Why the Wizards should fire GM Ernie Grunfeld. Immediately.

The Wizards closed out the season with a loss to the Chicago Bulls on the road, but at least we were 24-22 with John Wall right? Wrong, all that did was help us plummet from the top of the lottery to a tie for the 7th worst record in the NBA (with Detroit). The reward for another dismal season? No, not a top pick in a weak draft, but in a cruel twist of fate, the Wizards lost again without even playing. The NBA had a random drawing that Detroit won which dropped the Wizards lottery pick to #8.

Not that anyone outside Washington cares. I almost wish Arenas would reappear in the Wizards locker room toting heat just to make us newsworthy again. Or better yet, how about the Wizards sign a talented player..hmmm...maybe someone like 23-year old James Harden (26 ppg this season)! Sign a potential star building block for a young exciting team which would have made the Wizards an attractive destination for free agents? Makes too much sense. Instead, Leonsis rejected the trade (financial reasons) and the Wiz missed out BIG TIME. He has proven to be worth every penny on an exciting playoff basketball team in Houston. The Wizards? Well at least we kept Bradley Beal and Chris Singleton. Yes!

To know who you are presently, you have to understand your history. Specifically past mistakes. I go back to 2003, the beginning of EVP & GM Ernie Grunfeld's tenure. Grunfeld has been at the helm for 10 years and between Arenas/Blatche extensions (111m and 35m respectively), the trades invloving Caron Butler and Antwan Jamison for next to nothing in return and dealing the 5th pick in 2009 draft for Randy Foye and Mike Miller his days seemed numbered years ago (FYI: Stephon Curry went #7 in that draft). Meanwhile, he is sporting a cumulative record of 311-491 with the Wizards.

I have even more evidence: Lazar Hayward, Nemanja Bjelica, Oleksiy Pecherov, Jarvis Hayes, Dominic McGuire and most recently Jan Vesely (pictured below). Some of these names do not ring a bell even for DIE HARD Wizards fans. It's almost laughable how bad these picks turned out, oh wait, it is laughable. Oh and the decent picks are mostly playing for other NBA teams (see: Blatche, Steve Blake, Nick Young).

Ernie Grunfeld's picks since his tenure began on that fateful day in 2003:

Year	Round	Pick	Name	From
2012	1	3	Bradley Beal	University of Florida
2012	2	32	Tomáš Satoranský	Banca Cívica (Spain)
2011	1	6	Jan Vesely
2011	1	18	Chris Singleton	Florida State University
2011	2	34	Shelvin Mack	Butler University
2010	1	1	John Wall	University of Kentucky
2010	1	30	Lazar Hayward	Marquette University
2010	2	35	Nemanja Bjelica
2009	2	32	Jermaine Taylor	University of Central Florida
2008	1	18	JaVale McGee	University of Nevada, Reno
2008	2	47	Bill Walker	Kansas State University
2007	1	16	Nick Young	University of Southern California
2007	2	47	Dominic McGuire	California State University, Fresno
2006	1	18	Oleksiy Pecherov
2006	2	48	Vladimir Veremeenko
2005	2	49	Andray Blatche
2004	1	5	Devin Harris	University of Wisconsin–Madison
2004	2	32	Peter John Ramos
2003	1	10	Jarvis Hayes	University of Georgia
2003	2	38	Steve Blake	University of Maryland

John Wall and Bradley Beal were no brainer's so a GM doesn't get credit for selecting players that were far and away the best available at #1 and #3 respectively in 2010 and 2012.

Recognize him? No? Wizards #6 pick in 2011

Yet thanks to the most patient owner in sports, Ted Leonsis, Grunfeld receives a contract renewal in 2012. Baffling. How does he repay this olive branch from the owner? A 5-28 start to this past season (albeit without John Wall) and an overall record of 29-53. With better decision making over the past 3 years, we would have been able to weather the injury to Wall and made a playoff push. Instead we were buried in a quagmire of average talent struggling in roles that are beyond their talent level.

Every year it is a different excuse, enough is enough, we need new leadership and fresh ideas on how to build a true contender. Ten years of bad contracts, draft picks, player personnel, and decisions has led the Washington Wizards deep into mediocrity. With all of Grunfeld's bad moves, even a gift (James Harden) seems like a curse. Is it any wonder why Leonsis did not pull the trigger on the Harden deal in the summer of 2012? That single decision may be the albatross that will haunt the Wizards over the next 10 years.