The relationship between John Wall and Marcin Gortat has been the subject of some intrigue in Washington. Namely, it’s received attention as Wall has been sidelined during his recovery from knee surgery. After a Wizards win with Wall on the sideline, Gortat tweeted that Washington had a “great ‘team’ win,” which was perceived as a shot at Wall. Taking things further, Wall went on ESPN and said the big man is “spoon-fed baskets.”
Teammates having a public beef like this is usually a sign of a deeper issue, and according to Chris Haynes of ESPN, both players wanted to hold a meeting to clear the air between one another. Haynes reported that the pair met up last week and had a short meeting to air some grievances, and that this was all part of the “natural altercations from the rigors of such an emotional season.”
We also got the backstory into how Wall and Gortat both reacted to the tweet that sparked all this controversy.
Soon after, Wall, sources say, reached out to Gortat via a text message and essentially stated that if there’s a problem, to direct it to him instead of using social media to spew backhanded insults, sources with knowledge of the conversation told ESPN.
Gortat has explained that his tweet was never intended as a jab at Wall, and he reiterated that he was genuinely praising the team for a big win.
The pair still have some time to work things out with one another before Wall returns to action next month. But with Washington fighting for playoff seeding, meetings like this to clear the air and get the two on the same page are invaluable. If, of course, they work.
