FanHouse Javale Mcgee

Ready or not, here Flip comes.

After much discussion, rumor mongering and ballyhoo, Yahoo! Sports reports that the Washington Wizards will make former Pistons and Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders their new head coach, reportedly agreeing to a four-year, $18 million deal.

That's not Yankees money or corporate bailout money, but for the Wizards, that's a pretty hefty chunk of change.

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

-- " 'You know, my issue with the players is that they're not working hard enough,' Jackson said Tuesday night. 'They're saving steps. When you do that, you try to get by without having to exert yourself enough to win games the right way. And Kobe is one of those people who is doing that. He's measuring out what it takes to win a ballgame. This is a veteran who's been through a lot of seasons. We just have to shorten his minutes a little bit to keep his legs live.' " -- Los Angeles Daily News

About 10 years ago, Nike had a hot basketball sneaker campaign called Nike freestyle. In what looks like an UNDRCRWN promotion, the Washington Wizards' young guns (and Mike James) have decided to create their own version of the freestyle ads. Here's a look at the vid:



(HT: First Cuts)

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Many people consider the NCAA Tournament to be the biggest sporting event of the year, and that includes NBA players. In this hilarious video we catch up with Wizards star Caron Butler (UConn) as he has a very funny exchange with teammate Nick Young (USC) over their alma maters' chances. But just because you are a basketball player does not mean you are into the tournament, as Andray Blatche admits he is not into "Match Mardness." Also in this video we find out which Wizards player looks like President Obama and which one does not.

Check out the video after the jump.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

After just barely making the playoffs, the Nuggets were unceremoniously swept out of them by the Lakers in the first round. There have been a lot of rumors lately surrounding Carmelo Anthony, which have been put to rest for the moment. But it's obvious the team is going to have to make some changes -- either philosophically or otherwise -- to get more out of obe of the league's most talented rosters.

Picks: #20.

Needs: This team has a lot of firepower offensively, but could use a low post presence who isn't opposed to playing defense.

Best case scenario: Roy Hibbert or Kosta Koufos would fit nicely, especially Hibbert with his defense.

With the NBA Draft coming up on Thursday night, FanHouse's Tom Ziller took a friend's advice and unilaterally decided what teams ought to do in the first round. Think of it as a shorter version of our ongoing Crystal Ballin' series.

1. Chicago -- Michael Beasley, Kansas State. Fan consensus would have the point guard from Memphis here, and it looks like John Paxson will swing that way, too. It looks like a whole lot of Chris Paul-induced "pure point" fervor to me. Beasley, though, is the rare unassailable post presence who also boasts great perimeter skills and extraordinary tenacity on the court. With a team so desperate for points on something other than jump shots, Beasley fits right in.

2. Miami -- Derrick Rose, Memphis. The Heat, on the other hand, has some firepower in the paint, between Dwyane Wade's irrepressible slashing and the alternating efforts of Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem. But Wade needs help running the show. Rose would provide the right engine to push Miami's offensive abilities while offering some backcourt defensive support.

3. Minnesota -- Brook Lopez, Stanford. Like any other basketball aesthete, I have cracked some Brook Lopez jokes. But behind the Cheetah Girls t-shirts, he's a good prospect. The biggest thing he can offer Minnesota in some interior anchorage on defense. Al Jefferson got abused routinely in the paint last season, with nary a partner to help stunt the opponent. Lopez immediately fortifies the effort, maybe not creating a good defense by himself, but at least helping out. Oh, and he can score too.

27 more picks of questionable logic after the jump.

With all the name going around about who was staying in the NBA Draft and who was going back to school ... there were a few names that may not be as household that are keeping their names in the draft.

Some may have made a mistake. Just as Josh McRoberts, JamesOn Curry, Von Wafer and Alex Acker made mistakes in the past few seasons ... some could be doing the same now.

Guys like UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Mbah a Moute probably won't be drafted (and if he is, it will be very late in the second round). If he had stayed in school, he could have become the rare guy to go to four Final Fours in his career. Despite losing some big-time talent, the Bruins still have a good shot at getting back.

Or there is USC's Davon Jefferson who probably won't be drafted either. Jefferson left school as a freshman and almost immediately signed with an agent. He made this move without even discussing it with the Trojans' coaching staff. When they have "testing the water" discussions in the future, they might want to have him talk to the class.

How about IUPUI's George Hill? Ya know, good ol' George? No? Yeah, he didn't have a household name or, really, no hype around him to warrant heading into the draft. He may not have the skill, either. He probably will be drafted, but not until the second half of the second round.

Mississippi State's Jamont Gordon really never had a second thought about coming back to school. I mean, he may go late in the second round. Not bad for a guy that no one knows what position he'll play.