The Wizards’ season ended on Sunday night with an identical 35-47 record as last year, and in his final press conference of the season, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said that “sometimes, everything is about results and we lose sight of the process, and some of the failures are the best part of success.”
You know who’s not feeling that statement? The Junkies, who discussed the end-of-season statement on Monday and agreed that things aren't great for The Wiz no matter how you slice it.
“He says the right things, and is trying to be positive, but he knows it’s a complete disaster,” Bish said after the guys played that clip. “The fact this team couldn’t get to 40 wins, which is what they needed for the Play-In Tournament…Beal, Porzingis, and Kuzma made $90 million and didn’t play the last 10 games or so?”
“Sounds like tanking, like they weren’t even interested and they gave up,” EB shot back.
Bish wondered how a team could start tanking with close to a month left in the season, and the “anti-tanking” EB laid it out.
“They did the evaluation that even if we get there we’re going to get smoked, so it’s a road to nowhere,” EB said. “They had hoped to het the fifth or sixth seed, but since they were going to be tenth at best, let’s just play Johnny Davis and try to get a higher draft pick.”
Related
That, EB said, is why they announced so early that Wes Unseld Jr. was returning – but they “waited too long to tank, not thinking it was a tank year.”
JP agrees somewhat, but maybe not when it comes to the coaching announcement.
“I’m not sure on the Wes thing; we do know Ted Leonsis is loyal, but why Wed Unseld Jr. is being brought back is he may be selling a bill of goods that they haven’t given that trio enough games together to judge them,” JP shot back. “I don’t buy into that; you saw them part of last season, and when they were together, it wasn’t spectacularly great – and they finished with the exact same record.”
And that, JP says, is a problem.
“I get frustrated hearing them say it’s a process – how long is it process and not results?” JP asked. “It’s about results, and you have to win! They decided to go with Porzingis, Beal, and Kuzma, and didn’t make a deal at the deadline, so why would I have any hope that these three can get it together? You can talk about the positives, but how is that going to translate to a better team if you bring them all back?”
“They thought this was a competitive team that would get the fifth or sixth seed,” EB replied, “and it wasn’t, so they called an audible.
Maybe they think they have a shot at Wembanyama or someone in the Top 3, so who knows.”
They better, it seems, because otherwise, JP isn’t feeling a sudden rebound in 2023-24.
“They miscalculated, thinking bringing in Monte Morris and the other guys to complement what they had, would get it done,” JP said. “But it’s not going to happen with that trio…they’re not good enough!”
Follow The Sports Junkies on Twitter: @moneymetalcakes, @ebjunkies, @lurchbish, @glassjoejp, @drabtshirt, & @JunksRadio
Keep up with 106.7 The Fan via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Keep up with 980 The Team via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram