• The Bullets select LSU guard Ronnie Henderson in the second round (7/8/96)
• Post-draft rumors floating about (6/27/96)
• The NBA owners and players finally come together on a collective bargaining agreement (7/2/96)
• An open letter from Abe Pollin to Washington Bullets fans (7/9/96)
• Well, they did it again--the NBA owners have locked out the players (7/11/96)

Back to 19 June 1996

Forward to 12 July 1996

But let bygones be bygones. The Bullets had one pick in this draft, the #55 overall. This was San Antonio's 2nd round pick, but the Bullets received it from the Charlotte Hornets when we traded Michael Adams to the Hornets two years ago. With this pick, the Bullets selected LSU shooting guard Ronnie Henderson, who stands at 6'4" and 206 pounds. An interesting pick; he was projected as a late-first, early-second round pick, so some might argue he could be a steal. The only way to find that out is on the hardwood.

Ronnie Henderson was an early entry player, leaving LSU after his third season. He's a scorer, having led the SEC in scoring the past two seasons (see stats below). His shooting percentage improved every year, and he rebounds well for his position. Some scouts have branded him a selfish player, pointing to his low assist numbers as a guard and what they see on the court. That may be one reason why he fell so far in the draft.

College stats
SEASON   G   FGM   FGA  FG% 3FGM  3FGA 3FG%  FTM  FTA  FT%  REB  AST  PTS
1993-94  27  144   381 .378   72   228 .316   69   97 .711  3.6  1.1 15.9
1994-95  27  219   511 .429   68   212 .321  124  169 .734  5.3  2.2 23.3
1995-96  23  183   397 .461   49   146 .336   87  127 .685  4.7  1.4 21.8
TOTALS   77  546 1,289 .424  189   586 .323  280  393 .713  4.5  1.6 20.3

One red flag in his profile: he injured his knee in the 11th conference game of the season and missed 6 games due to minor knee surgery (presumably arthroscopic surgery). We know the recent history of the Bullets and injured players (yuck!). Before the injury, he was averaging 28 ppg. He is LSU's all-time three-point shooter (189 three-point field goals made) and scored in double figures in 46 of his last 50 games, 66 times in his career. He scored 20 points or more in 44 games during his career.

The reason that he dropped as far as he did may have been because of a rumor of him completing alcohol rehabilitation services because of drinking problem. The Bullets checked out these rumors and they are unfounded. According to Henderson, he rarely drinks at all because he is allergic to alcohol. (I presume it's not a major reaction, just a case of hives or something similar, like I've seen in other people.) It's a shame if this false rumor is why he fell in the draft, but the Bullets lucked into this situation.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Nolan Richardson had this to say about Henderson: "When you have a superstar in a kid like Ronnie, if you can stop him, a lot of times you have a good chance stopping LSU. But I don't know too many people who can stop him from scoring. He gets his points in so many different ways. A lot of kids only get shots in one category and it's easy to shut that down. Ronnie scores from free throws, rebounds, tip-ins, and from shooting the jumper." If Henderson is close to advertised, he could help this team immediately (especially with Legler out until midseason), and may spell the end of Mitchell Butler with the Bullets.

Henderson was born March 29, 1974 in Gulfport, MS. He attended high school at Murrah HS in Jackson, MS. While there, he was a two-time Parade All-America in 1992 & 1993 and a McDonald's and USA Today All-America in 1993. Murrah HS has also produced current NBA players Lindsey Hunter of the Detroit Pistons and James Robinson of the Portland Trail Blazers.

wtf 8 July 1996
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Calbert Cheaney and Rasheed Wallace are definitely being shopped around the league, probably as a combined package to get a quality shooting guard. No interesting nibbles yet, although I could speculate about a few possibilities. (Not yet, though.) I doubt anything will happen (in the end).

The Bullets are confident they will re-sign Jim McIlvaine, even thought there are at least 10 teams interested in acquiring his defensive services. Here's the kicker--the Bullets would probably consider trading him after they re-sign him, hoping to get some veteran help somewhere in the roster. My guess is veteran frontcourt backups, especially if Wallace is also dealt somewhere.

And my own observation: after watching how the draft shook out, it's very unlikely that Brent Price is going to find his starting PG job through free agency. Charlotte might be an outside possibility; Portland, if they trade Rod Strickland (which they are definitely trying to do); Houston and Vancouver could use an upgrade at PG, although it's unclear if Brent would be considered an upgrade.

wtf 27 June 1996
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On Friday, June 28, negotiators for the two sides ended a marathon 14 hour session with agreement on all of the important issues holding up the deal. According to the players' lead negotiator, Jeffrey Kessler: "I am delighted with the overall deal. There was substantial improvement in pensions, in salary cap rules, and in other provisions the players needed to be comfortable with this deal, and the owners got something that they thought were important to them, which is how you get a deal."

The players and owners still must ratify the deal, though both sides expect that to go smoothly. Player ballots were mailed out on July 1 and must be returned by July 8. Owners will vote through other methods. While voting is occuring, the league agreed to a moratorium on contract negotiations, signings and trades. Assuming the deal is ratified, free agency will begin at 12:01am (Eastern time, presumably) on Tuesday, July 9.

The biggest holdup was over the National Basketball Players Association logo. The NBPA will get an additional $28M for the logo, although that can be reduced through additional licensing revenues (a complex formula will determine this, although the recouped money could go as high as $21M). Further, the NBPA logo will appear next to the NBA logo at many events, including the All Star game, symbolizing a partnership.

Other changes in the agreement include:

• A $90M annual rights fee from TNT will be part of the revenue covered in a profit-sharing deal between the league and the players
• Salary cap rules were modified to make player movement easier (though it wasn't said how this would work)
• Players will receive 50 percent of all profit-sharing revenue above $36M in the league's television contracts with NBC and TNT
• Pension benefits were increased by $50M
• The NBA Draft will consist of two rounds for all six years of the agreement; originally, the second round of the draft was to end after the third year of the agreement.

• Totally unrestricted free agency
• A virtual 50-50 split of all basketball-related income
• Increasing the group licensing share for the NBA players from $500k annually to at least $25M annually
• A rookie wage scale, with a maximum of a three year contract
• Increases in minimum salaries.

July 7, 1996

To Bullets Fans:

This Tuesday at noon, Wes Unseld and the Washington Bullets will begin negotiations with Juwan Howard to retain his services as a player for years to come. As loyal Bullets fans, we want you to know that we will do everything we can to keep Juwan with us in Washington.

As most of you know, Juwan is a very special person and an outstanding player. His work in and around Washington, D.C. has been exemplary and he has truly become an oustanding leader and role model in this city.

Whether he is carrying the Olympic Torch down Pennsylvania Avenue,
or donating warm coats to thos who need them in the winter,
or being selected to the NBA All-Star team,
or serving as a national spokesman for Reading Is Fundamental,
or serving as chairman of the Bullets Anti-Violence Campaign,
or being named to the All-NBA Team,
or writing a paper on a road trip to earn his college degree on time,
Juwan has distinguished himself over and over again.

We love Juwan Howard and we know you do to [sic].

Many of you have voiced your support for the effort to keep Juwan in our city. Irene and I felt that there was no better way to show Juwan our appreciation for his contributions to the community than to support the Juwan Howard Foundation. Beginning this morning at 10 a.m. and continuing through Tuesday, at 9 p.m., I will open the TicketMaster phone charge lines to accept donations to the Juwan Howard Foundation. Let's support the man who wears number five and the work that he does by donating a symbolic $5 or more.

In addition, when all of the proceeds have been tallied, I will match the total amount generated--dollar for dollar--and donate the total to assist the Juwan Howard Foundation in the many worthwhile causes that the foundation supports.

Let's show Juwan how much he means to us by supporting the Juwan Howard Foundation. The contract negotiations are between Wes and Juwan, but the heartfelt thanks are from all of us.

Sincerely,
Abe Pollin
Chairman of the Board

This is the first in what could be many public displays of appreciation by the Bullets. Washington Sports president Susan O'Malley said: "Maybe 18 months ago, there was some confusion coming out of the organization whether Juwan was wanted in Washington. This is 100 percent clear: Washington and Mr. Pollin want him to stay here and they appreciate him here."

More stunts to show how Bullets fans care:

• The team mascot, Hoops, has been riding around the Beltway (I-495) in a Mustang convertible that had a sign asking people to "Honk if you love Juwan."
• GM Wes Unseld will hold a news conference outside of David Falk's offices shortly before meeting with Falk and Howard at 2 pm on Tuesday (7/9).
• A local radio station, WPGC-FM, will stage a "re-sign Juwan" rally outside of Falk's offices during the afternoon.
• Lastly, Hoops will begin a vigil atop a nearby apartment building, vowing not to come down until negotiations are finished. (What will he do if Juwan leaves? No one knows.)

The $50M in dispute would come from profit sharing with NBC and TNT, the league's two television rights holders. Once the networks recoup the $750 million they paid for broadcast rights, the resulting profits are shared. The dispute is that league wants 50 percent of those profits to be applied toward player salaries, and the union wants 100 percent. According to lead player negotiator Jeffrey Kessler: "It's an issue that's worth tens of millions of dollars to the players, and the league is trying to keep all the money."

So, the waiting game begins. And it ended just as quick. Within an hour of the announced lockout, the two sides were back talking with each other, and they quickly hammered out an agreement on the last sticking point. I haven't seen any reports on what the final agreement was, but it's not that important.

However, the two sides still have not signed the agreement, as of Wednesday night (the NBA's self-imposed deadline for afixing signatures). Until the signatures are on the agreement, the lockout cannot be lifted. The league plans to allow free agent negotiations to begin Thursday (7/11) evening at 5pm. That assumes the deal is signed by Commissioner David Stern and lead Player Rep Buck Williams. Then, the heat is on.

ps Because the FA signing period was postponed, Abe Pollin has kept the lines open on the Juwan Howard Foundation project. They will now close on Thursday, July 11 at 9pm.

wtf 11 July 1996
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