Washington Wizards: Re-Signing Ernie Grunfeld Has Doomed the Near Future

The Washington Wizards have been a lackluster franchise for much of the last 20 years, even if you factor in Michael Jordan's brief return to the floor. Drafting John Wall brought some intrigue back to the Wizards, as did the much-needed change in the team colors and uniforms..

Re-signing GM Ernie Grunfeld for two seasons is assurance that the Wizards will remain lackluster and unimportant for the next five years.

Grunfeld has made a few praise-worthy moves since joining the front office in 2003, though they came during times when his job was on the line. He landed Wall in the biggest no-brainer pick of all time, he swung deals to acquire more picks in the last two drafts and drafted well.

Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin, Shelvin Mack and Chris Singleton all look to have promising careers, even in secondary and role-player capacities with the Wizards.

He deserves a medal for getting tremendous value out of Kwame Brown in a trade with the Lakers that brought Caron Butler to Washington. He deserves credit for breaking up the trio of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Butler when it was apparent that they weren't getting any younger or getting the Wizards to the finals.

He doesn't get any of that credit or commendation because of his overall terrible track record with Washington.

Arenas may have been Abe Pollin's player, but Grunfeld signed him to a monumental $111 million deal after Arenas tore his MCL and missed all but eight games of the 2007-2008 season. He rewarded a historically lazy Andray Blatche with a $25 million deal only to see him kept apart from the team to improve his conditioning.

Grunfeld may have made up for some of his mistakes, but that is no reason to give him subsequent chances to make mistakes he can't make up for..

The biggest problem with re-signing Grunfeld is the momentary hope that was eradicated in the process. The Wizards were going to be without a head coach or a GM heading into the offseason, giving them room to bring in a competent GM who could revitalize the franchise, make sound basketball moves and hire a head coach capable of leading the young nucleus of players for the next decade.

Instead, we get the same old Grunfeld and the questions of whether Randy Whitman should return or should the Wizards pursue another veteran coach who doesn't have the proper background for the team as it is built?

The Wizards cannot afford to stay the course, as owner Ted Leonsis is wont to do. The philosophy may have worked to some extent with his other venture, the Washington Capitals, but the NBA is a different monster entirely.

Success in the NBA doesn't grow so naturally as it does in the NHL, and sometimes you have to spend money to bring in another star player.

Leonsis plays a part in the problem, but it is ultimately Grunfeld making the decisions. However promising his recent drafts have been, nothing can excuse the lack of success he has had in Washington's front office.

It is highly unlikely that Grunfeld gets the boot between now and the end of his new deal, but that doesn't make for a particularly bright future.

It is a mistake to think of Grunfeld's two-year extension as another two years of mismanagement and the status quo. It is essentially a five-year contract because whatever damage Grunfeld does in the next two years will take at least three to fix.

Regardless of the talent the Wizards currently have, this team is headed in the wrong direction. They may show signs of progress, but unless they put basketball minds in charge, the product on the court will suffer, and Leonsis will start to feel it in his pockets.

If Leonsis is a true businessman, he would do what is best for business and cut ties with Grunfeld before he can ruin the careers of his supposed rising stars.