Despite getting off to a good start, the Washington Wizards‘ season has been going downhill in recent months. In this wave of poor results appeared rumors that pointed to a harmful locker room environment. Crystallizing in moments like the fight between Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Everything seemed about to explode and Bradley Beal’s injury for the rest of the season has given the franchise an excuse to change course for the third time in the last two years. Taking advantage of the more than 2000 kilometers that separate Washington from Dallas, Davis Bertans has brought to light some problems that permeated every pore of the team. “It’s hard to build chemistry when people fight every day to get more minutes.”
Ambition is a basic engine in the performance of an NBA player. It does not have to be a negative thing to try to play more minutes or receive a more important role in a team. Problems appear when these pretensions are translated into forging resentment towards the rest of the members of the locker room. “It was probably our biggest problem during the season. At first it wasn’t a problem because everyone was trying to see how they fit into a new project. But once things started to go downhill, it’s very difficult to turn a situation like that.” declared the Austrian in his first press conference with the Mavericks.
(Cover photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
