Hope for Wizards fans?

By Pete Sweigard Sports Central Columnist

There aren't many franchises who would be happy to find themselves one win better than the worst team in the NBA two weeks prior to the All-Star Game.

If you haven't watched a Wizard's game all season -- funny how they're not on national TV as often since that (Michael) Jordan guy skipped town -- D.C.'s record of 14-32 appears to be the same old story from a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since 1988, 15 long seasons. Let's face it -- lately, the Wizards have been a joke, routinely referred to as the Clippers of the East.

Since 1988, the team has gone through nine head coaches and only managed to barely crack .500 two times. Besides poor winning percentages, the Wiz have developed an uncanny knack for trading away young players -- Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber, Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, etc. -- who blossomed upon departure (blossomed and went crazy, in Rasheed Wallace's case).

A whole generation of D.C. fans has grown up on crappy basketball. The Wizznutzz, possibly the greatest Wizards fans alive and maintainers of the hilarious web site, Wizznutzz.com, describe Washington fandom in the following manner: "The Wizards story isn't one about glory, parades, and all that stuff. It's more about pushing open the heavy, groaning doorway that is life, and for all your flaws and failings, once again throwing yourself back through it. It is a story about overcoming odds, but mostly not overcoming odds."

Washington/Baltimore basketball wasn't always such a laughingstock (the franchise moved from Baltimore before the 1973 season). From 1965-1980, the Bullets earned 16-straight playoff births, including seven division titles, four appearances in the NBA finals during the 1970s, and their only championship in 1978.

Although 14-32 is a long way from the solid consistency of 1970s Bullets, there's reason for hope in D.C. Consider the following:

During the offseason, owner Abe Pollin brought in Ernie Grunfeld as President of Basketball Operations, opting to sever ties with Michael Jordan. Grunfeld has a successful track record as a basketball executive with the Bucks and Knicks, something that can't be said for Jordan or Wizards' GM Wes Unseld. To be fair, Jordan's stint handling personnel may be too brief for a blanket analysis, but Grunfeld represents a major upgrade and prevents the extremely loyal-Pollin from giving personnel duties back to Unseld (the HOF Bullet is currently taking a leave of absence for health reasons).

Signing Coach Eddie Jordan and budding superstar Gilbert Arenas showed despite recent history, D.C. could still land sought-after free agents. Obviously, there's a long road to travel before reaching a final verdict on either move. Regardless of your position on not retaining Michael Jordan (or the way it was handled), once the Wizards made the decision to go in a different direction, they needed to act decisively and in managing to land the trifecta of Grunfeld, Jordan, and Arenas, they did.

Over the last 12 games, Kwame Brown, the NBA's number one overall pick in 2001, has averaged 13.8 points and 8.7 boards, compared to 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in his first two seasons. Brown has been more assertive in games and has shown signs that he's shaking the lack of maturity and work ethic he's been criticized for in the past. He may not turn out to be the biggest No. 1 bust since Michael Olowokandi ... which is a good thing for the "Clippers of the East."

Jerry Stackhouse just returned to play in his first game of the season. Gilbert Arenas has missed over half the games with injuries. With both consistent scorers in the lineup, the Wizards are a much better team. If they'd avoided injury, Washington would probably find it's win total around 20, where four teams hover in the subpar Atlantic division (at 22-27, Boston and New York are tied five games behind New Jersey).

Still, the injuries have allowed young players the opportunity to gain valuable experience and maturity. With a stable of rookies, second, and third-year players, Larry Hughes -- a 25-year-old with five years in the NBA -- is third in career length on the Wizards' active roster. This is a young team.

Here in D.C., we're shuffling through a bleak period for professional sports. The Redskins have made the playoffs once in the past 11 seasons, only winning one more game than the worst teams last season. Joe Gibbs is returning, but sure-fire winners like Jordan, Steve Spurrier, and Jaromir Jagr, have crashed and burned in recent years. Daniel Snyder remains a major question mark.

Ted Leonsis has built up the Capitals' season ticket base and earned widespread support for his responsiveness to fans, but the team hasn't won a playoff series since he took over in 1999. Now the Caps seem poised to dump salary and begin a rebuilding process. Also, Big Ted is starting to strangle disgruntled fans...

And the professional baseball team ... oh, that's right, despite living in a top-10 media market, we don't have one.

Could it possibly be that the Wizards, pound-for-pound one of the most pathetic franchises in sports over the past 15 years, represent the region's best hope? That may be wistful thinking -- or blasphemy in the eyes of Gibbs' army of zealot supporters -- but don't judge the Grunfeld/Jordan era on the sputtering, injury-plagued start to this season.

The Wizards are a long way from "glory, parades, and all that stuff," but D.C. and Wizards fans will settle for something positive to stem the funk of mediocrity.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.