The Wizards had a longer-than-usual meeting prior to shootaround this morning ahead of tonight’s game against Charlotte, the first official team function under Randy Wittman since he was named as the successor to fired coach Flip Saunders.
Wittman told the team he wanted to wipe the slate clean, that they couldn’t be focused on their current record of 2-15, instead on what they can do going forward. But a sense of regret and shame continues to hang over this team.
“It’s tough,” Wittman said. “I don’t like being here today. I’m not real happy about this. But I am here today because I believe these guys are better than what they are. I really do believe that they are. I’ve got to get them to believe that.”
Wizards point guard John Wall put the blame on the players for the downfall of his first NBA coach.
“It was probably shock,” Wall said was his first reaction to learning Saunders had been let go. “… It was tough to see him go. I just wish we would’ve played harder, did the right things, and it would be easier for him to stay here, but you gotta make the right decisions to move on.”
Wall disputed any notion of friction between himself and Saunders, who said he talked to on Tuesday, the day after a 103-83 loss at Philadelphia signaled the end of Saunders’ tenure.
“Me and Flip had no problems,” Wall said. “He just wanted me to play basketball, but there was just times when I would get frustrated with myself for not playing good, doing things like that, and he was just somebody that would always send me a text message or talk to me every day and just say, ‘Keep on working and keep believing in yourself and things will get better.’ I talked to him yesterday and told him the same thing, and he just said keep working hard and I told him that I was sorry that happened to him.”
Roger Mason Jr. said that even though Wittman was a member of Saunders’ staff, having him in charge of the team will be different and is a chance to start over.
“It happens in sports,” Mason said. “This is what happens. You got a guy who’s playing ball, and he’s the point guard of a team, and he’s leading your team one way, and the job doesn’t get done the right way, and they bring on someone else. It’s no different with the coach. We have a different voice now, and we all like Coach Randy. He’s going to hold every accountable, and I think with a young team it’s really what we need.”
On his blog, team owner Ted Leonsis did a better job of explaining what was expected of the Wizards than why the team replaced Saunders, even if he did make it clear that someone is getting bought out at the end of the season (Rashard Lewis?).
Wittman was unsure about any lineup and rotation adjustments, saying the lesson he took from doing this before was too simplify things for the players, not complicate them with new ideas. Accountability remains the key priority.
“If they want to play, they are going to have to be accountable,” he said. “I think every player wants to play. If they don’t, we’ve got to find a way to get them out of here. That’s pretty easy, to be honest with you. Doing your job and doing it the way it needs to be done, you’ll play. If not, I’ll find somebody else to play.”
The Wizards’ in-house camera crew then tried to get Wittman to talk about facing the Bobcats.
“No,” Wittman said. “It’s about us.”
