John Wall knows what ails the Wizards, who bowed out after six games in the first round of the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors, and he’s putting the onus on Washington’s front-office to overhaul the roster this summer.
“It’s just figuring out what pieces we can add to our team. What guys can stay and what guys can go.”
As the #Wizards head to summer, John Wall has clear message: Change should happen.
*Story has longer quotes than normal, bc Wall had lots to say* https://t.co/w1NPoZc0Tr
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) April 29, 2018
Wall says that some of his teammates don’t understand or respect their roles.
The All-Star point guard adds that the Wizards desperately lack “athletic bigs” and bench scoring.
Per the WaPo:
“It’s just figuring out what pieces we can add to our team,” Wall said. “What guys can stay and what guys can go. That make us, that really want to be here. That really want to win and really want to take that next step.
“I don’t put the pressure on everybody else. I put the pressure on myself because I am that franchise guy. I am the guy that has to be the leader of the team, that has to get everybody better, make everybody better on my team,” Wall said. “At the same time, if I’m doing my part, the other 14 guys on my team have to do their part at getting better every year. Just being true to the team. Our problem at a lot times is guys don’t understand their role and respect their role.”
In an extended interview with the media, Wall shared plenty of thoughts on improving the Wizards, whose playoff seeding reflected the inconsistency they showed throughout the season. At times, Wall was candid in describing what the team should target in the off season.
“It’s pretty obvious. I don’t need to point it out. I think the way the league is going, you need athletic bigs, you need scoring off the bench, you need all of those types of things,” Wall said. “We don’t really have an athletic big.”
On other occasions, Wall was vague while calling out a problem that he diagnosed as a plague within the locker room: the presence of fair-weather Wizards.
“When things are going well, everybody’s happy, everybody wants to be here. But when things get rough, that’s when you really figure out who’s your brother, who’s really in the war with you, who’s really in the fight with you,” Wall said. “So, I think anybody can see from the outside or the inside looking in who really wanted to be here when things wasn’t going great for us, but when it’s all happy-go-jolly and we’re winning, it’s all fun and games.”
