The Washington Wizards have had an amazing start to the season, and they have an 11-5 record. The Russell Westbrook trade that the franchise has executed during the summer has paid dividends thus far.
The Wizards got back some solid players for Westbrook, and that has massively improved their depth. As Kyle Kuzma aptly put it, any time you get five good players for one, you do the trade 10 out of 10 times. While Westbrook is certainly a fantastic player, the Wizards have benefited from the increase in talent across all positions on the roster, rather than just having two stars.
Big man Montrezl Harrell has recently revealed the team’s mentality after their hot start. The Wizards don’t necessarily have a true secondary star behind Bradley Beal, but he is surrounded by some talented players who play well as a unit and have something to prove. Harrell claimed everyone on the Wizards is “looked at as an underdog” and that they have a “team full of dogs”.
The #Wizards are off to their best start in 47 years with an 11-5 record.@WashWizards Forward Montrezl Harrell (@MONSTATREZZ) tells @BCusterTV & @Mitch_Lawrence what the team’s mindset has been during this great start #DCAboveAll pic.twitter.com/kP6aTQdNWd
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) November 22, 2021
We try not to get too high, we try not to get too low man. We try to just continue stacking good days man. You said it man: we got a team full of dogs… This is what we are… Everybody’s situation is different. For sure. But you used the correct term: everybody here is looked at as an underdog. As far as Spencer when you said, the situation with Brooklyn. You can say me, Kuz, KCP. You can say Brad, just over his year in Washington… basically overlooked. We understand that. But at the same time we know who we are…that’s just how we looked at it man.
It is clear that this way of thinking about themselves has done wonders for the Wizards. Sometimes players thrive in expanded roles after being counted out, and that is what we’re seeing with some on the Wizards’ roster, such as Harrell himself and his teammate Kyle Kuzma.
Hopefully, we continue to see the Washington Wizards play at a high level. It is good to see the franchise become more competitive than in past years. Bradley Beal came close to winning the scoring title, and now he has a lot of great veterans around him. That is a recipe for success, and the Wizards will be a dangerous matchup for the other teams in the Eastern Conference.
