Washington Wizards: Rift forming between Thomas Bryant and Brooks

The Washington Wizards’ playoff hopes are dwindling and tensions are rising. The latest feud pits Scott Brooks against Thomas Bryant.

Is there a rift forming between Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks and starting 22-year-old center Thomas Bryant? Fans sure hope not, because we need both those guys on their best game, and best behavior.

But after a bad loss to the Sacramento Kings late Tuesday, Scott Brooks had a message for Thomas Bryant about his lackluster effort:

TB’s confusion prompted some clarification from Brooks that seemed… less than kind:

Ouch. But you can’t really tell me that Scott Brooks is completely off base here. Thomas Bryant is making a little over $8 million a year and he’s not making it because he’s some kind of offensive dynamo, or defensively adept for that matter.

No, we pay TB to be the heart and soul of the team, and to bring his boundless energy to the floor each and every night to set the pace for this Washington Wizards squad. When we slipped behind the Kings by 27 points, someone had to eat the sharp side of the axe and coach Brooks chose Bryant.

In the grand scheme of things, this is probably more a blip than anything. Perhaps it inspires TB to begin playing high octane basketball again, or perhaps it signifies a greater change down the road.

The odds are much higher that the Washington Wizards organization will side with TB on this one as he’s locked in for several years and is a young talent any fan or basketball expert would be crazy to just let go.

So it might portend a coaching change in our not-too-distant future, or it could mean we see more Moritz Wagner in the short run until Bryant figures it out. Either way, it doesn’t bode well for our diminishing playoff chances.