According to a solid source the Chicago Triune referred to as a general manager being "on the periphery of the Bryant talks" — solid-as-a-rock source right there, huh? — the Wizards are the "dark horse" possibility in the Kobe Bryant sweepstakes.

That rumor caught fire all day and eventually spread to ESPN, where Marc Stein said he's been told that Washington's interest "is definitely genuine."

So we'll do one better. How about a trip to Washington DC and a conversation with Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld on the matter? Just to stay in the spirit of things with our sources, we'll call Grunfeld "The Epicenter." Seems to be a good enough way to refer to the man who would be on the phone and at the table trying to make this happen here, right?

Well, according to The Epicenter — a man who hardly ever comments on trade rumors — reached late last night, "this is all total fabrication. We've had no conversations with the Lakers or anyone else about trading Gilbert. Normally I don't comment on personnel moves, you're right. But this is total fabrication."

Still, that general manager that the Trib referred to as being on the periphery of the talks didn't back off.

"Watch out for them," he said of the Wizards.

DeShawn Stevenson and Andray Blatche are the only two American players on the Wizards roster who did not go to college.

Stevenson is a seven-year veteran out of Washington Union High (CA). Blatche, on the other hand, is beginning his third season out of South Kent Prep (CT).

Stevenson has been around the league long enough to know when he's watching a very good player as his career begins to take off, and Stevenson thinks that this is the year that Blatche's career begins to soar - if Blatche doesn't get in his own way.

"I think he can be a 10 (points) and 10 (rebounds) guy this year," Stevenson said following the team's practice Thursday at Verizon Center. "With a big guy like that you are going to get a lot of tip-ins. In our offense - and coach has been saying it - there are going to be a lot of post-up opportunities for him, Caron and 'Twan."

Ten and 10? The Wizards have been looking for that for years, probably since the days of Moses Malone.

"With his talent, the way he can get rebounds. He's always near the basket. There should be no reason why he can’t be a 10 and 10 guy."

Stevenson said that his career started to take off three years in, right where Blatche is now. If he's going to take the next step, Stevenson said, Blatche just can't get in his own way.

"I think if he stays real focused on his game it will be easy. But he's got to stay focused on his game. He's still got to get more serious. Even though he was blessed with the contract I don't think he knows how serious this is, that this is your job. He's still just having fun. But once he figures it all out he's going to blossom."

-- John N. Mitchell.

One thing the loss of Etan Thomas is going to do to the Wizards is make them even less physical than they have been in the past.

Make no mistake about it: The days of having a Charles Oakley on the roster to pound people into submission are gone. No one is stocking their roster with guys like that anymore.

And while brutish players have clearly gone out of style -- sort of like boy bands -- it doesn’t hurt to have a guy who at least makes opposing players think before they drive the lane.

"It's always important to have that type of physical play that Etan brings," Antawn Jamison said. "I don't care if you are a physical team or if you are a finesse team, you need that one guy who really stands out as far as saying, 'you know what, you're not going to come in here and push my teammate around.' Etan brought that to this team. We have other guys who did it but as far as our big guys he was the one guy who was really physical and really brought that toughness to the team -- and we're going to miss that. It's just one of those things that when a guy like that is out somebody else has to step up and fill the void."

Any volunteers?

- John N. Mitchell

Maybe one of the dumbest question any reporter can ask a professional athlete is whether or not a jarring incident can help "put things in perspective."

This is the case with Etan Thomas. Just about every one of his teammates has been asked this question over the last two days.

Of course when someone as young and as healthy as Thomas has to have heart surgery, it's stunning. After all, on the outside Thomas appears to be the picture of health.

But to ask one of his teammates if this helps put things in perspective is ridiculous.

Why? Because it makes the assumption that athletes have no perspective.

Here's what I think.

This is another example of stereotyping. This is people assuming -- and therefore insulting -- athletes by suggesting they have no perspective. I mean, you tell me who has lost perspective here. The guy powdering his face before he goes in front of a camera or the athlete?

Think about it. When a regular Joe has heart surgery, nobody asks his friends whether or not they now have perspective.

Can anyone possibly have any more perspective on this kind of situation than, say, Antonio Daniels? Or did we forget that Daniels lost his older brother, Chris, to a heat attack when the two of them were in college?

No wonder a lot of these guys don't like talking to the media.

-- John N. Mitchell

The Wizards just released this news: Etan Thomas will have surgery to repair his heart. Thomas has been held out of all preseason workouts after a routine physical turned up what at the time was described as "heart irregularity."

Here is the team's full release from this afternoon:

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that after further evaluation it was determined that center Etan Thomas will require surgery to repair a leak of the aortic valve.

Thomas' surgery will be performed on Thursday, October 11, and the Wizards will provide an update regarding Thomas' condition following his surgery tomorrow.

Thomas, a six-year veteran, was not cleared to play after a routine physical revealed an abnormality.

More to come in Thursday's Washington Times, and look for an update on Outlet on Thursday afternoon or evening.

There are some people in this business who must get a rise out one-upping themselves when it comes to saying the most stupid and outlandish thing they can formulate at the moment.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you John Hollinger.

Hollinger, of ESPN.com, has ranked the Wizards the 13th best team in the Eastern Conference.

This genius writes: "I see Washington in decline for at least a year or two or until the youngsters are ready to step up."

That's a pretty interesting place to begin. What he's saying is that the established trio of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler are OK. But things will get better when players such as Andray Blatche, Oleksiy Pecherov, Nick Young and Dominic McGuire reach their potential.

Funny, last time I checked all of the real question marks were swirling around the Wizards' young players, not the established all-stars, two of whom are just about to enter their primes.

Eddie Jordan got a good chuckle out of this earlier in the week, and then made the crack that many coaches make: That's why writers write and players play.

A lot of people in the area got worked up over this.

Not me. Especially when he penned in Houston as the top team in the Western Conference.

Heck, stay in the Eastern Conference, where he's written in the Chicago Bulls as the top team. Last time I checked the Bulls, who shocked us when they beat a limping Miami team in the playoffs before Detroit swatted them away, didn't do much to their roster other than draft Joakim Noah. The best complement anybody has given Noah is that he plays like Cleveland's Anderson Varejao. Excuse me, but is that what you want with the ninth overall pick in the draft?

I think the Wizards are capable of winning 50. I don't think anyone would have bet against that until the injuries became a problem.

I'd suggest to Wiz fans that you just don't forget this article. And when the Wizards are rolling -- and they do have the potential to be a very good veteran team -- ask Hollinger his opinion then.

-- John N. Mitchell

Camp here ends tomorrow and, for the most part, things have been pretty uneventful.

Eddie says this is the best conditioned team he's had since he took over following the MJ experiment. That conditioning has allowed the Wizards to have what Jordan's also believes to be the smoothest camp to date.

They did get somewhat of a scare when Antawn Jamison banged knees with Donnell Taylor and remained on the floor for a little bit. But it turns out it was nothing more than a minor bruise, something that would never show up in the injury report prior to the game.

In fact, expect Jamison, who on Thursday bruised a shin, and everyone else to be on the floor for the camp-closing scrimmage on Saturday at Siegel Center.

"I anticipate everybody playing in the scrimmage," Jordan said. "Antawn has a tweaked ankle so he is questionable. We are going to rotate guys in throughout the game. It is still a practice for us and we still want to accomplish some things on the court."

The scrimmage is open to the public and begins at 5p.m.

-- John N. Mitchell

There is nothing new to report on the Etan Thomas front, but trust me, this is a serious matter.

Thomas is a workout fanatic who treats his body like a temple - hardest thing he probably drinks is green tea - but even the most finely conditioned athlete can develop heart abnormalities, which seems to be the case.

I was glad to hear Brendan reach out to him. Yeah, those guys have been known to go back alley on each other, but let's be honest about this. If you are in a competitive arena like pro sports, you are going to have to do drop the gloves every now and then.

Trust me, there wasn't a team in the league last season that went from training camp to the end of season with out a rumble.

But I digress. Let's hope Etan comes back to full health.

The one thing I will say is that if he can't return to the NBA, he's probably one of the most well-adjusted professional athletes out there. He's bright - probably more intelligent than a lot of people perusing this page right now - and he has a voice and a conscience. He's not afraid to address social inequities (hello, Michael Jordan) and he genuinely cares about people. Haywood included.

Gilbert Arenas is arguably in better shape now because of the insanely brutal workouts he's put himself through to prepare for this season, but as coach Eddie Jordan let us know he's still not himself yet.

That's not a surprise. Players always show up at training camp in great shape - ok, maybe not guys like Oliver Miller and Hot Plate Williams - but Gil is still shaking the rust off of his game.

That said, Arenas is still, by Eddie's own estimation, 'better than anyone else on the floor.'

While we're on the subject of Gil, I think this is his last year in DC, I really do. Think about it. The Wizards could very well be going into the last season with C-But, Twan and Zero.

Suppose they win 45 games again and make an early exit. This won't sit well with Gil, who says he's going opt out so he can sign again.

Don't give any credence to the notion that being able to pay Gilbert more than anyone else will keep him here either.

Think about it. Gil's going to make so much money over the span of his career that he could probably make everyone at his family reunion a millionaire. And let's not forget that sneaker deal with Adidas, either.

Says here if there is a more attractive place for him to play - especially a place in California where he thinks he can get beyond the second round - don't be surprised if he goes somewhere else.

Only question then would be whether or not you people boo him like you do everyone else who leaves.

-- John N. Mitchell

So here it is, the Times is finally blogging on your favorite local hoops team! I'll be touching down here with all the news, moves and anything else that doesn't make it into the paper, trying my best to make sure you are getting as much info as you need to handle your fix.

Later.

-- John N. Mitchell

This just in from Richmond: Etan Thomas was held out of the first day of training camp after his physical turned up a hear irregularity.

From the Wizards' official release:

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that during a routine team physical, Wizards Center Etan Thomas had a cardiac test that revealed an irregularity. Thomas has not been cleared to play, and will have further tests before his status is determined.

More to come. ...

UPDATE (3:53):

Quote from Eddie Jordan: "Our thoughts are with him right now. We talked last night, and he is obviously disappointed. He is concerned, and we are all concerned. Everything is in the early stages now and it will be some time before we know the extent of all the medical examinations."