Out of all the underwhelming individuals and teams alike in the NBA this season, none has been more disappointing than the Washington Wizards. Though their record still has them in the upper ranks of the Eastern Conference, it’s been their ineptitude against sub-.500 teams that has been puzzling.
A lot of that has to do with their cohesiveness, or lack thereof, as a unit. While John Wall and Bradley Beal have been carrying most of their weight, the duo needs to step up as leaders and the former reveals that’s exactly what they tried to do recently.
Wall revealed that the team held a players-only meeting but it didn’t go as planned. The 5-time All-Star told Washington Post’s Candace Buckner that some players didn’t take things the right way which likely resulted in some friction:
“We had our team meeting,” Wall said Friday. “A couple guys took it the negative way and it hurt our team. Instead of taking it in a positive way like we did in the past and using it to build our team up, it kind of set us back a little bit.”
Running mate Bradley Beal gave his 2 cents on the same meeting, singing a tune that was sadly, awfully similar to Wall’s:
“It was tough. I try to keep all our stuff as personal as possible but I think in a way not everybody got a chance to speak whenever they wanted to,” Bradley Beal said. “They didn’t want to bring up an issue or something they had a problem with on the team. Regardless of what may be going on, as men we’ve got to be able to accept what the next man says, be respectful about it and move on from it. I think it was one of those situations where we didn’t necessarily get everything that we wanted to get accomplished.
“Honestly, it was probably — I won’t say pointless,” Beal continued, “but we didn’t accomplish what we needed to accomplish in that meeting.”
Purely going off the eye test, there is clearly something awry with this Wizards team. Based on the caliber of their backcourt and the additional talent they roster, the Wiz should be one of the perennial threats in the East which simply isn’t the case.
The Wizards face a myriad of different problems while fighting to stay relevant with up-and-coming teams such as the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Miami Heat skyrocketing up the rankings.
As the leaders and the only semblance of veteran experience on the team, John Wall and Bradley Beal need to make sure everyone is on the same page. An absolute blunder of a players-only meeting is further proof that this is far from the case. With the All-Star break and trade deadline now on the horizon, the Wizards may be forced to make a move or once again fall short of the Eastern Conference Finals come playoff time.
