J-Speaks: Continuous Issues For Wizards

After another horrible start in their game on Tuesday night versus the Los Angeles Clippers, the Washington Wizards managed to come from behind to win and snap their two-game losing streak. Even with that victory, things are not all that well in for the boys from our nation’s capital. 

You would think after the Wizards (6-11) overcame a 24-point deficit to beat the surprising Clippers (11-6) 125-118 that at least for one night this team which has the talent to be better than five games under the .500 would see this as win they can build off of but that was not the case. 

After Wizards forward Otto Porter, Jr. who had 11 points and 14 rebounds on the evening rapped up his media session that consisted of trade rumors and infighting amongst the squad, he received a lifeline from a reporter when asked what lessons can be taken from the 2-8 start two seasons back to win 49 games and be within one game of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Porter’s answer, “I mean, you’re talking about a whole other different team. This is a totally different team from two years ago.” 

He hit it right square in the middle. The Wizards are a completely different team from two years ago, even though the starting backcourt is the same in All-Stars John Wall and Bradley Beal. 

While Wall, who had a game-high 30 points with eight assists, two steals and two block shots, and Beal had 27 points with seven assists, going 11 for 14 from the charity stripe, they played listless throughout most of the game, especially to start as the Wizards were down after the first quarter 40-21. 

Over the past five seasons, which includes this one, head coach Scott Brooks’ team seems to find itself in the same position where they are a very talented team to challenge for supremacy in the Eastern Conference, even during the great run of the four-time defending Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers with four-time Kia MVP LeBron James, but for some reason they just found a way to beat themselves. 

At one point, the organization thought that the issue was at head coach. So, in the summer of 2016 after missing the playoffs after two straight appearances the front office fired head coach Randy Wittman and hired Scott Brooks. 

Another point, the front office of owner Ted Leonsis and general manager Ernie Grunfeld thought that the surrounding pieces around Wall and Beal needed to be changed so they traded center Marcin Gortat, who returned to D.C. on Tuesday night after being traded to the Clippers in the off-season acquiring guard Austin Rivers. They signed eight-time All-Star and three-time Kia Defensive Player of the Year in Dwight Howard to replace Gortat, who was his under study at the start of his career with the Orlando Magic nearly a decade ago. 

With where the Wizards find themselves in this early part of the 2018-19 NBA campaign, their issues are deeper than the X’s and O’s or the roster. Something is just not clicking, which is why again in this now six-year run with Wall, Beal, and Porter as the three pillars of the franchise as well as the Top 3 salaries on the team are in that serious look in the mirror position how can we put it all together and play to the consistent level they are capable of. 

Prior to their victory versus the Clippers, the Wizards had two disheartening losses versus the Trail Blazers (12-5) 119-109 on Sunday night where at one point they were behind 32-12 in the first quarter and last Friday night lost at home 115-104 versus the Brooklyn Nets (8-10). 

Those losses were a major reason behind a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Wizards are open to trading anyone on the current roster, including Wall, Beal or Porter, Jr. 

This is on the heels of Wall using an expletive towards Coach Brooks after he tried to intervene in argument between Wall and Green at a recent practice according to another that report from Wojnarowski. 

All parties in the lead to their win on Tuesday tried to cool the situation with Beal saying to reporters like Candace Buckner of The Washington Post, “What happened at practice happened at practice. Practice is closed. Practice is not a public thing.” 

He added, “It got heated. You guys know that. It happens in this organization, every organization around the league. High school, college, it happens. Guys argue. It happens.” 

Wall, who was fined an undisclosed amount for his poor chose of words to Coach Brooks said of the situation on Wizards 360 presented by MedStar Health, “I’ve been here for nine years, they’ve been digging for stuff all these years.” 

“That’s what they’re going to do. I mean when you’re not winning that’s what they’re going to do. When you’re winning, all they do is hoop right on the bandwagon. So, all you got to do is figure it out, I mean its that simple. If you’re not figuring it out and you’re losing, and you’re a team that’s supposed to be good or doing better it’s not going to look right. So, they got to find somebody to blame.” 

Along with the fact that the Wizards have not brought a lack of motivation to the hardwood to start this season, they just have not gotten to the point that they are willing to care about it to the point they do not challenge each other to bring it. 

It took a complete let down in the second half by the Clippers, who were on the back end of a back-to-back for them to have a chance, which they did take advantage of. Also, the crowd that was in attendance at Capital One Arena did very little cheering until the fourth period. 

Not even a change in the starting five versus the Clippers with Thomas Bryant replacing Markieff Morris did not give them any juice to start the game. 

Morris, who had 12 points off the pine on Tuesday night said after the game that the Wizards win does not change the turmoil they are going through right now. 

Morris also said that the comments coming from their locker room is in his words “messed up” 

He added about getting out of whole they are in, “We just need to figure it out.”

Fan engagement has been just okay, even in the best of times for the Wizards in recent years, who have gotten just as frustrated with their home team’s play as some media analysts have. 

Tony Kornheiser on Tuesday’s edition of “Pardon the Interruption” said of the Wizards, “There’s no team there.”

Former Wizard Paul Pierce, who was on the 2014-15 playoff team that lost to the Atlanta Hawks in six games in the East Semifinals said on Tuesday’s edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN of his former team that Wall and Beal “have been together too long.” 

“You have two franchise pieces who just seems like they have their on-and-off the court issues, and it’s not working out in Washington. So, I think it’s time to break it up.”

J.E. Skeets of NBATV’s “The Starters” said the Wizards needed to overhaul their roster “yesterday.” 

He added, “I’m so tired of this team. I really, really am. They need to do something… Something has to happen because there’s just no fight in this team.” 

This maybe the moment that Leonsis might have to make a decisive move in the weeks and months ahead to bring some life to the Wizards. Leonsis who was not at the Wizards victory at home on Tuesday night has always taken a conservative approach when it comes to making huge changes. 

The only top executive that Leonsis has ever employed on the basketball side is GM Grunfeld and in his 20 years as owner of Capitals of the NHL, he has only changed executives only once. 

Leonsis resisted calls from other NHL teams when they had interests in acquiring the Caps star players in Alex Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom. That patience was rewarded when the Caps won the Stanley Cup last spring. 

To expect that kind of success would be hard to fathom no matter how much faith you might have. 

NBA teams know the pickle the Wizards are in and they are looking to see when they are going to offer up Beal in trade talks. 

Trading Wall is really not in the cards, with not just his injury history but that his contract extension that he signed last off-season that begins next season will pay him $170 million through 2023. 

To illustrate Wall's contract by the actual numbers starting next season, he will make $19.2 million this season; $37.8 million in 2019-20; $40.8 million in 2020-21; $43.8 million in 2021-22 and in 2022-23, a player option year $46.9 million.  

“Like I said I love being here. I want to finish my career here,” Wall said. “That’s all I can control and playing basketball, can’t control nothing else.”

Porter, Jr., who signed a four-year, $106.5 million deal he signed last summer brings the shooting and ability to defend on the perimeter are two things teams would love to have but the Wizards attempts to deal him and reserve forward Kelly Oubre, Jr. for a third star to team up with Beal and Wall in past seasons had no real traction. 

Beal is the more attractive player because of his age at 25, his ability to make shots from the perimeter, especially from three-point range and that he has two years remaining on a five-year, $128 million contract he signed in the summer of 2016 after this season.

Whatever the Washington Wizards decide to do, whether it is staying with their current roster or making a move after Dec. 15 when players you signed during the off-season can be dealt or at the Feb. 2019 trade deadline, something has to give. 

They have made two changes at head coach. Tried to bring in other role players to play alongside Wall and Beal. They have tried to resolve their issues behind closed doors. Nothing has worked and all that has come out of this is a frustrated, angry, hapless, snarky group that needs a change and soon. 

As Fred Katz put it in a story about the dysfunctional Wizards for “The Athletic,” on Tuesday “It’s impossible to know if you’ve hit rock bottom until you’ve climbed out of rock bottom.” 

“If the Wizards were at rock bottom this might be what it would look like. They are frustrated with their record, with their play, with their effort. They were supposed to contend for a Top 6 spot in the Eastern Conference but the organization is paying big money for a roster that’s sinking.” 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 7/1/16 www.sbnation.com story, “Bradley Beal Will To Re-Sign with Wizards for 5 Years, $128 Million,” by Yaron Weitzman; 11/19/18 and 11/20/18 6 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “The Starters” with Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Leigh Ellis, and Trey Kerby; 11/20/18 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Jorge Sedano, Amin Elhassan, Paul Pierce, and Richard Jefferson;  11/20/18 5:30 p.m. edition of “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon; 11/20/18 6:30 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “10 Before Tip,” presented by Ford with Jared Greenberg; 11/21/18 www.espn.com story, “Wizards’ Problems Run Too Deep For One Comeback Win to Cover Up,” by Tim Bontemps; www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameid=401070930; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Washington_Wizards_seasons; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Porter.