The Washington Wizards did their best Tuesday to downplay the drama of last week’s explosive practice — the one that resulted in star guard John Wall being fined for telling coach Scott Brooks “[expletive] you” and guard Bradley Beal taking a shot at management.
Wall, Beal and Brooks all reiterated that verbal confrontations happen regularly in the NBA. Brooks described the incident as “spirited,” while all three said the team had moved on.
At the team’s morning shootaround at Capital One Arena, though, Beal seemed to choose his words carefully after he was asked about the Washington Wizards’ culture, considered toxic by many of the team’s critics around the league.
Beal hesitated a moment and said the Wizards are what “we created it to be.
“He tore the team apart and created a new team, starting with John as the foundation and created it into what we are now,” Beal said of general manager Ernie Grunfeld, though Beal didn’t mention the Wizards’ oft-criticized executive by name. “We’re a team that’s a playoff team. You know but we’ve struggled. We’ve had our fair share of struggles. I wouldn’t say we’re a team that’s not in unison.”
“I wouldn’t say that we’re a team that hates each other. I say it every game, we’re in the locker room and there’s positive energy. It’s not like I hate the next man and the next man hates that man. It’s none of that. It’s just figuring it out on the floor. We just can’t seem to put it together right now.”
During the practice, Beal reportedly told Grunfeld he was sick of “this” and added he’s been dealing it for seven years.
The Wizards drafted Beal with the third overall pick in 2012 to be a foundational piece alongside Wall, though a report emerged Monday that the Wizards are finally willing to listen to trade offers for the two stars. Wall and Beal have had success — reaching the playoffs four times — but are off a 5-11 start in what’s been a hectic season.
Addressing the trade rumors, Wall said he wants to stay with the Wizards.
“I love being a Wizard,” Wall said. “I’ve been here for nine years. It’s where I want to finish my career.”
Wall dismissed the idea that the heated practice led to the team’s two straight losses. Similarly, he didn’t know why the outburst happened while the Wizards were riding a three-game winning streak.
Brooks said Wall apologized after the incident — and the coach also took some of the blame. Brooks addressed the media after Washington’s shootaround, something he typically doesn’t do on game days.
“Not minimizing it but as a team, you got to accept what was said and … I’m not proud of what I said,” Brooks said. “And John and our players are the same way. They’re not proud of that moment but we move on. You move on as a family.”
Brooks also acknowledged the obvious: The Wizards are frustrated.
“We haven’t had the season that — we would’ve liked to have a better start,” he said. “I haven’t done my job as well as I know I need to do. As a team, we haven’t played as well as we would like to do. … Our players are gonna continue to work through it and try to make this a season that we will be proud to remember.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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