The Washington Wizards completely re-worked their roster with a five-team trade that brought in five rotation players providing depth for the first time in a long time. During the first few days of Summer League, the newest Wizards were introduced to the media for introductory availabilities on Zoom. The theme was one of optimism and opportunity. Here are the highlight quotes or watch the interviews for yourself.
On choosing Washington: “It was a place I wanted to go to, being familiar with Beal and his game. Matching up both age-wise and play style-wise. It just became a fit that popped up on the board pretty recently. I’m blessed to be able to be here.”
On his recovery from a partially torn ACL in December: “I plan to be full go for the regular season obviously and training camp.”
On his free agency meeting: “Shep[pard] from the beginning of the meeting talked about how much he believed in me, which meant a ton. … All I really wanted was to feel loved.”
On Bradley Beal’s approval of his addition: “Having his vote of confidence in terms of this signing meant a ton. You always want to be on the same page with the superstar on the team.”
“Right now, we’re both willing to take a little bit of a bet on each other and try to do something special. All we can kind of focus on is the now and if plans change then they change. We’re here now and have a really special chance.”
On what he has been working on this offseason: “Really been challenging myself in the weight room. That’s first, getting stronger, getting my body right. I want to continue to be a defender, I think I have the potential to do really great things on that side of the ball. On top of that, I’ve been hammering on my ball handling.”
On the Wizards logjam of forwards: “I like to call it successful people problems.”
On the Wizards potential: “I’m sure people are going to count us out because we just traded away Russ and all this stuff, but the core group that we got coming back and the core that just got traded over here, we can make a lot of noise this year.”
On his defensive contributions: “I feel like I can bring energy. When you see somebody picking up full court, even trying to pressure up, I feel like it just brings energy to the whole team and that can get other guys going on the defensive end.”
On his relationship with Bradley Beal: “Me and Brad, one of my close friends, best friends. We’ve known each other since we were 15. That relationship is already there. It’s going to be fun to just play with a friend. … We’ve talked pretty much every day since the trade happened. He’s excited, I’m excited, we’re both on the same page that we think we can make something happen this year.”
On how a new team can come together quickly: “Team things. We can go bowling, dinners. Just things that we can do together that everybody is invited to. You show up, you show up, if not we just want to try and get everybody involved. The more we player-coach ourselves, hold each other accountable, you become strong that way.”
On what gives him his passionate play: “Where I’m at right now, at home in North Carolina where I’m born and raised. Tough environment to make it out of.”
On his knowledge of Go-Go music: “I’m a Wale fan.”
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