Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis has "run out of patience with his team’s rebuilding efforts and expects to finally receive a payoff for his investments this season in the form of a playoff appearance," according to Michael Lee of the WASHINGTON POST. He has "put the organization on alert that the excuses of the past are over." Leonsis: "I’m tired of losing. It’s not a lot of fun coming to games knowing, ‘This is going to be a tough night.’ We’re just at that point now, it’s the fourth year, we’ve retained our players, we’ve added players, we’ve spent a lot of money. And I expect us to be a playoff-caliber team. I think our fan base expects that too and that’s the pressure I’ve placed on our organization, that we have to meet the expectations of our fans -- and it’s time." He said, "We continue to take steps forward, but until we qualify for the playoffs and go deep into the playoffs and bring in the next generation of named free agents, it’s all talk. That’s where we are right now. It’s time to deliver." Leonsis added, "The one thing I’m not allowing anybody to do is use injuries as an excuse. We have 15 players under contract. ... I feel urgency because I feel indebted to the fans. The fans have supported us when I was honest with them that we’re going to be really bad for a while. We didn’t sell anybody a bill of goods. We didn’t try to fool anybody. We told them we’re going to be bad and then we're going to be good" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/6).
