Wizards

Three days after sending him packing, the Washington Wizards yesterday reacquired former Maryland player Obinna Ekezie. Ekezie, a 6-foot-9 forward, was traded by the Wizards just before Tuesday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks, along with center Cherokee Parks to the Los Angeles Clippers for forward Tyrone Nesby. However, the Clippers almost immediately cut Ekezie, who came to Washington in August from Vancouver. The Wizards, who never filled the open roster spot after the deal for Nesby, immediately claimed him off waivers yesterday.

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Maryland's Eric Hayes and Morgan State's Reggie Holmes will take part in pre-draft workouts on Tuesday for the Wizards at the team's practice court at Verizon Center. Hayes, 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, averaged a career-high 11.3 points per game with a career-best .502 field goal percentage as a senior for the Terps in 2009-10. Holmes, 6-4, 180, led the Bears as a senior in 2009-10 with a 21.5 ppg average. Both led their schools to the NCAA Tournament. Maryland's Greivis Vasquez worked out for the Wizards today.

The Washington Wizards have decided to address their backcourt problems by signing a point guard who was cut last October for not being experienced enough to handle playmaking duties. If that sounds confusing, imagine being Shelvin Mack late Saturday night, when the same organization that drafted 34th overall in 2011 and waived him 16 months later called and asked him to come back to run the show. Mack had been tearing up the NBA Developmental League as a point guard for the Maine Red Claws, displaying the confidence and scoring ability that helped him lead Butler to back-to-back NCAA championship games and get selected in the second round two summers ago. He assumed some team would eventually call him back up to the big leagues, but he wasn't necessarily expecting a reunion to Washington.

Abe Pollin, a pioneer in area sports and the first man to move a major league sports franchise out of Baltimore in the modern era, died Tuesday. He was 85. His death was announced by his company, Washington Sports & Entertainment. No details were disclosed, but Pollin suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disorder that impairs movement and balance. He had heart bypass surgery in 2005 and broke his pelvis two years later. "With Abe Pollin's passing, the NBA family has lost its most revered member, whose stewardship of the Wizards franchise, together with his wife, Irene, has been a study in unparalleled dedication to the city of Washington," NBA commissioner David Stern said.

WASHINGTON -- Caron Butler was given a thunderous ovation by the fans at Verizon Center when he returned to the starting lineup last night for the Washington Wizards. It was, in retrospect, a greeting worthy of someone who had been sorely missed. Butler, whose absence because of a badly sprained right thumb coincided with the team's five-game losing streak, served as a stopper for the Wizards in a 104-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only did the win stop what had tied the team's longest losing streak of the season, but it also ended any speculation that the Wizards might miss the playoffs.

Come dressed as your favorite Harry Potter character this weekend to Port Discovery. It's all part of the third annual "Wizards' Weekend" of activities, games and contests relating to young magician Harry Potter and the books about him. Upon arrival, visitors will receive their Hogwarts class schedule -a virtual "to do" list of events at the museum. Among the array of activities are a scavenger hunt, wand-making and the Hogwarts Final Exam. "Wizards' Weekend" runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at Port Discovery, 35 Market Place.

A shootout early yesterday at Washington Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson's house west of Orlando, Fla., has left one man with gunshot wounds. Stevenson and his guests told Orange County sheriff's deputies that Curtis Ruff, 31, opened fire after following them and some women home from an Orlando nightclub. Ruff, of Orlando, later turned up at a hospital with gunshot wounds, but deputies said neither he, Stevenson, nor the guests would elaborate on what happened during the 4 a.m. incident.

John Wall was a blur, moving so fast that he barely gave the New York Knicks time to blink before he was blowing by them. After former Washington Wizard Roger Mason Jr. made a long jumper with about four seconds left in the first quarter, Wall didn't give his opponents a chance to get comfortable before he took an inbounds pass and darted the full length of the court. Anthony Randolph finally reacted, but when he goaltended Wall's shot attempt off the glass, Wall had gone from one end of the floor to the other in 3.9 seconds.

WASHINGTON - You can actually begin to see the legacy Michael Jordan is about to leave behind in Washington. That's what this NBA season is about here, developing young players, particularly one Kwame Brown. A year ago, some were already calling the kid a bust in his rookie season after he averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds a game and shot 38 percent from the floor, the least-productive numbers of any overall No. 1 pick in the lottery draft. Now, coaches Doug Collins and Patrick Ewing just can't wait for the day Brown becomes one of the dominant forces in the league.