Blow Up The Bullets

By Mark Bacon

For two of the last three years, the Washington Bullets* seemed a franchise on the upswing. Playoffs, second round, no less, Wall & Beal, etc. Contenders. “The next big team.” (*I do not use the W-word, feeling it harkens back to pointy hats and burning crosses too much. And Skins is deemed offensive in the same city?)

Then Icarus flew too close to the sun and crashed, right?

WRONG!!!! This franchise is mired in mediocrity and will remain so until GM Ernie Grunfeld is ousted, for starters. He. Must. Go. Firing Randy Wittman was convenient and nice and all, but not cutting the head off the snake. Owner Ted Leonsis is considered a genius in the White World of Hockey, a “sport” I admittedly know borscht about, and don’t care to. But he transformed the Washington Capitals this season into as model NHL team; IF they advance past the Pittsburg Penguins, I am told.

The Bullets? They languish and remind me of a boat without a rudder. But they got a new coach! Yayyy? No. Scott Brooks is not a great coach. KD and R. Westbrook made him appear to be one. He’s too vanilla. Too safe.

The Bullets honed in on Brooks, 50, from the outset of their search, partly out of fear that other franchises (the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves), would pounce. Washington didn’t interview any other candidates and moved quickly with a grand offer. Brooks is now one of the six highest-paid coaches in the NBA , tied with Dallas’s Rick Carlisle.

“He was in demand because of his record, and so we moved quickly, although I don’t want anyone to think we didn’t know who he was,” Leonsis said. “We certainly had been studying for years and years. You always have to do your Plan B planning.”

One part of Brooks’s background stands out as Les Boullez enter a pivotal summer: his history with impending free agent and DC Homeboy Kevin Durant. Brooks was with Durant for the Montrose Christian Academy product’s first eight NBA seasons — first as an assistant coach for the Seattle SuperSonics — and it is no secret that the Wizards will go after Durant when free agency opens July 1. The combination fueled speculation that the Durant pursuit was a significant factor in hiring Brooks.

No. Anyone who thinks they will land him is dreaming. KD is a winner. DC is not. Not for now. Brooks won't change that, either. He needs talent. Bullets are bereft of talent.

Asked whether he was going to bring Durant with him, Brooks adeptly sidestepped the question and praised the players currently on the roster. He said John Wall has the potential to reach “two or three levels” higher and gushed over Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. Grunfeld also played down the theory.

“I like Scott Brooks as a basketball coach,” Grunfeld said when asked about the Durant speculation. “That’s why we got him.”

Leonsis highlighted various other reasons for hiring Brooks. He mentioned Brooks’s experience cultivating young talent in Oklahoma City, where Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden developed into all-stars. He complimented the “culture of accountability” Brooks created with the Thunder, which he coached to a .620 regular season winning percentage, three Western Conference finals appearances and a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals over six-plus years.

OK. My fix? Blow Up The Bullets. You are stuck with Brooks, so scorch the earth. Let’s see what this cat can do. Start by dealing Beal. I think Jimmy Butler for Beal is a good trade. The Bulls don’t want the oft injured two guard, and turned it down. But, it’s the first step; Deal Bradley Beal; damaged goods. Nice kid, bad wheels. Get rid of all the over-priced cheerleaders on the bench like Anderson, Dudley… all the other deadwood Grunfeld populated the team with, in a desperate move to make up for screwing up retaining Paul Pierce (THAT was a great move, by the way. Getting Pierce for a season.) Free agents? I don’t think it’s a particularly rich crop this year. Build through the D-League.

Oh. Say what? We don’t have a D-League team.

There ya go. Ditch Grunfeld. Blow up the roster. Invest in a D-League team. (Grab Russ Smith??) Placate Wall, the only player worth placating, and all else is open. Shame Sam Cassel was never given consideration as coach. He’s someone John Wall could have learned from, actually did in the past when Cassel was an assistant under Wittman. John Wall respects him. But that would have been “unsafe.” And that’s the way Grunfeld plays it. Safe. Boring. Dull. Ball for losers.

Blow Up The Bullets.

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