Brooks: Beal and Wall’s angry words are just frustration

LOS ANGELES — A new day had arrived, providing the Washington Wizards escape from problems that had bubbled up the night before in Sacramento.

As the Wizards practiced inside the John Wooden Center on the UCLA campus Saturday afternoon, they wanted to shift the conversation from Friday’s assertions by John Wall and Bradley Beal that certain players have been more concerned about shot attempts and playing time than with sacrificing for the team. Instead, they preferred to focus on what coach Scott Brooks has diagnosed as the real boogeyman in the locker room: Transition defense.

“[Friday] night, we didn’t play well. So, everybody’s frustrated. I get that. I kind of like that,” Brooks said. “I like the fact that we are frustrated that we didn’t take care of business last night, but it’s about us. It’s not about one particular guy. John and Brad are the leaders of our team. They’re frustrated that we didn’t take care of business. They could’ve played better. But it’s about all of us doing our job."

Brooks answered several questions regarding comments by his two leaders after the Wizards' 116-112 loss to the Sacramento Kings. With the loss, Washington fell to 1-4 and ended the night with a defensive rating that ranked 22nd in the league.

Beal called out the team, saying: “Sometimes we have our own agendas on the floor whether it’s complaining about shots, complaining about playing time, complaining about whatever it may be. We’re worried about the wrong [expletive].”

Then, Wall picked up the baton, describing: “We got guys who’s worried about who’s getting shots, where the ball is going on the offensive end. We should never worry about that.”

Brooks viewed these comments as expressions of exasperation after a bad loss. Personal agendas have not infiltrated his locker room, the coach said. Only frustration has.

“I can’t speak for everybody else. I’ve been on teams where that was the case. I don’t see that here,” Brooks said, specifically about personal agendas. “We were frustrated because we lost. We talked about going into the season locking into every game we play. We were frustrated we lost. Sometimes when you get frustrated, you say things.”

Otto Porter Jr., who played only 21 minutes against the Kings as Brooks went with a lineup he felt was best, said communication must improve on defense. Also a day later, Porter shared a different message than his two teammates. As far as agendas, Porter sided with Brooks’s view. However, in his opinion, the team needs to work on sticking together.

“I can’t say that,” Porter said, when asked what he thought about the perception that agendas are hurting the Wizards. “But you gotta play together. We can’t have our heads down … So we gotta figure, hey, we gotta play for each other. Nobody’s cheering for us. We gotta be our own backbone. We gotta carry each other. We’re not gonna get it from the media. We’re not gonna get it from the opposite fans, the opposite team.”