A quick heads up -- with The Washington Times' new website launch, the URL for our sports blogs are going to change. Instead of video1.washingtontimes.com/outlet, you can reach Outlet at www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/outlet.

We're still working out the kinks but the updates should be steady starting tomorrow.

Wizards officials are down in Orlando for the NBA's predraft camp, which runs from today to Friday. After taking a pulse from teams on which players had the best chances of getting drafted, the NBA invited candidates to the camp for workouts, drills and scrimmages.

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and his team will be watching closely to see what type of diamonds in the rough they can discover since Washington has no real chance of landing a future franchise player by the time the 18th pick comes around.

The Wizards have done a pretty good job finding talent late in the draft, however. Three years ago the Wizards didn't have a first-round pick at all. But in the second round they landed Andray Blatche, whom Vice President of Player Personnel Milt Newton discovered out of South Kent Prep in Connecticut. Blatche was seen as a project with great potential and he has steadily improved. This season, he posted career numbers, averaging 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.39 blocks in 20.5 minutes while serving primarily as the team's backup center. Blatche started 15 games this season, averaging 11.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.4 blocks a game.

The Wizards took Oleksiy Pecherov out of Ukraine two summers ago, but he didn't join the team until last year. The jury's still out on him as he was slowed early by a fracture in his foot and is still learning the NBA game. But Wizards management believes he has a bright future.

Nick Young (16th overall 2007) and Dominic McGuire (47th overall 2007) both showed promise as rookies. The Wizards think Young can be a 20-point a night player and McGuire was called on for his defensive prowess and hustle during the regular season and the playoffs.

Who will be this year's find?

With the backcourt pretty well stocked, the Wizards could be on the market for another big man. Some mock drafts have them taking Georgetown's Roy Hibbert while others have them taking Nevada forward JaVale McGee or Stanford center Robin Lopez.

While in Orlando, management will decide which players it wants to invite to additional workouts, which will take place at Verizon Center on Thursday, June 5.

You can catch some of the action in Orlando on TV. Below is the schedule:

NBA Pre-Draft Camp, ESPNU May 28 5:00 PM
NBA Pre-Draft Camp, NBATV May 29 12:00 PM
NBA Pre-Draft Camp, ESPNU May 29 2:00 PM
NBA Pre-Draft Camp, ESPNU May 29 5:00 PM
NBA Pre-Draft Camp, NBATV May 30 12:00 PM

-- Mike Jones

OK, so they only had a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top spot in this year's NBA lottery, but the Bulls wound up with the No. 1 pick. The woeful Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pingpong ball to bounce their way, instead got the second pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves will pick third. The Sonics, will get the fourth pick and the Memphis Grizzlies the fifth pick.

So how will it all shape up? Should be interesting to see? Do the Bulls take Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose?

If I'm the Bulls, I go Rose, a super-fast, bigger point guard who happens to be from Chicago. The two most important positions on a team are center and point guard. You saw what Chris Paul and Derron Williams have meant to New Orleans and Utah. Rose can have the same type of impact. So, if I'm John Paxon, I'm taking Rose and beaming Kirk Hinrich out of town.

And here's what I think of the next four picks:

2. Heat -- Beasley. The D.C. area native will give the Heat a much-needed low post scoring presence and third option to go with Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion.

3. Timberwolves -- Brook Lopez, Stanford. Al Jefferson could use some help down low and the 7-foot, 260-pound Lopez, who averaged 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds last season could be just the fit.

4. Sonics -- Jerryd Bayless, Arizona. The Sonics need a distributor for Kevin Durant, and they could take either Bayless or USC's O.J. Mayo. Bayless is supposedly a mix of Gilbert Arenas and Montana Ellis. He's extremely quick and a very good shooter. I'd take him over Mayo.

5. Grizzlies -- Mayo. The Grizzlies have two young point guards in Mike Conley Jr. and Kyle Lowry, but the star quality of Mayo might be too great for them to pass on. They also need a big man and Anthony Randolph out LSU is generating a buzz and could be the right pick.

-- Mike Jones

The NBA released its All-Defensive team yesterday and Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Marcus Camby, Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan comprise the first team. No surprise, Washington didn't have a representative on either the first or second teams. Caron Butler, who this season ranked fourth in the league with 2.21 steals a game, did receive honorable mention.

The good news is that none of the Wizards made the NBA No-Defense team, which was released today by Mercury News (San Jose) columnist Tim Kawakami.

Knicks center Eddie Curry, Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay, Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson, Bucks guard Michael Redd and Suns guard Steve Nash made Kawakami's first team. And Kevin Durant was the No-Defense rookie of the year. Pretty funny stuff.

At first blush it almost seems surprising that the Wizards didn't even have a representative among the "No-Defense role players" a list that Kawakami led with Carmelo Anthony.

But when you look at the numbers, you'll see the Wizards aren't on there because despite their past, which includes a rather baby-poop soft reputation when it comes to defense, this year was different. After the Wizards ranked last in points allowed last season (104.9 per game) while being out-rebounded 43.0-41.2, coach Eddie Jordan knew he had to do something and added defensive specialist Randy Ayers to his staff.

Ayers worked wonders, opening the Wizards' eyes to his philosophy and getting them to buy into it. The end result was a dramatic transformation. The Wizards improved to 12th in the league in points allowed (99.2 per game) and narrowly out-rebounded their foes 41.59-41.19.

Antawn Jamison averaged a career-high 10.2 rebounds a game, Brendan Haywood grabbed a career-high 7.2 boards and as mentioned, Butler notched a career-high in steals.

Ayers is under contract for next season and if he isn't swiped up as a head coach for some other team, it'll be interesting to see how the Wizards improve in a second year under his tutelage. If it keeps going the way it did this year, the Wizards likely will be passed over for Kawakami's annual squad next year as well.

-- Mike Jones

Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld just got done with his post-season press conference a bit ago and it was pretty predictable. The main points were, he's happy with the job Eddie Jordan did considering the circumstances and that he plans to re-sign both Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison this summer. Here are some soundbites:

Grunfeld on the coaches:

"The coaches did a very good job for us under tough situations and kept us afloat. If you said our leading scorer was going to be out for [69 games], I don't think most people would've thought that our record would be what it was and that we'd have the fifth seed. So I think our coaches did a very nice job for us."

Grunfeld on Gil's blog statement that he would leave D.C. if Jamison did:

"It's good because we're on the same page. We want to sign Antawn, we want to sign Gilbert, so I kind of like that he supported his teammate and he likes playing with Antawn and that's been our plan all along, so it's good to see we're on the same page."

Grunfeld on not needing to make any other big offseason moves:

"We're going to add two players to this roster just by being healthy. One is [center] Etan Thomas because at times we could've used a bigger body and someone with some experience. And then putting Gilbert back out there is like adding another player. ... We feel confident that with this group we can compete with anybody. ... I believe in continuity and keeping our core group together."

Grunfeld on the draft:

"If the opportunity's out there for us to make our team better to package some draft picks to add a veteran player, we'll do that. ... When you're drafting 18, you take the best player available. I've always done that. You hate to pass up on a really good player just to get a small forward [because you need to improve that position on your team]."

-- Mike Jones

In his latest blog, which was published today: Gilbert Arenas basically said Antawn Jamison holds the key to both players' futures in the District. If Jamison -- a teammate of Arenas' in six of Gil's professional seasons (Golden State and Washington) -- comes back to the Wizards, then so will Arenas. If not, then Agent Zero says there is no point in him returning.

Here's a line from the blog:

"The future is the future. I want to be back in Washington, but weird things happen in free agency. If Antawn is not back, then there's no point in me coming back because he's part of my success, too. When you're doing pick and roll with a player like him, they can't double you, they can't trap you because you have a pick and pop guy who can shoot the three at your four position. My success is because of him too. If he doesn't come back, I'm not coming back."

So, there you have it. Two-for-1 deal kinda? Abe Polin and Ernie Grunfeld say they'll do whatever they need to do to bring both players back, so if that's the case, then Gil can enjoy his new pool -- which in his blog he mentions is still under construction -- as a member of the Wizards.

-- Mike Jones

I hate to be a hater, really I do. And this isn't taking up some bitterness on the part of the Wizards, who had their season ended by Cleveland for a third straight year. But seriously, LeBron James is not all that.

Spectacular athlete, great scorer, yes. But not even close to being the best player in the NBA. That's Kobe Bryant with Chris Paul making a strong case for himself.

LBJ simply isn't well-rounded enough to own that title. I started noticing this back in March. We were inside the Wizards locker room before a game and someone asked Gilbert Arenas who he would rather have, Kobe or LeBron. Agent Zero didn't even hesitate. Kobe. People were surprised and started asking why he had made up his mind so quickly and he said, "What, watch, all LeBron does is this:"

He stood up, dribbled between his legs in front of an imaginary opponent.

"He watches to see which way you're going to make him go and then," and then pretended to drive to the hole. "Kobe can do so much more," Gil said.

Mind you, Gil wasn't speaking out of bitterness. This was before the whole war of words between DeShawn Stevenson and LeBron started. And Gil and Bron are friends. They exchanged shakes and hugs throughout the whole series the last two weeks.

But either way, when I first heard Arenas' assessment, I thought it was a bit of an exaggeration, and maybe it is a tiny bit. But every time I saw LeBron on TV and then in the six games live against he Wizards, I saw Agent Zero is onto something. Seriously, you can sum up LeBron's game as a powerful driver. It's amazing that a 6-foot-9, 260-pound man can be as fast and explosive as he is. But THE best? No.

You watch LeBron and his drives and dunks are like "Wow, that's crazy." But that's about it. You watch Kobe and you're like "Wow, that dunk! OOOOOOH did you see that take? Daaaang, what a dagger. What a pass!" And Kobe has this cold, on-the-prowl assailant mode he goes in. LeBron can go on some tears, but that nastiness isn't there. Not when he's flopping around and forever trying to sell fouls to the referees.

So, he has to do two things before he can be considered THE best in the game.

1. He needs to work on his jump shot. The Wizards were able to do it only in short stretches, but the Celtics showed last night that if you make James be a jump-shooter, he'll throw up brick after brick. In the Cavs' 76-72 loss to the Celtics last night, LeBron was only 2-for-18. Two-for-EIGHTEEN? Really? That's embarrassing. Now, he will probably have about 20 games like that the rest of his career, but still. That's the key. Make him jump and -- for now -- he's a chump.

2. He needs to work on his toughness. I know you've got to do a bit of acting to get calls, but come on! In the Boston game last night, little ole Sam Cassell was called for a flagrant foul. Yes! 6-3, 185-pound SAM I AM a flagrant on big bad LeBron. James came driving down the lane and Cassell reached out and grabbed his jersey from behind. What happened? James' arms went flailing, legs went flying and he crashed to the ground and came up with what became a trademark move in the Wizards series: He was dabbing his lip and chin as if he got hit in the face. Uh, Sam grabbed you from BEHIND LeBron, and you landed on your backside. Your face is fine. For someone who says "I was built for this. I'm not 6-9, 260 pounds to shoot jumpers all night. I go to the hole and I create contact. Don't ever think I'm the only person feeling that," LBJ sure doesn't carry himself with a whole lot of toughness when he thinks he can draw a foul.

Eddie Jordan said it best: "LeBron's a terrific actor, we've seen his commercials." And the more I see him, The Big Crybaby label Tom Knott applied to him two years ago seems more fitting. Brendan Haywood was right in his "They're tryin' to hurt me," mock pouting.

So, until James develops a jump shot and stops acting and focuses on simply destroying his opponent instead of trying to constantly get help from the refs, he can't be the best in the league in my book.

Once he has those things in order, then man, what a nightmare he'll be. But for now, he still as work left to do.

Photo by Getty Images

-- Mike Jones

The Wizards season ended only four days ago, but the summertime rumors have already begun to swirl. The one that reached my ears late last night says word is bouncing around out there in the sports representation industry that Gilbert Arenas is in talks with CAA Sports agent Leon Rose, who represents Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Rip Hamilton.

It seemed odd since Agent Zero said last summer when he first announced that he was opting out this offseason that he would not hire an agent. He maintained last week that he would represent himself this summer. But you never can tell with Gil. But it also made a bit of sense since CAA-- which mostly represents actors and singers but in recent years added a sports division -- has ties to Hollywood, which would seem enticing to the ever self-promoting Wizards star.

So, I put in a call to Agent Zero himself this morning and he said there is no truth to the matter. Gil, who was just getting off a plane in Orlando where he's vacationing through the weekend, said, "I see no point in giving somebody 4 percent of my money" when he can negotiate for himself.

Arenas, who is seeking a long-term max deal that could exceed $100 million, said he will be turning in the early termination papers by the June 30th deadline so he will be a free agent when the period begins on July 1. I still think he's coming back to the Wizards, and as has been reported, he has said he would like to remain in the District.

So, one rumor down, 903,9382 to go. Should be a fun summer!

-- Mike Jones

The Wizards reported to Verizon Center for the last time this season today, meeting with coach Eddie Jordan one-on-one for interviews.

Jordan talked with each player about both team and individual performances and what they could do to get better next season. To get better the Wizards will have to re-sign both Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, who will both be unrestricted free agents this summer as Jamison's contract is up and Gil will be opting out of his current deal. The gut feeling among the Wizards -- and I think their hunches are right -- is that both will return.

Antawn has his exit interview scheduled for tomorrow, so he wasn't there today to talk to reporters. And Gil arrived at Verizon Center super early today and gave a brief interview to a few TV cameras and was supposed to talk on his way out, but changed his mind and didn't give any more interviews.

But both players have said they want to re-sign with the Wizards. I had a conversation with Jamison over the All-Star break about his upcoming free agency and he said "I'm a firm believer that the grass isn't always greener on the other side." He went on to say that the Wizards have a good thing going and given a chance to field a fully healthy squad they can do some serious damage. He also expressed gratitude to management for making him feel so appreciated and said he felt at home with the Wizards. Jamison came to Washington four seasons ago, having been at Golden State and then traded to Dallas for a year before being shipped to the District for the draft rights to Devin Harris. The last four years have been some of the best of his career. Abe Polin absolutely loves Antawn, and I'm told, views him as his modern day Wes Unseld. Polin addressed the entire team last week and told them that he would be bringing both Antawn and Gilbert back.

Agent Zero has maintained all along that he's not opting out to go elsewhere, but to get a pay raise and sign as long a deal as possible. The Wizards can offer him a six-year deal that would exceed $100 million while other teams could only offer him a five-year contract. In his brief on-camera talk, Gil said he will see how his knee has healed and that will determine if he asks for a max deal this year. He said both this morning and earlier this year that he would take less this year if it meant the team would hang onto Jamison. And he wants to see Jamison taken care of and then he'll follow suit.

Now, say some team comes along and offers Antawn a super deal thats too good to pass up and he leaves. Does that mean Gil will consider leaving as well? That could throw a wrench into things. Gil wants to win and has great familiarity with Antawn, having played with him two years in Golden State and four years here. And the Wizards chances without Jamison are diminished. That could make Agent Zero second guess re-signing here. But everybody from Eddie Jordan to Caron Butler, to Antonio Daniels has said they expect both players to be back. So maybe, just maybe, the 2008-09 season will be the year we finally get to see what this team is capable of doing.

This summer is crucial for the Wizards. If rookies Nick Young, Dominic McGuire, Oleksiy Pecherov and third-year man Andray Blatche can further develop, the Wizards' firepower only improves and should give the team what it needs to finally get over that hump. Caron Butler said he thinks Nick has the chance to be a 20-point a night player. Imagine that as your sixth man. He has definitely shown flashes this season. It's definitely in his reach. Blatche has shown both flashes and inconsistency. He needs to further apply himself and take advantage of his size and athleticism. If he can develop a strong work ethic -- not just when he's being called on as a fill-in starter -- he could be dangerous.

I hate to say it, but Roger Mason Jr. is probably gone. He turned down a deal from the Spurs last summer because he thought his familiarity here would help him improve more. He signed a one-year deal and it was a wise gamble. With all the injuries, he saw his minutes skyrocket and turned in a career-year. Now some team is going to give him a nice payday. I'm happy for Roger. One of my favorite guys on the team, he's a local boy and has worked hard, persevered through a slow start and now will be rewarded for it.

The other offseason signings needed to be addressed are the contracts of Eddie Jordan's assistant coaches, Mike O'Koren, Randy Ayers, Wes Unseld Jr., Phil Hubbard, Dave Hopla and Ed Tapscott. O'Koren, the associate head coach, has been with Eddie since their days in New Jersey. Hubbard has done a great job with the big men this season. Ayers dramatically improved the team's defense this year. Hopla -- a specialized shooting instructor -- improved the team's free throw shooting. Tapscott was a knowledgeable mentor to Young and McGuire. Their deals are all up, but Eddie said their contributions have been invaluable and re-signing each of them is key.

So, there are no shortages of storylines for the summer. Stay tuned ...

In parting, here are some soundbites from the interviews today at Verizon Center ...

EDDIE JORDAN

On making four straight playoff appearances: "You look at the past four years and only us and Detroit have made it to the playoffs in each of the last four years in the Eastern Conference. That's pretty good company."

On what goals were accomplished this season: "As a team and as individuals we wanted to get better defensively, and our defense improved tremendously in the first year of our new system."

On one word to describe the season: "Challenging. Every year it's a challenge. Over an 82-game schedule, you have tough times that you need to recover from and come back from, and we did that."

On the NBA: "After all of the experience that I have had as a player and coach, you always prepare yourself for the worst and hope for the best."

On next season: "A key for us will be staying healthy. Right now it's about getting guys healthy, giving them an off-season conditioning program, and getting ready for the summer league."

On Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison: "We've said it all along, from Mr. Pollin to Ernie to myself, it's a priority to sign Gilbert and Antawn."

On Nick Young, Oleksiy Pecherov and Dominic McGuire: "For our rookies this is the most crucial summer of their career. They have a little change in their pocket now, but three weeks of rest can't turn into three months rest for them. I've experienced that with players earlier in my coaching career. It's important that they keep their conditioning right and that they stay professional. We want them to be more consistent and more professional."

CARON BUTLER

On the key to the summer: "Just stay healthy. Take care of our bodies, make sure our minds are clear, and be ready for next training camp."

On another season dealing with injuries: "It was a shock, but it is what it is. We overcame a lot of things this season. I told everybody that we had a great year. We rallied together and accomplished a lot this season."

On Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison: "I'm looking forward to everybody coming back. I would love to have those guys back, and I think that those guys will be back in a Wizards uniform next season."

On what the Wizards accomplished this season: "The knock on us has always been our defense. In that area, we made a great improvement. We used to be ranked in the low 20's in the league, and this season we were in the middle of the pack. Next season we want to be in the Top Ten and continue our push for a Championship. That's what it's all about."

On Eddie Jordan: "He should have been considered for Coach of the Year. When we had our injuries, everyone counted us out. All of a sudden we were talked about as a playoff team. Somehow, some way, he made it happen."

On Andray Blatche: "This is a key summer for Andray. Everyone has been patient with him, and he's shown some flashes, but this is a big summer for him."

BRENDAN HAYWOOD

On what the Wizards need to do to improve next season: "The biggest thing we can do is find a way to stay healthy for a long period of time. It would be interesting to see what we could do if we could stay away from the injury bug. If we can do that, I think we'll be fine."

On the season: "Our season was very interesting. We had our ups and our downs, but everybody on this team at some point helped us win games, and we have to be proud of that."

DESHAWN STEVENSON

On the season: "I think it was a good season for us overall. Obviously we lost in the playoffs, and that hurts, but we did a lot of good things this year. We got better defensively, and a lot of people had breakout years."

On the quest to be healthy: "We got close, but Gilbert came back too late. We lost Caron for too many games…and we still finished fifth in the East and put ourselves in a position to take the series to Game Seven, but we lost in the end. Still, we did a lot of good things."

On Eddie Jordan: "He should have been Coach of the Year. He didn't have Gilbert -- an All-Star player -- and Caron got hurt, but we still made the Playoffs, played above .500, and he really kept everyone together. He did a great job."

More on Jordan: "There are a lot of different characters in here, but he's a player's coach. He asks our opinion, he doesn't put us down, and he lets you go out there and play and make your own decisions…to be your own man. He's the best coach I've played for in that sense. He makes it easier."

ANTONIO DANIELS

On the season: "I think we have to be pleased with the way that the season went overall. We had a number of injuries to the key guys and that made it kind of tough. We were a very resilient group and we believed in each other and the coaching staff and we continued to push forward. We earned the fifth seed, which we were pleased with under the circumstances, but we lost to Cleveland and you can never be pleased with losing to the same team three years in a row."

More on the season: "It was a tough year for us because of the amount of obstacles and hurdles we had to go through. That makes it a little bit more rewarding to make it to the playoffs and earn a fifth seed. Who knows what would have happened if the circumstances were different? A healthy Gilbert (Arenas) makes us a much deeper team. We can't do much more about it now. We just have to pick our heads up and move forward. I am very proud of my teammates and the coaching staff."

On Coach Jordan: "Coach Jordan was a rock throughout the whole season. The different things that we have gone through this year, including the losing streaks and the injuries, he was still optimistic, and I tip my hat off because he did a fantastic job."

On re-signing Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas: "Crucial is an understatement. My job is to play, not to make those decisions, but it is a must. We want to make a run at something that we feel is so close."

DARIUS SONGAILA

On the 2007-08 season: "It was a roller-coaster, just like every other season. I know we've been repeating ourselves for the last two years, but we just have to stay healthy. That's the biggest problem we've had. We just have to stay healthy."

ROGER MASON JR.

On the season: "It was a good year. We had a better record than last year even with the injuries and I think that says a lot. Personally, I had the best year of my career. I would say it was a breakout year for me, as far as minutes and production."

On his free-agent status: "I am from DC, I love it here and this is where I got my first real opportunity. I told my agent that I would love to sign back here, but it is free agency, so who knows what could happen."

On what he improved on this season: "I felt I was consistent this year. I worked hard last summer and I felt my approach to the game was much better. I was always ready whenever my number was called on."

NICK YOUNG

On his rookie season: "I was able to do some things that I thought I could not do out there. This is going to be a big summer for me to work on my game and improve. I want to improve on everything, but my ball handling and my jump-shot especially."

On playing in summer league: "I want to be able to learn more during summer league. Last year I was kind of shocked that I was actually playing in the NBA. This year I will be more prepared. Dominic and I will be working out a lot this summer. We are trying to improve and earn more playing time next season."

-- Mike Jones