With the regular season winding down for both the NBA and NHL, it's safe to say both the Wizards and Capitals have not been as successful as owner Ted Leonsis would have hoped. The Capitals are still in playoff contention, but they have not performed up to expectations. Both teams are in need of change, but both have already fired their coaches during the season and now fans are beginning to point their fingers squarely at the general managers. Leonsis has shown patience with his front office personnel, but is it time for a GM change?
To say that Ernie Grunfeld, current GM of the Wizards, had some massive shoes to fill is an understatement. Grunfeld was brought in to replace Michael Jordan as president of basketball operations and general manager in 2003. The team seemed to flourish initially under Grunfeld, however, winning its first playoff series in more than 23 years in the 2004-05 season. The teamsreturned to the playoffs for 3 straight seasons after that losing each time in the first round to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Things fell apart when team star Gilbert Arenas began to suffer multiple injuries that consistently kept him out of the lineup. In 2009, Arenas brought handguns into the locker room in what has become a well chronicled incident. Since that time, the Wizards have been a national punchline. While Grunfeld certainly cannot be blamed for Arenas' inexplicable behavior, he has developed a knack for bringing in "knuckle heads." After Arenas came Andray Blatche in 2005, Nick Young in 2007, and JaVale McGee in 2008, all drafted by Grunfeld and all contributing embarrassing headlines and highlights again and again.
What is more troubling is that the Wiz seem almost no closer to digging themselves out of the hole they have been stuck in since 2009. In 2010, the Wizards had the 5th pick in the draft. Grunfeld traded it to Minnesota for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. At the time, the draft seemed weak at that point so moving the pick seemed a smart move, but the Wizards received Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Both players had only a year left on their contracts and both left immediately after the 2009-2010 season. Just one year later the Wizards had nothing to show for a top 5 pick. In September of 2010, Grunfeld awarded Blatche a 5 year $35 million contract extension that has made the team headache all but untradeable. Instead of earning that contract, Blatche is out of the lineup at the moment because he is out of shape. To his credit, Grunfeld knows when he's made a mistake. Arenas, McGee, and Young are now all someone else's problem and he at least sought to trade Blatche, but this team is still terrible. The Wizards are currently 12-40 giving them the 2nd worst winning percentage in the league. John Wall is a great draft pick with superstar potential, but we can't expect him to stick around forever waiting for the team to get its act together. How long can the Wizards be basement dwellers before Grunfeld is held accountable?
George McPhee, general manager of the Washington Capitals, has had a very different problem; he has been unable to take a team loaded with talent to the next level. This hasn't always been a problem, in his first season with Washington, the Caps made it to their first and only Stanley Cup Finals. As the team faced financial issues with a league lockout looming, McPhee orchestrated a "fire sale" in the 2003-04 season unloading the team's veteran talent in exchange for young prospects and draft picks. The team turned around when they obtained Alexander Ovechkin and have since won four division championships. Despite being widely described as one of the most talented teams in the league, the Caps have failed to make it past the 2nd round of the playoffs since their conference run in 1998.
Many blamed the team's playoff woes on coach Bruce Boudreau, but the team has continued to struggle after Boudreau was fired in November. While Dale Hunter's coaching has left much to be desired to say the least, some would say it may be time to find a new GM before we start to think about another new coach.
So are Ted's GMs in trouble? Well, probably not. As I said, Leonsis has been incredibly patient with his staff. In a town haunted by the shadow of trigger happy Daniel Snyder, I believe Leonsis enjoys being the patient counterpart. The rebuild of the stagnant Capitals' franchise is a remarkable story and Leonsis hopes to rebuild the Wizards along the same lines. While the Caps have struggled in the playoffs, McPhee has consistenly put together a roster that looks remarkably talented on paper. The problems are on the ice, not in the office. Of course he has made his share of mistakes, but you can't really ask for much more from McPhee. His job is to put together championship calibur rosters and he's done that. For Grunfeld, the future is a bit more murky. This is the last year of his contract and frankly you can only blame Arenas for so long. If Leonsis feels there's a plan in place, then he may not want to upset that by bringing in a new GM, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what that plan is. You can't just keep pushing the reset button forever.
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