When Marcin Gortat was sent to the L.A. Clippers via trade recently, rumors quickly rose about his relationship with the rest of the Washington Wizards. It was recently revealed that much of it has to do with John Wall.
Basketball pundit Stephen A. Smith said that Gortat had an issue with Wall's defense — a byproduct of Scott Brook's system. Smith said, via ESPN:
Scott Brooks constantly allowing folks to switch all the time instead of manning up and forcing them to guard folks, because Scott Brooks is known for not liking confrontation, basically took heat off individual players by allowing switches to take place every second. As a result, because John Wall wasn’t considered somebody too eager to guard anybody, Gortat found himself in the precarious situations of having to guard guards – quicker, smaller players.
Smith said that Gortat voiced out his concerns in one of the team meetings. It was a form of honest criticism, but Wall took it personally. Instead of hearing him out, Wall ignored Gortat's concern and might have said a word or two. It was the main trigger which pushed Gortat to leave Washington:
He’s older, clearly devoid of the lateral movement that will enable him to guard guys, was lamenting the fact that he was put in bad situations by John Wall’s lack of defense, said so in a team meeting. John Wall turned around and M.F.ed him to death. From that moment forward, Gortat wanted out of Washington.
Last season, Marcin Gortat and John Wall had a few exchanges of statements when the latter was nursing an injury and the Wizards were rolling. They have since made up, but this recent report explains a lot on what really transpired between the two.
Follow Us
Subscribe