After an admirable start to the season, the Washington Wizards have been in free-fall for the past few weeks. Losers of five straight, the Wiz have fallen to 11h place in the East and have lost all of the chemistry and cohesion that helped them do so well early on.
After Saturday’s 30-point defeat against Memphis, signs of internal strife were revealed after Spencer Dinwiddie spoke on his role within the team and how his attempt to speak up and lead was shut down early on by his teammates.
“It’s an interesting situation. I spoke up a little bit early on [this season]. It wasn’t necessarily welcomed. And so, like I said, I try to do whatever’s asked of me. At the end of the day, everybody has a role to play. It’s about being accountable in your role and doing that to the best of your ability. That’s really all I’ve got.”
Spencer Dinwiddie on being a leader for the Wizards: "It's an interesting situation. I spoke up a little bit early on [this season]. It wasn't necessarily welcomed. And so, like I said, I try to do whatever's asked of me. At the end of the day, everybody has a role to play…"
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) January 30, 2022
Last week, 3x All-Star Bradley Beal felt compelled to call out his club after a particularly ugly loss against the Clippers, which saw them blow a 35-point lead.
In his statement, Beal exposed his teammates for essentially playing with selfish ambitions.
“A lot of my teammates are fighting for minutes. They’re fighting for a spot, they’re fighting for survival in a lot of ways, trying not to be traded, trying to stay in the league, trying to get another contract,” Beal said, via NBC Sports.
“So, I get it from the business standpoint and it’s tough to manage that from different roles because everybody has a different agenda in a way. Once we have a committed group to what’s important and winning, then I think that’s what’s going to change.”
Since trading John Wall, the Wizards have failed every attempt to find and develop a winning formula. The Russell Westbrook experiment ended in disaster and the team has collapsed this season after a promising start.
By all accounts, the Wizards need to do some self-evaluation and reinvent their culture from the inside out.
