WASHINGTON - - They have a former All-NBA point guard with a left knee injury that kept him on the bench for most of the past two seasons; a 33-year-old power forward who will start the season sidelined with a right shoulder injury; a center in a contract year who missed almost all last season with a torn wrist ligament; two veteran additions, also approaching free agency, who haven't appeared in the playoffs the past three seasons; and a veteran power forward who had an offseason heart procedure. The rest of the roster contributed to a team that won just 19 games last season.
The Washington Wizards understand why some doubt their aspirations to become a factor in the Eastern Conference. But the Wizards are encouraged because Gilbert Arenas' left knee has healed, Antawn Jamison's shoulder injury isn't nearly as serious as they initially feared and all of the returning players and newcomers have repeatedly said they are eager to contribute to team success.
They also have a new coach in Flip Saunders, who has reached the conference finals in four of the past five seasons he was on the bench. So the Wizards' optimism for a dramatic turnaround remains palpable as they open their season tonight in Dallas.
"It's a renaissance, a rebirth, a new beginning, something special," forward Caron Butler said, describing what the 2009-10 campaign represents. "Now it's time to start from the basics and work our way all the way back to where we were at, which at one time, was the top of the Eastern Conference. We think we can do it. It's a new era."
In many ways this "new era" is rooted in the hope generated from an older one. It was a weeklong "era" - after a win over a Detroit Pistons team coached by Saunders - from Jan. 26, 2007, to Feb. 2, 2007, when Arenas, Butler and Jamison had the Wizards sitting atop the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, the season also began to unravel that same week, when Jamison sprained his knee in Auburn Hills, Mich.
That All-Star trio hasn't shared the floor at full strength since April 1, 2007, the day Butler broke his hand while slapping a backboard in Milwaukee. Three days later, the Charlotte Bobcats' Gerald Wallace fell into Arenas' knee, simultaneously setting back Arenas' career and any hope of Washington's ascension.
