Washington Wizards: In Need of a Change of Culture

The Washington Wizards have some good nights and some very bad nights. Last night was one of those bad nights that just baffle fans.

Washington lost to the Sacramento Kings 120-111, and it just seemed to indicate a lack of hustle. Are the Wizards in need of a change in culture?

After watching them play last night, many would say yes. Although the score was close, it was a dismal performance. The Wizards committed 20 turnovers during the Wednesday night matchup. They also dropped to 1-7 when they allow at least 120 points in this season.

Washington is currently fighting for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, but with a 36-39 record, their chances are looking ever more bleak. They are currently 3.5 games out of the final seed, trailing the Indiana Pacers (39-35) and the Chicago Bulls (37-37). Washington looked to be playing without the intensity that it desperately needed to clinch a playoff spot. This fact drew the ire of Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal.

“To me, it felt like we gave up,” said a frustrated Beal, who was the Wizards scoring leader with 24 points, going 10-for-21 on shots. “I guess we kind of figured we’re already in the playoffs some reason. It’s either that or we want to get to the offseason. But as far as why, I have no idea. If guys don’t want to play, they need to sit down.”

Mar 30, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) is fouled by Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo (9) during the second quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

The Wizards just seemed to not have it all together, especially on defense. According to head coach Randy Wittman, it was due to a lack of discipline and Beal agreed with that assessment.

“We bark too much,” Beal said. “We say what we need to do. We scream at one another. We can even try to blame Witt if we want to, but at the end of the day we’re still the ones playing and we still beat ourselves. We do dumb stuff on the floor. Just not having a man in transition or not knowing where a guy is in half court or not knowing personnel. We just do dumb mental lapses that just messes up your game and ends up hurting us in the long run.”

Beal would continue: “I guess [it’s] mentality. Everybody’s a grown-a– man. Either you want to play or you don’t. It’s plain and simple. Either you want to win or you don’t. If you don’t want to win then you need to sit down.”

Wizards backup center/power forward Nene poured in 15 points, but he also didn’t let up on the Wizards’ lack of urgency and preparation.

“You got to prepare yourself,” Nene said. “You can’t go to battle without knowing how the enemy is going to play. And you got to take it more seriously. You got to take it seriously. If you don’t play hard, they’re going to play hard and they’re going to embarrass you. That’s what’s been happening to us.”

Beal does bring up a good point about players needing to be accountable for themselves and Nene about the lack of preparation. However, the Wizards only have a few players who seem to hold themselves and the team accountable and they definitely do their parts. John Wall, Beal and Nene have been great leaders for this team, but it seems that they are in need of another leader, maybe a new coach and general manager, to right this ship.

Wittman currently has a .468 winning percentage with the Wizards. For a team that has the talent to make perennial playoff appearances, that just isn’t good enough. Wittman has made changes to the team that have just made many want to scratch their heads. The biggest change is the Wizards’ small ball lineup, which has been a failure.

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Washington ranks dead last in the rebounding department, averaging 41.3 a game. This is a far cry from last year’s stats where the Wizards ranked sixth and averaged 44.7 rebounds a game. The Wizards also have opted for less agile defenders who can shoot the three at a higher rate. This has obliterated any resemblance of a defense that the Wizards had last season.

Last year, Washington allowed 97.8 points per game and it ranked ninth in the NBA. This year the Wizards rank 21st in defense, giving up 104.5 points-per.

As for personnel decisions, bad ones are long for Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld. How he still is part of the Wizards’ organization after having such a poor tenure, is beyond the thoughts of many, especially Bullets Forever’s Ben Becker:

"The four longest tenured GM’s in the NBA are Pat Riley, R.C Buford, Danny Ainge, and Grunfeld. Riley’s Heat have won three titles with two other Finals appearances. Since Buford took the helm in San Antonio, the Spurs have won four titles and appeared in another Finals series. Ainge’s Celtics have made the Finals twice, winning once. In stark contrast, Grunfeld’s Wizards have won just three playoff series since he took control of the team in June of 2003.During Grunfeld’s tenure in DC, there have been 103 50-win seasons by NBA teams (including a few 50-win pace teams during the lockout-shortened 2011-2012 season). The Wizards have zero of those seasons. Grunfeld’s Wizards are one of just six franchises without a 50 win season during his tenure. That list will shrink to five this year barring an implosion by the Raptors. The others? Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Charlotte. Misery loves company.During the Grunfeld era, the Wizards have a won less than 42 percent of their games, 25th best in the NBA — ahead of just New York, Sacramento, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Minnesota."

To me, the stats don’t lie and it’s mind boggling that Grunfeld continues to make poor personnel decisions. Things like (but not limited to) giving Gilbert Arenas a $100 million contract after having knee surgery a couple of times, trading a first round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Randy Foye and Mike Miller, drafting Jan Vesely, Oleksiy Pecherov and the very talented, but also very immature Nick Young and JaVale McGee.

If the Wizards want consistency and discipline, they need to make a change at the head coaching and general manager positions respectively. How can a team respect a coach and GM who will reward mediocrity? This offseason the Wizards need to pull the trigger and make a few big splashes if they want a real culture change in the District.

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