Washington Wizards team president and general manager Tommy Sheppard knows how to tell a story. The former media relations staffer conducted his end-of-season media availability where he painted the picture of a competitive team that could contend in the Eastern Conference next season. Of course, that came after welcoming the Washington Mystics newest draft picks Shakira Austin and Christyn Williams to set the mood over Zoom. You can watch Sheppard and head coach Wes Unseld Jr.’s full end-of-season availability here with the highlights below.
Finishing the season 35-47 after a franchise-best 10-3 start is obviously disappointing, but Sheppard put a good spin on that, which is somewhat reasonable.
“I really appreciate the season that just happened, to go through the fires and some of the things that we had to go through to come out on the other side with the amount of optimism we have for the future I think was very worthy of going through it.”
Despite the fan base’s impatience with first-year head coach Wes Unseld Jr., Sheppard is looking forward to his hand-picked hire improving off of his rookie season experiences. Sheppard believes Unseld performed well through the difficult set of circumstances he was put through that may only be partially understood outside of the organization. Sheppard perceives that adversity will benefit the team chemistry of the returning core as well.
“The one thing that I cannot say enough is the job that Wes [Unseld Jr.] and his staff did in their first year.”
“I think those guys genuinely pull for each other. When you go through adversity, you come out on the other side, you got a chance to get even tighter and I think that can only help us in the future.”
The Wizards clearly have a hole at the starting point guard position and Sheppard shed light on what he will be looking for this offseason. His response begs the question of why sign-and-trade for Spencer Dinwiddie in the first place when he does not fit the traditional point guard role, but “life happens and you pivot” was his response without needing to acknowledge that the franchise player vouched for a fit that did not sustain.
“I think they may even try to change the position, called points guard. A lot of guards now are just looking to score first. I’m traditional, I like point guards that really set the offense, really try to get everybody involved and move the ball because you see the results. … I think we need somebody who’s going to be a pass-first point guard. I think we need to see somebody that’ll be able to contain the dribble on the defensive end and help us keep people out of the paint. Those are probably some of the prerequisites we’re going to be looking for. You have the draft, you have free agency, you have trades, you can claim people off waivers. There’s certain ways you can build your roster, we’re going to exhaust every avenue to help ourselves with that position.\”
With limited salary cap space, the Wizards probably will not be making major headlines at the start of free agency moratorium besides what the organization believes is a forthcoming Bradley Beal re-signing. That will mean Sheppard and company take another patient approach to the offseason.
“Just to be patient [when asked about the offseason’s biggest challange]. There’s going to be a buyer frenzy once you get towards the draft there’s a lot of teams, because there’s so little money this summer in the marketplace for free agents, there’s going to be a lot of teams that want to shuffle. … Being patient to get the best possible deal. That’s not a challenge like I’m worried about, those are some things we embrace.”
Many within the fan base are skeptical of offering Beal a $246 million supermax contract over five years that will take him through his age 33 season. Unprovoked Sheppard continues to endorse why the three-time All-Star is worth building around.
“He’s a special player, one of the best in his position in the NBA.”
“[Gregg Popovich at Team USA camp last summer] just couldn’t rave enough about the leader Bradley was, how selfless he was and all the things that he was about and how important he was going to be to that team.”
“Sat with [Beal] yesterday exit interview wise, he’s really excited about the opportunity here in DC to get better and what we’ve done. It’s his decision in July, but I feel comfortable that this is the place for him and I think he’s excited about being back here. … This summer for him, it’s not a revenge tour or anything like that, but I think he wants to reassert, ‘I’m one of the top players in the league.’”
“I feel every indication he’s given me that he wants to be here moving forward and I stick to the 10 years confidence that I have in the relationship we’ve had a lot of time, a lot of equity, a lot of conversations, I feel we’ve shown that this is a place that we can build around him. He has shown to the community here when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best players at his position so those are hard to come by.”
Wes Unseld Jr. echoed Sheppard’s belief that Beal will return to the Wizards next season despite his ability to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career with certainly plenty of interest from teams around the league looking to add a piece. Unseld’s phrasing made it seem like there is invisible ink already on the paperwork and the official news of Beal re-signing on July 1 is a foregone conclusion.
“There’s a level of excitement for both of us. Things didn’t go as we planned and a lot of that is from unforeseen circumstances, but I think there’s a lot of excitement and hope about this summer and this group moving forward.”
There are certainly reasons to be optimistic about a team likely returning the majority of Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzongis, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert, and Daniel Gafford. Somebody likely has to be moved to unclog the logjam at power forward and acquiring a point guard such as Malcolm Brogdon. But, that is still a long way away from contending for championships, which is Beal’s stated desire, for an organization that in the past four years has made the playoffs once, losing in the first round in five games. Entering a more traditional offseason, the Wizards will hope to finally have some luck on the injury front next season and perhaps the draft lottery where they have a 13.9% chance of receiving a top-four pick. As Bradley Beal said last month, it’s a big summer ahead.
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