in the middle of last season after the big trade with the Dallas Mavericks.

He played reasonably well for the team before tearing his ACL, and he has been busy rehabbing since that time.

Despite such a serious injury, Howard plans to be back on the court practicing sometime in October.

It’s a good signing for the Wizards becomes with very little risk, but it could be a great reward if Howard is healthy.