Washington Wizards: John Wall and Bradley Beal Need to Coexist
By Kyle Andrews
Washington Wizards guards John Wall and Bradley Beal are talented players and good guys off of the court. However, they do not get along on the court and that needs to change for this team to win.
Bradley Beal is a very talented, but oft-injured shooting guard, who received a 5-year, $128 million max deal. John Wall is his co-runner in the backcourt and earned a contract prior to the 2014-15 NBA season. It was a 5-year, $84,789,500 contract. However, they haven’t really been the best of allies on the court.
“I think a lot of times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court. … We got to be able to put that to the side. If you miss somebody on one play or don’t have something go right … as long as you come to each other and talk. If I starting arguing with somebody I’m cool. I’m just playing basketball,” said Wall, in an interview with Comcast SportsNet’s Chris Miller.
It’s a far-cry from what they used to say. Remember a few years ago when Wall and Beal talked about being the “best backcourt in the league“? I do.
“We’re definitely the best backcourt in the league,” the third-year shooting guard said at the 2014-15 Washington Wizards media day. “We feel as though we’re the best backcourt in the league, and I’m pretty sure those guys think they’re the best backcourt in the league,” while talking about Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Maybe it’s the contracts. It could be the lack of leadership above them. Or could it be the fact that they want to both be the only stars of the team?
“Now that you have your money you got to go out there and improve your game. I want you to be an All-Star just as much as I’m an All-Star. If we were playing well as a tandem like the other two superstars that play together as a backcourt, play as a tandem, one night it’s going to be his night, one night it’s going to be mine, some nights it might be both of us. Those are nights it’s going to be tough to beat us.”
The two need to work together to maximize their talent. Beal averages 17.4 points per game and Wall averages 19.9 points per game. These guys can be perennial All-Stars… well Wall already is one. This also seems to be a common trend of placing two players together on the same court that want to dominate the ball.
“It’s tough because we’re both alphas. It’s always tough when you have two guys who firmly believe in themselves, who will bet on themselves against anybody else, who want to be that guy. We both can be that guy,” Beal said.
“Sometimes I think we both lose sight of the fact that we need each other. I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in without John. John wouldn’t be in the situation he’s in without me, without the rest of the team. It goes hand-in-hand so it’s kind of a pride thing. We got to (hash) out our pride, fiigure out what our goals are individually, help each other achieve those goals, figure out what our team goal is, where do we see ourselves five years from now, 10 years from now and go from there.”
The biggest key is leadership. They need to become better leaders on the floor. Wall seems to be the person that wants to be the big dog and rightfully so. He’s played many more games during his career than Beal. Beal needs to stay healthy if he wants to be the big dog.
“I want it all to be on me. At the same time I want him to be right there with me. He’s my sidekick. I’m A. He’s A-1. He’s right there,” Wall said. “That’s something we got to do on the first day of training camp. We have to go in there and understand and get on the same page.
“If we’re not on the same page and we have our ups and downs we’ll keep dealing with the same problems. We have to get control of it. I think it’s hanging out off the court, doing those little things (helps).”
Wall also played with guys at the University of Kentucky, who ended up being big time players. Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins could ball. They still can to this day and Wall cited his time at UK as a blueprint of what he wants for his relationship with Beal.
“It kind of goes back to when I was in college,” Wall said. “Me and DeMarcus, E-Bled, they all knew I was getting all the media attention but every time I win I brought those guys along with me. I didn’t leave them behind. That’s because we hung out so much. We built a bond together. When you build that bond it’s kind of hard to break.”
Next: Wizards A Playoff Caliber Team?
A 41-41 record just will not cut it. They need to kick down doors this season, giving up is absolutely not an option. These guys just have to get it together if they want to raise their team up in the East and they definitely have done it before. Health is a key, but as it was seen with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook before them, they could become one of the better duos not to accomplish anything of significance.