What a treat! Not only do we get to see the Toronto Raptors face the Washington Wizards twice this weekend, but I also got to do a Q&A with Thomas Threlkeld of D.C. Pro Sports Report and the Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sports Bog!

(UPDATE: My answers to Thomas’ Raptors questions are now up on DCPSR.)

Here we go:

Pete: What do you see as the positive(s) of this season?

Threlkeld: There are two positive things that can be taken from this season. First, and most importantly, the Wizards will receive a very high lottery pick. There’s nothing wrong with that. Secondly, the Wizards got a chance to look at some of their young kids and found that they have a pretty decent, though still very raw, big man in Javale McGee. They found that Dominic McGuire is going to be a nice role player in this league, capable of filling the stat sheet with rebounds and assists, in addition to great defense.

Steinberg: Well, despite leading the league in games lost to injury, no one died. That was good. Also, Dominic McGuire seems like a keeper, though not a starting NBA two guard. Also, they’re going to get a top four or top five overall pick, which no team that has three recent All-Stars really deserves, though they might not even keep it. 

Pete: How do you feel about the Big Three of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler? Is it time to break it up?

Threlkeld: I know Charles Barkley wants to break up the big three. None of them should be untouchable, but the team deserves a chance to see the three on the floor for an extended period of time. The last time we really got a look at all three of them healthy was around the All Star break in 2007. The Wizards were the top team in the Eastern Conference at that time. Granted, that was like being the top guy on the junior varsity, but they still had the best record. Soon after the All Star game, Antawn Jamison got hurt and the team took a tumble. When Jamison got back, Gilbert and then Caron went down with injuries. Gilbert, as we know, is still trying to come back from that first injury.

If the Wizards get a good offer for one or more of the three, they should consider it. However, there is nothing wrong with going into the next season with those three players. They’re all good and, if the Wizards’ luck ever turns, they will all be healthy.

Steinberg: Nah. Are they going to win an NBA title? Probably not. Can they go to the second round of the playoffs? I think so. With the recent history of D.C. basketball (and D.C. sports in general), being in the top eight of the NBA is good enough.

D.C. fans will be saying this for the next 46 years, but when the core was reasonably healthy (winter of ‘06), they were one of the most entertaining and successful teams in the NBA. Now, sure, everyone in the East has gotten better since then, but I don’t see some nirvana that comes from breaking this thing up. At least give them one fair shot to finish a season together.

Pete: What does Arenas, retired blogger, mean to you?

Threlkeld: Gilbert was a good blogger. He actually wrote interesting things and he was funny. He was controversial. He didn’t take himself too seriously.

Let’s face it, most pro athletes don’t have much to say. They’ve spent a lifetime working on their bodies, not their minds — as well as mastering a game, not nuclear physics or 19th century French poetry. Gilbert is one of those athletes who can talk almost as well as he can play. I’ll miss Gil the Blogger, but I don’t know if he’s gone for good.

Gil often says one thing and then soon does the opposite. He’s not a liar, he just says whatever is in his head at that time. That’s one of the things that makes him so interesting.

Steinberg: Less work. Less laughs. He’s still one of the best quotes in pro sports; his “a broken clock’s right twice” line after the Wiz beat the Cavs for the second time this year was pretty genius, and he still says any and everything that’s on his mind, if you can actually stand in front of him and get him to start talking. Anyhow, the world of online athlete interaction has changed a lot since then; 140 characters are in, 4,000-word essays are out.

Pete: Was Eddie Jordan the “fall guy” for an injury-hampered season? What is your opinion of Jordan?

Threlkeld: Eddie Jordan didn’t deserve to get fired, but most coaches would have been canned after a 1-10 start, particularly when it was clear the team was going through the motions in several games. It appeared that the players were shell-shocked over the loss of their best offensive player (Gilbert) and their best defensive player (Brendan Haywood).

Jordan’s firing is one of those things that happens in sports — a good guy loses his job because something has to change and you can’t fire the players. Eddie Jordan can teach offense and he’s good at relating to most players. It will be a real challenge for the next coach to handle Arenas as well as Eddie Jordan did.

The major flaw in Eddie Jordan’s tenure is that he never got a good defense out of this team. He never got Gilbert Arenas to play hard on defense and he didn’t lean enough on Brendan Haywood, who is the heart, soul, spine and brain of any defense Washington plays.

Steinberg: I guess he was the fall guy, and a lot of fans have said a lot of kind things about Eddie since then. He also was one of the nicest and most generous (with his time) coaches I’ve ever dealt with. But the fact of the matter is, the team’s horrendously awful winning percentage under Ed Tapscott is actually better than it was under Jordan, and he had an incredibly long (by NBA standards) tenure for a guy who had never won a second-round GAME in this city. He absolutely should and will get more coaching chances, but with two all-stars (Butler and Jamison) and what seemed like a promising group of newbies, I think it was worth letting Eddie  go to see if a new coach could rescue the season before it completely splintered. The answer was no, but it was worth the chance.

Pete: Is Brendan Haywood underrated?

Threlkeld: Brendan Haywood is only underrated by people who don’t know basketball. The Wizards have usually been dominated in rebounding and scoring in the paint this season. However, the Wizards have won the rebounding and points in the paint battle in all three of Haywood’s games this season. He’s a legit 7-footer with good size and a real feel for defense. You can see him directing his teammates about where they should be on defense. And he’s very difficult to score over. Coach Ed Tapscott says Haywood’s absence has hurt the Wizards defensively as much as Gilbert’s injury hurt the team offensively. That might even be understating things.

Steinberg: Is Brendan Haywood underrated? From everything the team says, yes, tremendously. Because he’s a veteran, and has a great basketball mind, and cares about defense, and helps his teammates on defense, and has size and savvy. With him and no Gil last year, they were still a playoff team. Although it’s worth noting that with Haywood last week, the Wiz lost at Memphis, and with Haywood and Arenas, they beat the Cavs.

Pete: Who would you like in the draft, apart from the favorites (Blake Griffin, Ricky Rubio)?

Threlkeld: If Blake Griffin is available, you take him and walk away from the table. If he’s not, things get more interesting, though less rewarding, most likely. Apart from the obvious choices like Thabeet and Rubio, Jordan Hill is an intriguing player. He can handle the power forward position, like Griffin, and he’s a freakish athlete who has some post moves, but can also step out and hit a mid-range shot. He’s a bit raw, but with Jamison on the roster, he wouldn’t have to step in and start immediately. With Jordan Hill, you want to watch his motor because it appears to me as if he’s not always working as hard as he could be.

Steinberg: I’m not a fan, really, I’m a reporter, so I just like excitement and good personalities. Brandon Jennings would fit nicely. But who knows if they’re even keeping this pick….With all the kids they have, and their cap situation, there’s a school of thought that says they trade the pick and whatever else for a veteran to try to make this run now before someone else gets hurt.

Pete: Anything else you’d like to talk about?

Threlkeld: An extra point about the Wizards: They will have a new coach next season. Tapscott is a placeholder, a position he’s filled willingly. If the Wizards have a healthy Gilbert Arenas, a healthy Brendan Haywood and one of the first three picks in the draft, this would be a very attractive job for lots of coaches looking for a job. Avery Johnson could be the choice, but I wonder if he and Gilbert would mesh well. Flip Saunders would be an obvious way to go.

Thanks again to both Thomas Threlkeld and Dan Steinberg for A’ing my Q’s. Please check out D.C. Pro Sports Report for my A’s to Raptors Q’s.