Something is going to have to give with all the dysfunction and in-fighting in Washington.
That’s the Wizards, of course. A perennial playoff-contending core and the perennial also-rans may be testing the waters on blowing up the team, ESPN reported Monday, as the losses and public call-outs pile up.
According to the report, which cites league sources, the Wizards are giving the impression that anyone on their roster is there for the taking. That includes All-Star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, the building blocks of this Washington era who have given the team respectability but not glory.
The Wizards snuck into the playoffs last season, a 43-39 campaign that finished with an eighth seed, but have tumbled out of the gate at just 5-11. Perhaps more noteworthy than the record is the seeming locker-room discord.
After a 119-109 home loss to the Trail Blazers on Sunday, coach Scott Brooks told reporters, “We’ve got to just play with more enthusiasm, more effort, more energy. That’s embarrassing.”
He was asked if there was a leadership issue on the team.
“No, there’s a play-hard issue,” he said.
A week ago, Beal was complaining not about effort but about intent.
“I think sometimes we have our own agendas on the floor,” Beal told reporters. “Complaining about shots, complaining about playing time, whatever it may be, we’re worried about our own s–t.”
Beal, a 25-year-old 3-point threat averaging 21.5 points per game this year, is believed to be the most marketable player on the team. He makes $25 million this season and has $55 million due him for the following two years.
Wall, a 28-year-old five-time All-Star, would be harder to deal. The lightning-quick point guard’s contract extension, agreed to last year, has not even begun kicking in yet. He’ll make $170 million from 2019 to 2023.
Small forward Kelly Oubre also may be in play, as would be Otto Porter, whose contract makes him difficult to move.