- The Washington Times - Thursday, January 31, 2019

To hear team owner Ted Leonsis tell it, the Washington Wizards have no interest in trading any of their best players this year.

In an interview with WTOP Thursday, the Monumental Sports and Entertainment CEO said John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. would not be traded and doubled down on his comments against “tanking” in the NBA.

“We’re not trading any of those guys,” Leonsis said of his three highest-paid players.

This season’s trade deadline is Feb. 7.

Leonsis told WTOP he was recently asked whether he would give up on the current NBA season and direct the Wizards to start rebuilding for next year.

“I was asked point-blank, ’Are you going to tank?’” he said. “That’s an offensive question. You can’t go to your organization, to your players, to your coach and say, ’Let’s plan to lose.’”

The Wizards are 22-29, tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference with 31 games to play. Wall is out for the year after undergoing surgery on his heel, but the Wizards are playing better as of late and find themselves in playoff contention in a weak conference.

On another topic, Leonsis said the Capitals have been in contact with the White House about arranging a date to visit in celebration of their Stanley Cup victory. More than seven months have passed since the team won the first Cup in franchise history.

“This will be a team decision — I’ve said that from Day 1,” the owner said. “I think we’ll have an answer to that soon.”

• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.

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