As Josh Howard recovers from torn ACL, other Wizards compete for small forward slot

While his teammates were scrimmaging past the midnight hour on Tuesday, Josh Howard was peddling away on a stationary bike. As they were going over defensive schemes the next day, Howard was on a side court with trainers, stretching and lunging forward on his surgically repaired left leg, and then his right leg. And after each practice, Howard has taken the floor to shoot jumpers.

He is moving around pretty well - with no limp and without a brace - only six months after undergoing surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament he tore in only his fourth game after joining the Washington Wizards in a trade deadline deal with Dallas.

"It feels good," said Howard, a seven-year veteran small forward, "but I haven't done any contact stuff, so I can't just throw myself out there and expect to do things I did in the past. It's just a process."

Howard re-signed with Washington on a one-year, incentive-laden contract after the team refused to pick up his $11.8 million option and is not expected to come back until at least November.

For now, Coach Flip Saunders is expected to lean on Al Thornton and possibly natural shooting guard Nick Young, 7-foot Yi Jianlian and training camp invitee/reclamation project Adam Morrison.

"They have to take advantage of that situation," Saunders said of the players vying for the spot. "They've got to be able to do something. They have got to be able to help, make plays for us, hopefully knock down shots, be able to defend for us."

But even if he decides to go with one of them, Saunders said he might also rely mostly on a three-guard set featuring John Wall, Gilbert Arenas and Kirk Hinrich. "It might be those three little guys together. Our back court can be as good as anybody in the league, with our versatility, speed, quickness, defensive ability," Saunders said, adding that none of the players is taller than 6 feet 4, but they all play bigger than their height. "We're going to play a lot of different people and a lot of different combinations."
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Thornton will be given the first shot to lose the job, having stepped in for Howard last season until he was later slowed by a groin injury. During his exit interview with Saunders last season, Thornton was told that he needed to get in better shape and play with more consistency and defensive intensity in the upcoming season.

The 6-8 Thornton responded by changing his diet - eliminating all meat except fish - and mixing up his exercise routine to include swimming and boxing. He lost about 20 pounds after tipping the scales at 245 last season.

"That helped me. It's a great opportunity to come in and have a chance to be a starting small forward," said Thornton, who will be a restricted free agent next summer. "That's what I want. I want to come out and re-prove myself and show people that I'm able to play in this league at a really high level."