Wall believes it's time for Wizards to move on from a roster that is 'not working'
The Washington Wizards, as every season goes, tried and failed in their bid for an NBA championship.
Despite having an All-Star caliber backcourt, the Wizards were eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in Round 1, and have yet to surpass the Eastern Conference Semifinals during John Wall and Bradley Beal's tenure. While the team's strength remains its starting lineup, Wall believes there's more work to be done to improve key rotational pieces.
"It's a lot," Wall said, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "I feel like it's a lot we can use. I don't really have to say (which) certain positions. People who have been around our team understand what we can use to help our team. And it is not throwing shade to anybody on our team because everybody that is on the roster gave everything they had to make it work and fit with the team.
"But at the same time, sometimes when it is not working, you try, you try, you try, and it keeps failing over and over, you have to make certain adjustments and changes."
After forcing a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Wizards entered the season with high expectations. Washington went into the All-Star break nine games above .500 and slotted fourth in the conference.
However, injury troubles hit them hard as Wall required knee surgery that held him out of 41 games. And it wasn't just injuries that made the season difficult, as a team meeting "set us back a little bit," Wall told The Washington Post's Candace Buckner in January.
The Wizards went on to lose 15 of their final 25 games, dropping to the eighth seed in the East.
"I just think you can kind of tell when guys, when things are going well, everybody is happy, everybody wants to be here," Wall said, according Youngmisuk. "But when things get rough, that is when you really figure out who is your brother, who is really in the war with you, who is really in the fight with you. I think anybody can see from the outside - or the inside looking in - who really wanted to be here when things weren't going great for us, but when it is all happy go jolly, and we are winning, it is all fun and games."
Wall finished the year averaging 19.4 points and 9.6 assists. In six games against the Raptors, Wall averaged 26 points and 11.5 assists.