This year, I was so enthused about attending Media Day, I arrived 30 minutes early, and I was determined to make the most of the opportunity I had been denied the previous year.  The two hour experience did not disappoint at all.

You often hear that there are three sides of every story or argument– the two opposing sides version of what happened, and then the actual truth.  For the 2009 Washington Wizards Media Day, there were many different versions, many different truths, and many different stories to be told about this upcoming season.

There were players like Javaris Crittenton who realizes he is in a dogfight for minutes, and he is looking forward to competing and contributing in any way he can.  Other players like Nick  Young will have new rules in the Flip Saunders offense, and he is relishing the challenge.  Antawn Jamison is happy the Wizards roster is at full capacity because it will ease the burden on his 33 year old knees.  And players like DeShawn Stevenson and Gilbert Arenas are looking forward to staying healthy, and proving they can once again lead this team to the playoffs.

Here are some notable quotes and observations from the 2009 Media Day:

Gilbert Arenas

• Arenas mentioned that one of the driving forces behind his choice of Tim Grover to lead his summer workouts in Chicago was last year’s resurgences by Dwyane Wade, who also used Grover’s training methods. In the past, Arenas believed that the workouts he designed for himself would be sufficient.  “I don’t believe in traveling and paying somebody when you can do it yourself,” Arenas quipped.  But when he was watching Wade return to dominant play during the 2008-2009 season, his curiosity was peaked.  “Watching Dwyane play last year..I was reading all this stuff, you know the year before saying he was done and all this,” Arenas observed.  “And then just watching his consistent play..he played like[he was saying] ‘You guys made a mistake on me.’  And it just gave that confidence to try something else.”
• Arenas admitted that after one x-ray session in January 2009, in which the doctor told him the swelling in his joints would cause yet another surgery, he seriously contemplated retirement.  It was only after another doctor told him that an injection, not a surgery would cure his knee, that he relented.  “For about three hours, I said I’d rather retire before I go through another surgery again. At least I could save the team some money,” Arenas quipped.
• Despite his noticeably more serious demeanor during his 30 minute session with the media, Arenas insisted that he would NOT be playing the 2009-2010 with a chip on his shoulder.  But it was clear, this was not the same jovial Arenas that was on display in year’s past.  “I’m 27 now, and I’m not the entertainer anymore..I wouldn’t be here[at media day] if there wasn’t a big fine coming afterward.  If I’m not going to get fined, I don’t think you’re going to hear me again,” Arenas said with a straight face.  “I don’t have a blog, I don’t have a Twitter[account].  I rather just cut the gimmick out and play basketball…when I had fun, I was criticized, so we’ll see what happens when I’m serious.”
• Arenas spoke at length about the roles of a point guard.  He observed that in the Princeton offense that both Eddie Jordan and Ed Tapscott ran, he was a guard, not a point guard per se.  He said under Flip Saunders’ offense, he would have the ball a lot more which means he’d be fulfilling the role of a more traditional point guard.  But he was very clear in reminding the media where his strengths lie.  “I can pass the ball, but I can score a lot better.   If I went out there and averaged 10 assists and averaged 10 points, I’m not doing my team any justice.  So when I spoke to Flip, he said I want you attacking..the assists are gonna’ come.”
• He was very pleased with the addition of Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the team.  “We finally have some flat[out] shooters, the only shooters we had [before] were ‘Twan (Jamison) and D-Steve (Stevenson), so we have Mike Miller who can hit that shot, and we have another playmaker in Randy.”
• He had nothing but positive things to say about his relationship with Coach Saunders.  He said initially it was his impression via the media that Saunders didn’t even want to speak with him.  But since then, both his perception and his relationship with Saunders have changed drastically.  “Besides my high school coach and Lute Olson, he’s the only one I’ve had actual conversations with more than once,”  Arenas observed.  “From the first day, we spoke 45 minutes, and everyday, we text about three times a day.”

Nick Young

• When a few members of the media informed Young that Arenas was going to be much more serious during this upcoming season, Young was asked if he was ready to take on the unofficial role of team prankster.  “I don’t want that much pressure on me yet..I’m not going to try to be too funny,” Young said with a huge smile on his face.  “Everyone is trying to get focused this year, and we have a lot of goals we set as a team, so everyone is trying to get focused.”  Later in the same conversation, a still smiling Young expressed skepticism about whether Arenas would wear the serious mask the entire year.  “Once Gil is back to Gil, and we’re winning, I think you’ll see a couple more smiles.”
• Since  Young’s new role in Coach Saunders offense will involve a lot of catching and shooting, the coaching staff encouraged him to watch lots of film of Richard Hamilton and Reggie Miller–both of whom mastered the art of running of screens, catching, then shooting with a quick release.  “They sent me a lot of film [of Rip and Reggie], so I sat in my room watching them..I watched them an hour a day.”
• Young revealed that newly named assistant coach Sam Cassell has been working with him on making his game more complete.  “Sam came out to L.A. and worked with me a little bit… on ball handling, coming off screens, hitting open shots, mid range, the post game..I grew up watching him with the Rockets and the Clippers, so that was great.”
• Young, much like Arenas, made a  point to mention that Coach Saunders had been sending encouraging text messages throughout the summer.  He said these messages were designed to keep him upbeat and focused on what he needed to improve upon.
• In a rare off-the-cuff, candid moment, Young mentioned that coming off the bench is something he really no longer wants to do.  “I’m trying to get that starting job, this is my third year, I’m tired of coming off the bench, I’m trying to get in there [the starting lineup].”

DeShawn Stevenson

• From the moment he sat down to speak to the media, DeShawn Stevenson looked like a man who was ready to play regular season basketball today.  He was rubbing his hands together, fidgeting with this jersey, moving his legs around, and he just looked like a man who had been cooped up and off the court for much too long.  He admitted as much when asked about how he felt about this upcoming training camp.  “I missed the game, so I’m just glad to be back in the basketball atmosphere.  After being off for six months and rehabbing a bad back in Vancouver, I’m just glad to be back around basketball…I’m 100%.”
• The addition of Mike Miller and Randy Foye, and the emergence of Nick Young’s game, poses a direct threat to Stevenson’s playing time.  Yet Stevenson surprisingly is taking this competition all in stride.  “This is my 10th year on the league, there are ups and downs in the NBA, you have to be positive.  And right now in my career, I just want to be  on a winning team.”
• When asked about whether the new, serious attitude of Arenas was real or legit, Stevenson chose to take the cynical view.  “I mean, Gilbert will say one thing and do another, so you can believe that if you want to,” Stevenson said while breaking into laughter.

Dominic McGuire

• Going into last season, little or nothing was expected of Dominic McGuire.  But after a breakout season that saw McGuire emerge as a reliable player on the defensive end, much more is expected of him going into this season.  Still, he seemed unfazed.  “Nothing’s really changed with me, but we have new players, and I’m trying to re-establish myself and earn minutes to get on the court…we have a deep team this year, so I know I have to earn that trust again.”
• For most of the players on the roster, last year is an experience they would like to forget, but when McGuire was still able to take a few positives from the 19-63 season.  “Personally, I got a lot of valuable playing experience, and it made our team more humble, so we’re ready to get out here and prove last year was a fluke.”
• McGuire revealed that he played much of last year with plantar fasciitis, and that limited him at times last season.  As a result, he had to rest a bit  during the off-season before resuming his workouts.  But once he started working out, he had specific parts of his game that he wanted to improve.  “I wanted to continue to work on my mid-range jumper, I started to work on my 3-point show, but I decided to focus on my mid range game.”

Randy Foye

• When asked about the major differences between the Minnesota Timberwolves (his former team) and the Wizards, Foye mentioned that the Wizards were a much more classy operation.  “When I came for my first press conference, they picked me up from the train station, and everybody was excited to see me.”
• Since Foye has played under Randy Wittman (who was Flip Saunders’ assistant when he coached the Timberwolves), his current Wizards’ teammates have been asking him what to expect from a Saunders run training camp.  “I just told them you have to work as hard as you can to get in shape for camp, but at the same time, they run a fun training camp,” said Foye.  “When things get tough, and they see guys dragging, they do something exciting.”

Andray Blatche

• After a year, which saw him take considerable criticism from the media, former coaches Eddie Jordan and Ed Tapscott, fans and teammates, Andray Blatche found it necessary to change his number from 32, to 7, as well as his attitude.  “I pretty much decided after the last regular season game last year. I knew we had a new coach, so I wanted a whole new plate, I wanted everything to be fresh with me so I could come out and show my talent.”  He also felt the media put a little too much pressure on him last season
• Blatche also revealed that a post-season conversation with his mother served as yet another catalyst for his change in attitude.  “She said you’re too lackadaisical, like you’re just out there goofing around with your friends,” Blatche said.  “After awhile I was like [mom] you’re right, this is my job, this is my team, I need to go ahead and step my game up and be more focused.”
• Coach Flip Saunders has mentioned on several occasions that on any given night, he will have no more than an eight player rotation, and that statement was not at all lost on Blatche.  “I’m going out here with a chip on my shoulder to work hard, and I’m basically going to try and kill myself on the court going so hard, so I can secure myself one of those slots.”
• Blatche took time to recall a summer league battle he had with Oklahoma City Thunder forward, and Washington DC native, Kevin Durant.  “Man, that was crazy, I messed my heel up playing in that game,” an animated Blatche recalled.  “I was playing in a size 14 Jordan with no insoles in them, and I came down on my heel.  But that was a real good back and forth battle.”

Antawn Jamison

• One of the biggest issues surrounding Antawn Jamison going into this past summer was the status of his ankle.  Right off the bat, Jamison told the media that the surgery on his ankle was successful, and he is 100% healthy going into training camp.
• Jamison is one of the few Wizards’ players who has played with Arenas this summer, and he came away from those sessions with nothing but high praise.  “I’ve been playing with him for the past month or so, and he’s definitely back,” Jamison noticed.  “He’s to the point where’s he’s not taking threes, he’s trying to dunk on people.  He has that swagger, he has the confidence, he’s not thinking, ‘Can I do it?’ So that’s always a good sign.”  Jamison also added that he hopes the presence of Arenas means he can get more open jumpshots and take attention off of him.
• The taste of the 19-63 season clearly has not left Jamison’s mouth, and the fact that everyone is healthy going into this season has clearly energized him.  “I haven’t slept good since [last] season’s been over with.  [Everyone being healthy] is the only thing that keeps me going, it’s the only thing that’s driving me,” said a somber Jamison.  “It was disappointing last year, it was worst season of my career…but if this team can stay healthy, all that is going out the window.”
• When asked about the notion of the Big 3 (Arenas, Jamison and Caron Butler) carrying this team once again, Jamison definitely kept an open mind.  “Those are questions that are going to be answered during the course of the next couple of weeks (training camp).  Whether it’s still the the Big 3, I have no problem with that.  If it’s more balance, I have no problem with that, ” Jamison said.  “Whatever is asked, I’ll do it; whatever it takes, I’ll get it done.”
• Jamison seemed to strongly hint that the addition of Coach Saunders means more accountability, more urgency, and less joking around.  “With Flip, his resume speaks for himself, and he has a lengthy playbook that can benefit every individual on this team.  He [Saunders] is going to hold everybody accountable, no slacking off, no joking around when its time to be serious, and that’s what its all about.  We’re just fed up with not accomplishing things we set forth to accomplish.”
• The only subject that seem to lighten Jamison’s mood and bring a smile to his face was the mention of Fabricio Oberto, who the Wizards signed this summer.  Based on his words and his body language, Jamsion has been a big fan of Oberto for quite some time.  “You understand why he’s been a part of something successful (Oberto was a member of the ‘07 Championship Spurs).  It’s not about I score this, or I need to be recognized as far as doing that, ” Jamison marveled.  “He said from day one, I set screens and I smell blood… and that is what this organization needs.”

Mike Miller

• Despite just joining the team and not having played a minute with anyone on the Wizards roster with the exception of Foye, Miller seemed very confident of what his role would be this season.  “The one thing I can bring to this team is being effective without even scoring.  As long as they [opposing teams] have to account for me and understand they can’t double me, or double Gil, Caron and Antawn, and I can make their job easier, that’s going to be key for us,” Miller said.
• Miller was clearly excited to finally be a part of a team that has aspirations of going to the playoffs and beyond–something that has eluded him in recent years.  “The last couple of years for me have been difficult because you don’t want to go into training camp, without a chance, and we have that chance this year,” Miller said with a smile.   “When you go into training camp and you have expectations to win the East, that’s a big time difference, than when you’re just hoping to put a good push together to build for the future like I have the past couple of years.  That’s difficult mentally, physically, all across the board.  This year, it’s completely different.”
• When asked about the possible logjam at the shooting guard spot, Miller offered the media some perspective on that, and any adversity he may face this upcoming season.  “If you [the media] were in my shoes, and you got beat up in this league the last few years, you’d forget all about that stuff, I just want a fun year..I wanna come in here and know every time we lace them up we have a pretty good chance of winning.”

Brendan Haywood

• Brendan mentioned that him coming back healthy last year enabled him to focus less on rehab this off-season, and more on improving aspects of his interior game.  “I worked on scoring with my left hand as far as left hand jump hooks and left hand finishes around the basket.”
• When asked how he would fit into Coach Saunders system as a big man, Haywood sounded like a man who has clearly does some serious studying of his new coach’s tendencies.  “I think I’ll fit in fine, I mean if you look at Saunders system, big men have always fit in well.  You had Ben Wallace,  Rasheed Wallace, Rasho Nesterovic…even a guy like Dean Garrett did well in the system.
• It was brought to Haywood’s attention that Arenas would be shedding his image as a class clown and focusing more on being serious, and he had his own unique opinion on the matter.  “When we were winning and he [Arenas] was doing all these antics and actions, everybody loved it.  But when we were losing, everyone tried to blame him.  I don’t think it was him needing to change; it was him being injured,” Haywood remarked.  “I compare him to Chad Johnson. When the Bengals were winning, all that stuff was funny; when they started losing, they blamed him. It wasn’t his fault, Carson Palmer was hurt, they weren’t going to win anyway.”  Haywood finished his point by saying about Arenas, “Everyone’s always going to need a scapegoat, he can’t let people on the outside determine who he is.”
• In the midst of praising the arrival of Oberto and the experience he brings from the San Antonio Spurs, Haywood was also a bit critical of the Wizards’ defensive communication skills during their 19-63 season.  “I think Oberto helps us defensively because..you don’t have to tell him where to be, he already knows,” Haywood said.  “That was part of our problem last year. We had a lot guys who didn’t know where to be, and he’s not going to be part of that problem.”

Directly after this two hour Media Day, the Wizards players and coaching staff headed down to the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia for training camp.  Their first practice begins at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29th, and camp ends on Saturday, October 6th with a match-up against Allen Iverson and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Please stay tuned to Hoops Addict for any Washington Wizards related updates and articles.

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