"If it's September, it's time to start talking expectations for Andray Blatche. Not even an NBA lockout is going to stop this annual Wizards rite.

This year, fill in the blanks with "Lapdance Tuesdays" and "shoulder" for the off- and on-court issues that the 25-year-old needs to put behind him following a season only he could have, one in which career numbers (16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds a game) were outweighed by general disappointment.

With his seventh NBA season just around the corner -- maybe -- Blatche has attempted to take charge. He invited teammates to work out this week at Columbia Gym in Clarksville, Md., only to be undercut in participation by the Impact League in Las Vegas.

Undeterred, Blatche strolled into the gym for a couple of hours of pickup basketball on Monday night -- his second workout of the day -- accompanied by his mother, Angela Oliver; his financial advisor, Ingrid Bachelor;

Wizards rookie-to-be Chris Singleton; and second-year center Hamady Ndiaye."