Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
July 2, 2009, Washington Post

Wizards Should Follow Mystics' Lead

The Washington Wizards made a big trade last week. The Wizards swapped their first-round pick in the 2009 NBA draft for Randy Foye and Mike Miller of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Oh yeah, the Wizards also threw in backup big men Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov.

I think the trade is a good move. The Wizards got two solid players to go with their three all-stars, Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. Foye is a young, 6-foot-4-inch guard who scored more than 16 points a game last year. Miller, who can play both guard and forward, did not play his best last season. But two years ago, Miller averaged more than 18 points a game for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Foye and Miller will certainly help the Wizards more next season than Ricky Rubio would have. (The Timberwolves selected the flashy point guard with the Wizards' pick.)

Still, I'm not sure the trade makes the Wizards a sure bet for the playoffs next season. The team has only one proven big man left, 7-foot center Brendan Haywood. Big players who can rebound and play defense are very important in basketball.

If the Wizards want to get better, maybe they should become more like . . . the Mystics. Washington's WNBA team has a record of five wins and three losses and is much improved over the squad that lost its final nine games and posted a disappointing record of 10-24 last season.

The Mystics still have all-around all-star Alana Beard, who is scoring about 20 points a game. But one reason the Mystics have a chance for the WNBA playoffs this season is that they have better, bigger players than last season.

First, Chasity Melvin is back with the Mystics after playing two seasons for the Chicago Sky. Melvin is a big (6-3) 10-year veteran who can play center or forward and handle the rough stuff under the basket.

Second, Crystal Langhorne is so much better it's as if she were a new player. The 6-2 forward from Maryland struggled last year as a rookie. Now, after a very successful season playing hoops in Europe, Langhorne looks as though she is ready to be a big star for the Mystics.

Put those two together with 6-4 center Nakia Sanford and the Mystics can hold their own under the basket with just about any WNBA team.

Maybe 6-11 forward Andray Blatche will be the Wizards' Crystal Langhorne and improve so much that the Wizards will have another effective player up front.

If the Wizards don't get some big guys soon, the Mystics may be the only Washington pro basketball team that makes the playoffs.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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