Washington Wizards CEO Robert Pollin spoke to Comcast Sports about his father's legacy, selling the team to Ted Leonsis or someone else and his family's dismay over the outrageous behavior of Gilbert Arenas.

Pollin, the son of late owner Abe Pollin, discussed his reaction to the incident, as well as his disappointment in Arenas’s behavior after details of the incident emerged, in which he made hand gestures simulating the firing of guns before a game in Philadelphia.

“The business in Philadelphia with mocking the whole thing, it was over the top.” Pollin told Comcast SportsNet. “It was devastating to myself and my family.”

In regards to the felony gun-possession charges that Arenas faced, in which he has since plead guilty and is awaiting sentencing, Pollin expressed agreement with the outcome.

“He did commit a felony,” Pollin said. “If somebody did that in another workplace, and they weren’t a celebrity, they would have been charged with a felony, and that is what he deserves and he has acknowledged that.”

Watch it.

The Washington Wizards stink. You knew that. Stuck in last place in the Southeast Division and second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, the Wizards are on pace for one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history -- which is really saying something. It turns out that Gilbert Arenas is not the player he was before all the injuries. He can't escape from defenses when he likes and he can't be counted on in the clutch. Caron Butler struggled to find his pace in this offense with Arenas on the floor and without Arenas he has improved markedly. Still, he sometimes struggles with motivation as the season crumbles and trade rumors fly. Antawn Jamison was injured early, then played fantastic basketball, but has lately seemed tired. Perhaps he is injured and perhaps the trade rumors are bothering him, too. Many players on the team have requested trades and much of the league is circling like vultures, thinking they can rob the Wizards of good players, giving back only trash in return.

The NBA trading deadline is a week away. What should the Wizards do?

I think the Wizards should try to trade almost anyone on the team other teams want and are willing to obtain in return for real value. I'm opposed to just giving players away in return for some combination of expiring contracts and players so marginal they are of little use even to a team as bad as the Wizards. In other words, in return for players like Jamison, Butler, Brendan Haywood, the Wizards should get back expiring contracts and either first round picks or young players who can at least be part of a solid rotation in the future.

A three-way trade involving the Wizards, Knicks and Rockets has been floated, though the early details don't look good. Basically, the Wizards would give up Haywood and Butler, two good starters, in return for Al Harrington and...well, that's about it. Even if you throw in some expiring contracts to the Wiz that's a horrible deal for Washington. Fortunately, Michael Lee of The Washington Post reports that such a deal "doesn't have legs right now." Good. Let's hope no deal like that ever grows any legs.

The Journal-Times reports that the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves are both interested in acquiring Caron Butler, who has an affordable contract that expires after the end of next season. CBS Sports confirms the Mavericks, whose recent swoon has been publicly addressed by owner Mark Cuban, are very interested in acquiring Butler. The Wizards, however, want to package Deshawn Stevenson in any deal involving Butler, since Stevenson has several years left of a bad contract and he, well, stinks.

How aggressively the Wizards look to unload contracts as they try to pick up the pieces from Gilbert Arenas’ suspension depends on how a fundamental internal disagreement is resolved. Some elements of the Wizards’ power structure favor “completely blowing it up,” according to one source, while others are holding out for a more patient approach. “How badly does Dallas want Caron Butler?” one rival executive said. “Washington will find out.” The Mavs have not been pushing for Antawn Jamison in their talks with the Wizards, believing they have enough 30-somethings on the roster. 

• An important factor to remember in trying to decipher the Wizards’ strategy is their ownership situation. Despite a recent hangup in the transfer of power from the family of late owner Abe Pollin to Ted Leonsis, rival executives believe a completed sale to Leonsis is a foregone conclusion. The Wizards have little hope of trading enough contracts to get under the luxury tax, but any savings derived from pre-deadline deals would produce double the benefit in tax payments – a scenario that would appease both the owner and the seller in that transaction. 

• If the Wizards take the “blowing it up” route, their exploratory conversations with Houston involving Tracy McGrady would become more serious. But a high-level source familiar with the situation said T-Mac’s best chance to play again this season is in New York, which would willingly take on his $23 million expiring contract if it meant clearing some 2010-11 money off the books. The Knicks aren’t willing to part with anything Houston would want, however, so a third team would need to be recruited.

The Mavericks are offering Josh Howard and his contract, which essentially expires at the end of this season because next season is an $11.8 million team option that no team will pick up. However, Josh Howard's expiring contract for Caron Butler is not a fair trade for the Wizards and the Wiz want Dallas to take Stevenson, as well. The Mavs would have to throw in other stuff and probably a first round pick. Unfortunately, the Mavs have little interest in Stevenson -- proving that someone with a brain is indeed working the controls in Dallas. Moving Stevenson is very attractive to the Wizards, though, since he produces very little on the court and getting his salary off the books would get the Wizards close to the point where they don't have to pay the luxury tax.

It was once believed that Jamison was most likely to be traded, but that talk has cooled as it emerges that only the Cavaliers are really interested in Jamison and they want to get him for, essentially, nothing. Basically, the Cavs want to acquire Jamison in return for the expiring contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Thus the Wiz would save money next year, but would get no talent in return. In addition, the Cavs would insist, as part of the deal, that the Wizards immediately waive Big Z so he can re-sign with Cleveland. In other words, the Cavs get a guy who averages 20 ppg and 9 rpg and would fit their offense perfectly, while the Wizards get an expiring contract. If that deal sounds good to you, you must be a Cavaliers fan.

The problem with just making any deal out there -- like the one Cleveland is reportedly insisting on -- is that you get a reputation for being a chump. In addition to demoralizing the players left on the roster, the team will be looked upon as an easy mark by the general managers of every other NBA team. It's hard to get decent deals offered to you if teams think you'll take a bad deal if they just hold out long enough. It would be much better for the Wizards to be patient, reject deals that involve sending out talented players in return for nothing but expiring contracts and trash, and go into the offseason with the roster pretty much as it is now. The team can then go into the NBA Draft with a high lottery pick and some trade-able assets to pick up further picks.

The Wizards should deal Butler, Jamison, Haywood, Stevenson and anyone else they can move [apart from Javale McGee] as long as they get back expiring contracts and actual value apart from those contracts. Washington is a bad team and will continue to be a bad team unless it gets an infusion of youth and talent from somewhere. Young players with potential and first round draft picks are what the team needs. There is no way the Wizards should fill other team's needs without getting their own filled in turn.

Ted Leonsis could soon be the owner of the Washington Wizards.

Leonsis bought the Capitals, as well as a share of the Wizards and what was then called MCI Center -- it was renamed in 2006 -- from Pollin in 1999. Leonsis's stake in Washington Sports has gradually increased over the years and now stands at 44 percent, which includes ownership of the WNBA's Mystics. At the time he bought the hockey team, Leonsis and Pollin set conditions that would allow Leonsis an exclusive period to negotiate a purchase of the basketball team and Verizon Center upon Pollin's death, according to a memo that the Pollin organization sent to the staff of Washington Sports & Entertainment.

"It's important that you all know that Mr. Pollin was very careful and wise when he planned for this day," according to the memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post. "He put a specific transition plan in place, so that, when this time came, there would be an orderly transition.

"When Ted Leonsis and his partners purchased the Washington Capitals and a minority interest in Washington Sports & Entertainment Limited Partnership in 1999, Mr. Leonsis was also granted an option to purchase the remainder of Mr. Pollin's interests in Washington Sports," according to the memo. "At the time of the 1999 purchase, a process was established for the exercise of this purchase option. That process will begin now and it will move forward as expeditiously and prudently as possible while respecting the Pollin family."

Right now, the Wizards majority owner is Abe Pollin's widow Irene, with her two sons Robert and James as senior officials on the team. Leonsis was given an exclusive negotiating period to buy the team, though he can still buy it once that exclusive period ends and the team is up for sale to the highest bidder. At stake is not only the Wizards, but also the Verizon Center, which could help Leonsis become a money-making franchise owner.

Obviously, the sale of the team is of great import to Wizards fans, but also to other NBA owners, who will view the sale as an indication of what NBA franchises are worth these days. For Wizards fans, it's a chance to see the franchise achieve something of a renewal -- and no franchise needs it like this one.

Leonsis bought the Caps with big dreams of quickly delivering a Stanley Cup championship to the team's small, but devoted fan base. A number of expensive free agent failures later, Leonsis decided to drop the Dan Snyder routine and rebuild the team from scratch. This began by trading away the team's high-priced veterans who failed to deliver greatness and stockpiling draft picks that were later turned into players like Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green. The Capitals were horrid for a few years, but they drafted well and let the player develop into stars.

Today, the Capitals have become one of the best hockey teams in the world, and certainly one of the most exciting. Alex Ovechkin developed into arguably the best player in the world and a strong supporting cast provides fans with a high-scoring and fast-paced offensive show a lot more often than not. With a record of 30-12-6 and 66 points, the Caps are currently the third-best team in the NHL and tops in the Eastern Conference. Their 17-point division lead is easily the biggest in the league.

Of course, the NHL is not the NBA and building a winning team isn't the same in one league as it is in the other. Nevertheless, Leonsis must already understand how radically things have to change on the Wizards and since he's not the architect of the current roster or front office, he has no personal pride invested in the embarrassing failure that the Wizards have become. In other words, he won't hesitate to tear the rotting hulk apart and starting over. It's bound to be a very painful process for us Wizards fans, but it could hardly be more painful than what we've endured the last 3 years.

Let the Era of Ted begin for the Washington Wizards.