Davis Bertans, who was traded to the Mavericks this week along with Spencer Dinwiddie, offered some insight into the dysfunctional situation he left behind with the Wizards, writes Jack Maloney of CBS Sports. During his introductory news conference Saturday in Dallas, Bertans described an atmosphere where each player seemed to have his own agenda.
“It’s tough to have team chemistry when every single day, the team is basically fighting with each other about ‘I want to get more minutes’ and ‘I want a bigger role.'” Bertans said. “That was probably the biggest part of struggles for most guys during the season. That kinda early on doesn’t show up because everybody’s trying to figure out what’s going on. Once it starts going downhill, it’s really hard to turn around and start going up again.”
Bertans’ comments seem to confirm a recent statement from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that “egos and agendas” sank the Wizards’ season after a 10-3 start. Last weekend, Montrezl Harrell, who has since been traded to Charlotte, lamented the mood in the locker room, and he and Caldwell-Pope reportedly got into a physical altercation during halftime of a game this season.
There’s more from Washington, D.C.:
- When Thomas Bryant and Rui Hachimura returned from injuries, it created a logjam of minutes that made it impossible to keep everyone happy, notes Andrew Gillis of NBC Sports Washington. General manager Tommy Sheppard admits that factored into his decisions this week, but he believes a COVID-19 outbreak contributed to the team’s decline as well. “I do know we were 15-11 and COVID hit this team, and we really have been struggling ever since then to get our legs back under us,” Sheppard said. “Just when we thought it was behind us, then [center Daniel Gafford] gets hit the other day. That’s not an excuse, but those are facts. We’ve missed a lot of players during that time.”
- Kristaps Porzingis, who missed Saturday’s game with a bone bruise in his right knee, hopes his long battle with injuries will end now that he’s with the Wizards, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “One is staying on the floor consistently. Now that I’m healthy and I’m moving well, that’s the thing I have to prove,” Porzingis said in his first session with the D.C. media. “I truly believe that my luck hasn’t been the best luck in terms of injuries. A lot of them, if not all of them have been contact injuries. Those you can’t really avoid, 100 percent. I do my part with being in the weight room, making sure my body is right to stay healthy. But you have to have a little bit of luck.”
- The 2022 second-round pick that the Wizards received from Dallas in the Porzingis trade is top-45 protected, according to Real GM. Washington won’t receive the pick if it doesn’t convey this year.
With so many tens & sometimes hundreds of millions of $ at stake when it comes to pt & level of role in the rotation between these singular minded, alpha type guys it’s always been amazing to me that situations like DC’s don’t explode & become public way more often
I agree there. It’s why I always say. Better know who you give max money to. And you have to know who your leaders are. Or they will lead you in wrong direction.
I think Dallas is a good bet to make the playoffs so that pick should convey.
Rui & KCP for Markelle & Okeke… Cole Anthony & Jalen Suggs are the future of the Magic backcourt. Orlando could definitely use KCP tho, he’d slide neatly into their starting 2guard spot & would definitely upgrade their perimeter defense while bringing loads of playoff/big game experience to a team that lacks it. Adding Rui to their group of forwards would be a great look as well. Rui is a better, younger version of Bobby Portis & would give Orlando a strong option behind Isaac & Franz… On DC’s side they have a pretty glaring hole at pg while simultaneously being so deep with forwards/bigs that it literally tore the team apart. Trading Rui & KCP gives Kuz, Deni, Kispert as well as KP a better sense of having a defined role & also provides them with their starting pg. Markelle would be really good for the Wizards on both sides of the court. He’d also be great for the fan base which has been suffering pretty mightily since the Wall era
Thank God they brought in Kristaps Porzingas to lighten the mood and get everyone playing team-first basketball.
It’s on Wes Jr to get guys playing the right way. They all naturally have their own agendas but head coach’s main job is to get everyone focused on winning. From what very little I know about the situation I blame Sheppard & Wes Jr as far as any blame needs to be placed. KP is gonna be good there as long as he can stay reasonably healthy but if they wanna fully unlock him they’ll invest in a good pg
Best of luck to the Wizards, aren’t to many PGs out there better than Luka.
KP would benefit much more from being with a guy like Tyus Jones/Lonzo Ball/Chris Paul/Ben Simmons who looks to set up their teammates before scoring. Luka is obv a great passer but he’s also the most ball dominant guy in the game which stifles a guy like KP. Imagine KP playing with JKidd, that would be the perfect situation for him. Kidd was incredible for bigs & big wings throughout his career (Mashburn, CRobinson, K-Mart, Dirk, etc). KP could be a 25+ ppg guy if he has a good pg that prioritizes feeding him in his favorite spots
Ish Smith’s big chance. He follow his plans with his quicks, experience and stubbornness, and could ride Zinger’s coattails to relevance.
Which is the main reason he never got along in Dallas. He will add to the issue, but help it. Good thing his injury issues won’t follow him go DC
They seriously didn’t do anything to alleviate the logjam. KP is just hurt. It’s still gafford, Bryant, KP, rui, kuzma. Let’s not forget Vernon Carey.
And everyone says Bradley Beal wants to re-sign here and be part of this mess? I have to question that as a given.
Or perhaps, who knows, maybe he’s part of the, “I need my numbers” group?
this is washington dc after all. product of their environment.
Can’t blame it on covid. Almost every team in the league has been hit hard by safety protocols.
KP needs 35 LBs of girth. It’s always been his issue. He’s a stick and will always be hurt.
That should help, 35 more pounds to heft. The roster does not have room for him to play center, maybe another trade is due. But if Zinger does not ask for it, he probably won’t be forced.
Yes, putting more weight on will help his joints from shattering…lol