An early Tuesday rant from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith spilled the last bag of tea in a potful of turmoil surrounding the Washington Wizards. The radio personality said on his radio show (listen at the 1:39:20 mark) that an anonymous player on the Wizards thinks the team loves playing for head coach Scott Brooks, but the former just doesn't have what it takes to coach John Wall.
“We love Scott Brooks. Love playing for him. He just can't coach John,” said the source, according to Smith (h/t ohgosh_thejosh of r/NBA Reddit). “John just walks all over him and it frustrates everybody. The way he plays is impossible to play with. We have so many guns, not enough bullets.
“If John would just play off the ball and let others eat, we'd be fine. But that's a difficult thing for him to do, and sometimes it's difficult for us to watch.”
Wall and Brooks infamously got into a heated altercation, which Wall ended by lacing a “f*ck you” to his head coach to wrap up the argument, but later apologizing for the matter in private. The conduct was still punished by the organization by way of a fine, and recently Brooks admitted to saying some regrettable things during a fiery exchange.
The dime maestro has gotten his way this offseason, not only by getting Marcin Gortat out of town, but also getting the athletic big man who can finish at the rim in Dwight Howard, though that experiment has yet to reap any major fruits.
Wall has been viewed as a low-key volatile presence in the locker room. After a 5-11 start to the season, it has begun to show in full colors. Players are frustrated not so much at Brooks, but at the position they're put in when the team's star player has more say than the man with the clipboard.
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