I guess it makes sense for Irene Pollin to represent the Wizards at tomorrow's NBA Draft lottery. Her deceased husband did own the team, or something, for four decades. And as SB Nation's Wizards blog Bullets Forever wrote a couple weeks ago, Irene is certainly the sentimental choice.
This season was overshadowed by the passing of the father of the franchise, and I can think of nothing better to honor his legacy than having his wife, Irene, represent the Wiz at this lottery. Irene would not only be the most talked about representative at the lottery, but karma would most certainly be on our side. She could also make good on her promise that, "In spite of everything, next year will be better, I promise you that."
So really, who am I to argue with the Wizards' decision? It's probably the last significant act by a member of the Pollin family when it comes to this team, because Ted Leonsis is on his way in (and not a moment too soon!). Why not give Irene this swan song?
But at the same time, the Pollin family isn't exactly good at this whole good luck thing. I'd say more, but this piece by Dan Steinberg kind of tells the whole story. Here's the money part.
I've seen New Orleans levees with better luck than this franchise. I've seen Enron accountants hit the right numbers more often than this franchise. I've seen naked unconscious vomiting beer pong players find more success with ping-pong balls than this franchise. And so on.
I mentioned some of the sad stats earlier in the season -- in 12 of their 13 previous trips to the lottery, the Wizards/Bullets have either failed to move up or have actually moved down in the draft order. But that doesn't do justice to the misery.
If we wanted to find a scapegoat, Susan O'Malley's probably the best one, but there's been one constant in all these failures: the Pollin family. On the one hand, maybe Irene is just due. On the other hand, if you're bad luck once, you're usually bad luck again.