Following the Nets' overtime win against the Knicks last night, Andray Blatche took to social media, tweeting: "Feels good to be part of a winning organization." The message's not-so-subtle undertone: Blatche is happy to be out of Washington, where the Wizards fell to an NBA-worst 0-12 earlier in the evening.
While Blatche's tweet didn't attack the Wizards head-on, the Nets forward appeared on 106.7 The Fan in Washington this morning, where he was more direct with his criticism of the franchise that amnestied him earlier this summer. As Mike Prada of BulletsForever.com and Michael Lee of the Washington Post detail, Blatche contended that he was unfairly scapegoated in Washington by an organization that didn't have his back.
"For them to say, 'Oh, he’s a bad teammate. He’s a cancer in the locker room.' He’s this and that. All that is a bunch of lies," Blatche said. "That’s what really made me mad. That showed me, they tried to end me.
"I can't remember not once anybody say, 'Give him a break. Let's try to pick him up.' Or anything. They were like, when things weren't starting well, they used me as an excuse."
Blatche had the worst season of his career in 2011/12, in part due to poor conditioning and injuries. The 26-year-old admitted that showing up for the season out of shape was "100% on me," but suggested that the team could have done much more to improve the public perception of his work ethic and locker room influence.
"That's my other point," Blatche said. "For them to say, 'He's a bad teammate. He's a cancer in the locker room.' All that was a bunch of lies. That's what really made me mad. When they said all those rumors and put them in the media, that's what angered me. Who else would say that? None of my teammates would say that. [The media] can ask every last one of my teammates here, and I guarantee you what they say is completely different than what everyone else says."
Although Blatche and the Wizards certainly aren't in for a reunion anytime soon, the two sides are tied together in at least one way: Washington will be paying most of the money remaining on Blatche's amnestied contract through 2015. The deal still had three years and over $23MM left on it when Blatche was cut in July.