The Washington Wizards rebuild is fully underway and with the season looming, media days have finally arrived.
General manager Will Dawkins' addressed the media on Wednesday morning and while answering questions about the roster and the future of the team, the team's shot-caller made it clear that this season would bring a shift.
"Last year a lot was given and not earned and this year that won't be the case," Dawkins said. "iron sharpens iron."
With an abundance of new talent on the roster, the way the Brian Keefe's rotation would play out certainly raised plenty of questions entering the season.
Obviously, incoming rookie Tre Johnson has plenty of fans and expectations to live up to and after drafting the explosive guard No. 6 overall, all eyes are on him to get plenty of run early.
Not to mention, the addition of former first-round pick Cam Whitmore has a lot of attention considering the scarcity of minutes in the frontcourt.
However, Dawkins comments made it clear that familiarity in the system won't be what decides who plays this season.
Every player will have the chance to enter training camp and prove that they deserve the spot they're given.
It doesn't matter if a player has been here for three years or three months, whoever shows out through preseason play will likely draw the nod when the regular season comes.
And for a young team in the midst of a rebuild, that seems to be the best way to settle things.
As Dawkins said, iron sharpens iron and if the Wizards hand out roles to players that aren't deserving of it, the chance of them putting mediocre play out on the court only increases.
Instead, setting the standard that nothing is given, only earned, will put the chip on not just the newcomers' shoulders, but also the players who have already been on the roster.
Nothing is worse than complacency and if a young player feels like his spot can't be taken solely because he was there first, that's when things go downhill.
Putting it in the back of every players' mind that if they don't perform at a high level and they're not reaching the set standard that they could be replaced is what helps establish legitimate playmakers.
The top players understand they're paid to play at a high-level and the end of the day, this is a job.
If Washington ever hopes to take the next step, they need to build a roster full of players who understand the standard.