Scott Brooks – Page 9 – Syndication Server

Bradley Beal to travel with team but no decision on playing

Bradley Beal has yet to make a final decision on whether he will play, but the Washington Wizards guard is expected to join the team on its flight to Orlando, Florida, according to head coach Scott Brooks. Last week, Beal said he was “not swayed one way or another” on whether he would play in Orlando, where the NBA will resume the season at the end of the month at Walt Disney World Resort.

Brooks, though, said Beal is slated to …

Brooks, though, said Beal is slated to travel with the team for its scheduled flight on Tuesday pending his coronavirus test result. “No final decision,” Brooks said when asked if Beal had decided on whether to play. “We are all still day by day. “He’s looking great. His physical condition has been pretty good and continues to improve every day, along with our other guys. We are all getting tested every day and as of right now, he’s a go, and we are all going down there ready to compete and get better and play to get in a playoff position. He looks great.”

Wizards head coach Scott Brooks …

Wizards head coach Scott Brooks believes the latter side of the argument to be the case, that the league can do more while playing due to the visibility of the players and the sport. He spoke at length about the issue on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. “It’s a great opportunity for all of us to be a part of this. We need change. I’ve been a player for a long time in the league and now a coach in the league. I understand one thing that is once you stop playing, it’s just the hard, cold facts that people don’t answer your phone calls. You don’t get the voice that you did as a player,” Brooks explained.

Scott Brooks: “That’s speaking from …

Scott Brooks: “That’s speaking from experience from me. I know that the platform we will have as coaches and players and as an organization down in Orlando. People are starved for watching live sports. We all know that everybody loves the NBA. The platform that players and coaches will have down there is going to be a huge opportunity for all of us. One of the things that I’m proud of being in the NBA and being with the Wizards, we’re going to use that platform.”

John Wall not returning until next season

Don’t expect Washington Wizards point guard John Wall to suit up in Orlando. While he has declared that he’s “110 percent” healthy, the five-time All-Star has repeatedly said that he isn’t going to play this season. Head coach Scott Brooks and general manager Tommy Sheppard have echoed this sentiment. Earlier this week, Wall reiterated that he won’t be back until the start of the 2020-21 campaign. “No. I won’t play at all. I’ll wait until next season,” Wall told 980 The Team’s Kevin Sheehan. “That decision has already been made. So, no, I’m not [playing].”

Scott Brooks joined the Wizards Talk …

Scott Brooks joined the Wizards Talk podcast this week and said he thinks the 1994 Rockets still would have won the title. “[The Bulls] had no answer for [Olajuwon]. It’s easy for me to say this now because it’s all hypothetical, but I don’t think they would have beat us in ’94,” Brooks said. “Now, the next year it could have been a different story. But that ’94 team, ‘Dream’ was, it was like destiny. He was locked in. I’ve never seen a guy up close every fourth quarter, I don’t even think he missed a shot, let alone make a mistake. He had both ends just covered.”

Brooks also recalled a story from those …

Brooks also recalled a story from those years involving Jordan and his Rockets teammate Vernon Maxwell talking trash to each other. “I remember one time they were just going at each other, going at it. You could tell it was getting a little dicey. It was like ‘okay, this might be a fight, actually.’ They got nose to nose one time,” Brooks said. “[Maxwell] said ‘man, I don’t care how many blank-blank commercials you’re in, I don’t care how many Nike commercials, I don’t care how many McDonald’s commercials; I will blank-blank your butt. I’m not intimidated by all the commercials.’ I’m looking at him like ‘gosh darn, Vernon, you know you’re talking to Jordan, right?’ He wasn’t afraid.”