The Wizards have named Tommy Sheppard their new General Manager. He released a video statement which you can see above.
In his statement, Sheppard stressed that the Wizards will run in a more collaborative manner and that they, along with Monumental Basketball, will be a trend-setter in the NBA. Sheppard also mentioned that he is more data-driven and wanted to bring high character players to Washington.
The latter point is something notable. In the past, the Wizards have brought in a number of players who had some unflattering moments off the court during the previous regime.
Scott Brooks excited about Sheppard being named the new GM
The Wizards head coach also stressed collaboration with Sheppard, but also Sashi Brown and John Thompson III who will represent Monumental Basketball as a whole. He also stressed that the Wizards’ transition to Sheppard’s era has been seamless.
Sashi Brown looks forward to seeing teams sharing best practices
Brown mentioned that his role as the Chief Planning and Operations Officer of Monumental Basketball is about sharing resources and best practices across the Mystics, Wizards, Go-Go and District Gaming. He believes that if strategies align across the teams, it will only make them better.
The new leader of Monumental Basketball also lived in Washington before. Brown was a corporate attorney for Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr after graduating from Harvard Law School in 2002.
John Thompson III looks forward to increasing players’ engagement with Monumental
John Thompson III, the Vice President of Player Development & Engagement, mentioned that he looks forward to increasing the engagement players have off the court and make decisions with their lives. He mentioned that 70 percent of his job as college basketball coach had nothing to do with basketball. Thompson believes that working with players’ off-the-court futures will help them on the court as well.