The Washington Wizards will open training camp Tuesday in a much different state than in recent years.
Coach Scott Brooks and All-Star guard Bradley Beal will be there, along with a few other players that played for Washington last year, but that’s about all that remained the same. Ernie Grunfeld is no longer the general manager, John Wall won’t be playing anytime soon and few folks on the outside are pegging them for a playoff run.
Under the new organizational structure of “Monumental Basketball,” the Wizards are hitting reset.
“I like the expectations we have,” coach Scott Brooks said at preseason media day on Monday. “We want to play hard and play well for one another. We want to win games. We’re not going into the season knowing exactly what each player will be or become.”
That’s partly because 13 of the 20 players on the Wizards’ camp roster are new in town. Some came via trade, like former Grizzlies swingman CJ Miles and former Lakers Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones. The draft provided No. 9 overall pick Rui Hachimura and second-rounder Admiral Schofield, and the biggest-name player to sign this summer was point guard Isaiah Thomas.
But the Wizards were set back by a rash of pre-camp injuries to players like Miles and 2018 first-round pick Troy Brown Jr. Even Thomas will have his team debut delayed several weeks after needing surgery to repair a ligament in his thumb. All of that is on top of Wall, who might miss the entire season as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Brooks said the Wizards won’t rush Wall back to play and will use him like an assistant coach at practices, saying, “It’d be silly on myself and our staff’s part not to use his expertise and his experience on the coaching side.”
Wall is on board with the cautious approach to his recovery, saying he has returned from injuries early before only to make something worse.
“Whenever the doctors clear me and anything like that, it’s all up to John Wall,” Wall said. “’How’s your body feeling? Do you feel like you can go out there and play the game you love at the highest level?’ So I’m in no rush in my rehab process.”
Asked why owner Ted Leonsis had previously spoken about wanting to change the Wizards’ team culture, Wall said the roster in the past had a lot of players on one-year contracts, which feeds pressure to put up statistics.
“Everybody (was) trying to play at a high level and make sure they get theirs,” he said. “I think the front office is doing a great job just trying to have high-character guys, guys that want to play basketball the right way, great IQ. And also, what we said before, stuff that we go through as a team, you have to keep it as a group, as a family. Anything that gets outside kind of hurts your team and I think the last couple years that’s what we dealt with.”
The injuries being what they are, Brooks said three starting jobs for opening night are up for grabs: point guard and both forwards. Only Beal and center Thomas Bryant are sure to be part of that starting five.
Beal, meanwhile, has until Oct. 21 to accept a three-year, $111 million extension the Wizards offered him. He reiterated he hasn’t given it deep consideration yet, as his family was busy after welcoming their second son in late August.
“I’ve thought about it, but I had my boy, so my family is what’s most important for me,” Beal said. “I’m letting my agent and Ted and Tommy work through the details. I’m just taking my time.”
The Wizards’ first preseason game is Oct. 7 at home against the New York Knicks.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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