The Washington Wizards’ John Wall met with Marcin Gortat to “clear the air” last week after Gortat’s tweet — Great “team” victory.
The Washington Wizards currently hold the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. It’s not where they expected to be before the start of the season. But it’s a comfortable spot considering all the injuries they have seen, in addition to losing games they should’ve won.
Not to mention that they’re currently without John Wall who’s recovering from knee surgery.
However, things aren’t sitting so comfortably inside the Wizards’ locker room. Although no one really knows what goes on behind those closed doors. Yet, once in a while, unfortunately, things spill out.
While Wall has been out, the twittersphere erupted with outlandish comments such as “the Wizards are better without” their All-Star point guard. Common sense would dictate that no one could possibly take those comments seriously.
But when the tweet comes from a Wizards player themselves, then we have emerged into a whole new stratosphere.
https://twitter.com/MGortat/status/959286793123250177
To be honest after I saw the uproar over Marcin Gortat‘s tweet, and having watched the Raptors’ game where the Wizards pulled a win from the jaws of defeat, I simply thought the Polish Machine was echoing Coach Brooks sentiments.
Brooks would normally say after a loss that they didn’t play like a team, and when they won they did. However, those postgame comments usually came after losing to sub.-500 teams.
It never crossed my mind that Gortat could fix his mouth to take a dig at the one player who has made his life so easy on the court. Not only that, but to take a dig at a player who was down with injury.
Secondly, I thought Gortat had learned his lesson from last season, when he called the Wizards’ bench ‘the worst in the NBA’.
I gave Gortat the benefit of the doubt, when there was too much doubt. It appears that the tweet was not so much congratulating the team—but in Wall’s parlance—“talking slick” about the point guard.
Wall who has probably the best hand-eye coordination in the league and the fastest reflexes, contacted Gortat immediately after the tweet was sent out, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.
"“Soon after that, Wall sources say, reached out to Gortat via text message and essentially stated that if there’s a problem, direct it to him instead of using social media to spew backhanded insults, sources with knowledge of the conversation told ESPN.”"
The two teammates met last week to “clear the air“. But Haynes reported that “there is still more work to be done to fully repair that relationship”.
It still doesn’t make sense that Gortat would bite the hand that feeds you. Nonetheless, he’s not a really a machine but human like everyone else that made a mistake. Hopefully, he apologized and the team moves on.
There are those on the outside who want the Wizards to fail and specifically Wall. Even some in the media (they know who they are).
This is the time to come together, now more than ever. Not a time to divide so Washington gets conquered.
Every other team in the East is winning when a Wizards player sows seeds of discontent.
Haynes also reported, that the Wizards may institute a social media policy that comes with financial penalties.
"The organization may look into enforcing a policy that enables the team to fine players for tweets that could be perceived as being detrimental to the team, sources say."
The Wizards aren’t the Cleveland Cavaliers, they don’t have the luxury of trading away players. This is the team they have. This is the team that battled to Game 7 of the Boston Series. And will be ready to do battle again. .
So this “tweet” will not derail the Wizards from their goal.
Wall being the leader, said what had to be said to keep this team together.