Why Mason Had To Pack His Bags

Roger Mason, a key reserve for the Washington Wizards the last two seasons decided to pack his bags and move on with his NBA career this past offseason.

Last season, when all-star Gilbert Arenas had to have another surgery, Mason's number was called on and he responded well. Mason produced for the Wizards, worked hard,  helped the team win a ton of basketball games.

The Wizards played well without Arenas. Players like Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler, Deshawn Stevenson, Antonio Daniels, and Mason had career years. The team was able to win a lot of games and was able to defeat the NBA's best teams, including the Boston Celtics. People started to wonder, ''Well this team maybe better without Arenas?"

The team took on the personality of two-time all-star Caron Butler, by playing great defense and playing as a team.

When Arenas decided to come back, Mason's minutes reduced and the team was unsure of themselves. The team was so used to playing together and winning as a team and that all changed, Arenas took all the shots, and everybody did not know there roles.

In game five of the NBA playoffs, Arenas decided to sit out for the remainder of the playoffs because of his knee. The Wizards were down 3-1 to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the it was a chance to play like they were used to playing without Arenas. The Wizards won that game on a defensive stop against LeBron James and Mason jumped into Caron Butler's arms as the team celebrated.

Even though the team lost the series in six games, it was still a good season and the Wizards had nothing to hang their heads about. They played without there best player for basically the entire season and had two all-stars in the All-Star game.

Coming into the off season the Wizards had three free agents including, Mason, Arenas, and Antawn Jamison. As expected Arenas and Jamison were retained, and Mason was not. The team wanted to give more minutes to Nick Young, and develop him. Mason landed in San Antonio with four-time champion Tim Duncan. Mason worked his way in to the staring lineup and has hit big shots for the them, most recently against the Phoenix Suns as time expired.

Mason has moved on, while the Wizards surely wish they can still have him. Since that time, Arenas had a third knee operation and the Wizards are 7-27 and are going to be in the lottery at the end of the season.