John Wall is not happy with the direction the Washington Wizards are going and there are not many who would blame him. The Wizards are coming off their first, first-round exit in the John Wall and Bradley Beal era, and its star point guard is voicing his concerns of a roster that appears flawed.
Wall has already targeted the Wizards two centers, saying the team needs more “athletic bigs” than Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi. Now, his ire is directed at the rest of the team’s flaws.
“It’s a lot,” Wall said per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I feel like it’s a lot we can use. I don’t really have to say [which] certain positions. People who have been around our team understand what we can use to help our team. And it is not throwing shade to anybody on our team because everybody that is on the roster gave everything they had to make it work and fit with the team.
“But at the same time, sometimes when it is not working, you try, you try, you try, and it keeps failing over and over, you have to make certain adjustments and changes.”
Wall’s assement was directed at the issues of team chemistry beyond the team’s core, which many will say is Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, and Markieff Morris. While not naming individual names, Wall was clear to point at guys not willing to accept their roles on the team and want to play their roles on the Wizards.
There may be issues between Wall and Gortat but one particular player that may fit Wall’s description is Jodie Meeks. The former Kentucky shooting guard was suspended for 25 games just ahead of the start of the playoffs. However, earlier in the season reports surfaced that Meeks welcomed being tradedĀ after feeling he had lost his role as the Wizards primary backup guard.
“I just think you can kind of tell when guys, when things are going well, everybody is happy, everybody wants to be here,” Wall continued per Youngmisuk. “But when things get rough, that is when you really figure out who is your brother, who is really in the war with you, who is really in the fight with you. I think anybody can see from the outside — or the inside looking in — who really wanted to be here when things weren’t going great for us, but when it is all happy go jolly, and we are winning, it is all fun and games.”
For the third straight season, the Wizards approached the season with a bench primarily filled with short-term contracts. Even in Oubre, he will have one year remaining on his rookie contract and with the Wizards currently cash-strapped within the league’s salary cap, Oubre could be auditioning for his second contract with another franchise.
“Some people don’t understand their roles, so if you don’t understand your role and think you deserve a bigger role, that is not about to happen,” Wall emphatically said, per Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “If you are not built for it, why would you want to be put in that situation? But a lot of people say they want that pressure or situation, and then they get put in it, and they act totally different. So don’t ask for something that you can’t handle.”
“But at the same time, if you have a team meeting, and we are brothers, if you are a grown man like you are supposed to be, I can confront you and talk to you without having a problem because you are supposed to talk to your brother, and you are going to have arguments and fights,” he added when asked about a team meeting earlier in the season. “But at times if you can’t talk to somebody because they always think it is negative or taking it the wrong way, yeah, you are going to have issues and problems in the locker room, and that is where inconsistencies happen.”
Washington fell short of expectations this past season thanks in large to Wall missing 41 games with his bothersome left knee. When he decided to undergo surgery in January to rectify the situation, the Wizards went on a run of wins, winning 8 of 10 games without their leader during that stint. Everyone was joyous, Beal coined the term “Everybody Eats” and it’s been well-publicized the “beef” between Wall and Gortat.
The Wizards eventually went 7-10 the final 17 games with Wall out and finished the season 20-21 without him in the lineup. Wall returned playing the role of savior. Unfortunately, despite him averagingĀ 26 points and 11.5 assists during the playoffs, Washington fell short in six games against the Toronto Raptors.
While there was a focus on the squabbles between Wall and Gortat and how it affected Beal and the perception of the team, Washington’s chemistry issues went well beyond those three. Inconsistency plagued the team including at times Wall and Beal. And for the first time the duo’s season ended in the first-round of the playoffs.
It’s clear the Wizards’ issues will be difficult to fix via roster moves. There is little flexibility with three max contracts on the roster and less than desirable role players to entice other teams. Wall, 27, is growing frustrated with having another season end without the team reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. Rivals like Toronto, Cleveland, and Boston continue to improve their rosters and the emergence of Philadelphia has to be weighing on Wall. If Washington does not improve it’s roster and chemistry, the rest of the top-tier of the Eastern Conference will pass them by.
