Let’s get you up to date on the news, rumors, and content that you might have missed on the Washington Wizards this week:
- Bradley Beal became eligible for a contract extension and the Wizards reportedly already made him the offer.
- Kyle Kuzma spoke to FortyEightMinutes and other media and among the highlights of his presser was how he sees similarities between Beal and LeBron James.
- Beal spoke about how he and Spencer Dinwiddie will fit together on the court, telling NBC Sports’ Chris Miller that Dinwiddie should be able to take some of the pressure off of him.
- Beal also touched on how his Team USA experience made him realize the importance of recruiting players to play alongside him in the NBA.
- Coach Wed Unseld Jr. received praise from several players, including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who applauded Unseld’s ability to balance having a good dialogue with players while teaching them.
- Unseld opened up about what has surprised him during his first week of training camp as an NBA coach. “Just the number of things that have to be done besides basketball, the managing of people you don’t think about as an assistant,” Unseld told FortyEightMinutes and other media via zoom.
- The team unveiled its promotions and game night giveaways. The items included three throwback bobbleheads: Manute Bol (Feb. 7 vs. Heat), Gheorghe Muresan (Mar. 27 vs. Warriors), and Wes Unseld (Apr. 1 vs. Mavericks).
- The Wizards had a players-only meeting during their first week in training camp, which was arranged by Montrezl Harrell. “We can build off that,” Caldwell-Pope said of the meeting while explaining that it was good to come together and talk so early. “The earlier, the better.”
- Bradley Beal revealed that he is not vaccinated during a 32-minute media day session with FortyEightMinutes and other local reporters. The next day, Beal clarified that he is not against the vaccine and isn’t opposed to getting it himself; he just hasn’t made that decision yet.
- Deni Avdija opened up about what being Russell Westbrook‘s teammate was like, explaining that it wasn’t easy but it made him a better player.
- GM Tommy Sheppard reiterated that Westbrook never asked for a trade. “Russell actually never asked to move on. He just said, ‘If I can get to the Lakers, that’d be something I would love to do. If not, I’ll be back here.’ I said, ‘What about the Clippers?’ He said, ‘Hell no.’ So Russell was happy being here and we were very grateful for him being here,” the GM explained.
- Check out last week’s Wizards’ Week in Review here
You can find all of FortyEightMinutes’ Washington Coverage on our Wizards’ Team page
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