John Wall and Bradley Beal are undoubtedly the present and future of the Washington Wizards. However, that doesn’t mean the two get along on the court.
In a candid interview with CSN’s Chris Miller, Wall admitted he and his backcourt partner have a tendency to “dislike each other on the court.”
“I think a lot of times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court. … We got to be able to put that to the side. If you miss somebody on one play or don’t have something go right … as long as you come to each other and talk. If I starting arguing with somebody I’m cool. I’m just playing basketball,” Wall said.
J. Michael of CSN reports Wall and Beal haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, and have been separated from fighting on multiple occasions over the last four seasons. The Wizards don’t appear too worried about the feud, signing Beal to a five-year max extension worth $128 million this offseason. Wall said since Beal now is flush with cash, he has to improve his game.
“Now that you have your money you got to go out there and improve your game. I want you to be an All-Star just as much as I’m an All-Star. If we were playing well as a tandem like the other two superstars that play together as a backcourt, play as a tandem, one night it’s going to be his night, one night it’s going to be mine, some nights it might be both of us. Those are nights it’s going to be tough to beat us.”
Wall, while blunt, is correct. Beal needs to take another step in his development to justify the max deal. He’s missed at least nine games in every season of his four-year career, including 27 in 2015-16. Beal’s shown some real potential as a two guard, averaging 17.4 points last year, but considering Wall’s the man setting him up, that number needs to jump to the early 20’s. It’s doable.
Plain and simple, players aren’t always going to get along. Still, Wall and Beal are the two most important pieces for the Wizards to be successful. Hopefully, the relationship can improve and the duo can grow to like each other on the court.
