J.J. Barea dropped a hot take following his heated exchange with Washington Wizards point guard John Wall. Barea in response to Wall calling him a mad “little midget” said he did not like Wall and he thought Wall’s teammates “don’t like him, either.”
Of course, that led to speculation of dissention as the Wizards have struggled this season with a 26-21 record. Monday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks was the Wizards’ sixth by 14 or more points against a sub .500 team. Could there be some teammates that don’t like Wall?
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith speculated that there are some that are not too kind of Wall or his fellow back court mate Bradley Beal. With chatter circulating, Wall’s teammate Markieff Morris tried to dispel any notion with strong choice words towards Barea.
Candace Buckner of the Washington Post relayed the NSFW response of Morris:
When I initially tried asking about Barea's comments, Markieff Morris cut off the question:
"Man, (expletive) J.J. Barea! What the (expletive) is he talkinā about? The (expletive) I care about what J.J. Barea said. (Expletive) J.J. Barea. He aināt a part of this team."
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 24, 2018
(2/2) Morris on Barea's comments on John Wall: "He donāt even know us. Like how do you know if we like him or not? What is he talking about. (Expletive) J.J. I heard he was a good dude but you know, you come at my teammate ā (expletive) him. Straight like that.ā
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 24, 2018
Morris and Wall have had a noticeable friendship since Morris joined the team in 2015-16. It was a fitting answer to an opposing player speculating from the outside about how a leader of a team is received by his teammates.
As for Wall, his thoughts on Barea’s take on his relationship with his teammates?
“Iāve never had a teammate say he didnāt like me. If itās true, nobody would be man enough to say it to me so I donāt believe it,” Wall stated, per Buckner. “I donāt let that affect me. I probably couldāve used a better word than ālittle midget.ā I couldāve called him a ālittle guy.’ā
Barea’s comments came after the game in which he and Wall had to be separated by officials after exchanging words. Barea was assessed a technical foul. The take on Wall’s relationship with his teammates may have been Barea just shooting off at the mouth based on the widely reported issues of the Wizards.
Just before last season, Wall admitted that he and Beal did not see eye-to-eye at times. Both seemed to mend any differences in route to career years to lead the Wizards to their most wins in nearly four decades. But, the team has failed to build off that success this season.
Lackluster performances against losing teams have left many to question the team’s leadership. A players-only meeting last week did not go as planned, as both Wall and Beal relayed. All of that plus a blowout loss to the Mavericks and Barea’s comments sure lit a fire in the chatter box.
Washington seems to be holding an united front about their liking of Wall. And it’s totally believable. However, Washington is performing below expectations. There are times leaders of a team will have to say or do things that may not be popular to some players. If there are any players doubting the well intentions of Wall and/or Beal, maybe better effort and beating teams that they are superior to may ease any tension. The saying is winning cures everything.
