Washington Wizards

Just 10 days before the first training camp practice, the Washington Wizards announced Wednesday that starting center Emeka Okafor is out indefinitely with a herniated disc, and that reserve forward Chris Singleton will be sidelined approximately six to eight weeks with a broken bone in his left foot.

The injury to Okafor is particularly disconcerting. The team offered no timetable for his return, although Okafor said he was "positive" he'll play this season.
It's the second straight year the Wizards have lost a starter to a significant injury days for the opening of camp. Point guard John Wall missed the first 33 games last season with a stress injury to his left kneecap, a major reason for the club's 29-53 record.
Okafor said he felt some stiffness in his neck after playing some 5-on-5 recently in New York. When the discomfort didn't go away, he had an MRI that diagnosed the injury. He said the injury is not degenerative and that he's optimistic it will resolve itself with physical therapy.
"I was disappointed," Okafor said. "I'm an athlete, I want to play. I want to play all the time. I don't like missing games. The fact that I can't right away bothers me, but worse things have happened to better people, so I'll get right and get back."
Okafor averaged 9.7 points and 8.8 rebounds in 79 games for the Wizards last season.

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Singleton was hurt during a voluntary workout at the Verizon Center on Tuesday. He was scheduled for outpatient surgery to repair a fracture in the fifth metatarsal. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 57 games.
The Wizards open training camp in Fairfax, Va., on Sept. 28. They begin the regular season on Oct. 30 at Detroit.

Asked whether he feels any extra pressure to reach the postseason, Washington Wizards coach Randy Wittman fiddled with his eyeglasses on the table in front of him and looked straight ahead.

"Well, that's what we want: We want to get to the playoffs," Wittman said. "Do you think this is the first time I've been on a one-year contract? No. It doesn't mean anything."

Wittman and team President Ernie Grunfeld - both men have deals that end after the upcoming season - held a joint news conference Wednesday and made pretty clear what the aim should be for point guard John Wall and the rest of the Wizards.

"We want to build on what we started to establish last year. Obviously, our initial goal is to be a playoff contender and ultimately, by the end of the year, make the playoffs," Grunfeld said.

Washington went 29-53 last season, missing out on the postseason for the fifth consecutive year.

Since their last trip to the playoffs - in 2007-08, when Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler were still on the roster - the Wizards haven't even won 30 games in a season once. They had a low of 19 wins in 2008-09.

A year ago, Wall missed the start of the season, when the Wizards opened by going 5-28. With the No. 1 overall pick from the 2010 NBA draft in the lineup, though, they managed to be close to a .500 team, going 24-25.

Wall was given an $80 million, five-year contract extension, the biggest offseason move for a club that drafted Otto Porter Jr. and added Al Harrington and Eric Maynor.

The team's first training camp practice is Saturday, and that's when Wittman will begin the real work of figuring out his starting lineup and how to compensate for the loss of injured starting center Emeka Okafor. He's sidelined indefinitely with a herniated disc, but Wittman said that would not alter his expectations for the Wizards.

Washington also is expected to be without reserve forward Chris Singleton until at least the end of October with a broken bone in his left foot.

"Listen, we want to make the playoffs. I've never, even on good teams, been a guy that can tell you, `We're going to win 48 1/2 games.' I don't know how people do that," Wittman said. "But I think, obviously, if we can continue to grow as a team like we did last year, when we had healthy pieces, that that should be our goal. And there's no reason why we can't."

Wizards rookie Otto Porter has a right hip flexor injury.

Porter, the No. 3 overall pick, rode a stationary bike as Washington opened camp Saturday at George Mason University. Coach Randy Wittman said the injury has been bothering Porter for a couple of weeks.

The small forward said he slipped and twisted during a recent voluntary pickup game before camp opened.

"Nothing major," Porter said, classifying his timetable for returning as "day by day."

This is Porter's second injury since joining the Wizards. The former Georgetown star sat out the final two games of the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League with a right hamstring injury.

"He's missing a lot of valuable time out here, in terms of what he's been limited to," Wittman said. "So I mean, we've got to be smart with it. We need to get him healthy as soon as we can."