SB Nation NBA Reacts Part 2 of 2: Wizards fans split on whether to hold off on roster moves, wouldn’t mind on an ESA game with fans

This is Part 2 of the most recent SB Nation Reacts survey results that ended last Thursday. In this part, we’ll go beyond fan confidence and on some questions regarding the team specifically, whether it’s with the on-court product or the fan experience.

If you missed part one, click on the link below:

Fans were split on whether the Wizards should hold off on major roster moves

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I wanted the SB Nation Reacts team to add this question before their current three-game win streak. But I don’t think the results of this question would have changed much either way.

It’s pretty clear why nearly 50 percent of Wizards fans may want the team to hold off on any moves. If you don’t have confidence that Washington will make the playoffs and/or that General Manager Tommy Sheppard should be fired after this season, then you probably picked this choice because you would prefer that his successor make any such moves, like trading Bradley Beal to another team among other things.

But if you didn’t want Sheppard to hold off, especially if he more-or-less knows that he’ll be back next season, perhaps now is the time to be active to see what the market truly is for Beal. Sure, the Wizards could be playoff bound, but a deep run to the Eastern Conference Finals doesn’t seem likely.

Most fans believe the Wizards should host fans if the D.C. government allows it. They also wouldn’t mind a game at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Congress Heights.

Sixty two percent of you believe that the Wizards should host games with fans if and when the D.C. government allows it. Currently, the Wizards don’t because the government doesn’t.

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If the government allows sporting venues to have fans, partly due to coronavirus cases dropping and an increasingly vaccinated population, it shouldn’t be a surprise as to why the Wizards and other teams that play in D.C. proper like the MSE-owned Capitals and Mystics, the MLB’s Nationals and the MLS’s DC United would follow suit. Ticket revenue still provides a significant proportion of revenue. Even though capacity is limited, getting 20 percent of gate receipts is better than zero.

I also had an article yesterday about whether the Wizards should host one home game or perhaps two at the Entertainment and Sports Arena, which is in the same complex as their practice facility. Most of you agreed that the team should.

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In the comments from yesterday’s post, some of you believe that Capital One Arena can still be a better venue than ESA because it is a larger venue and provide more social distancing. And I felt that the results of this poll would be heavily skewed towards “no” so I was a bit surprised to see the results skewed toward a “yes.”

So why could it be a good idea to have a game there?

First, the Wizards are already familiar with ESA because the practice facility is next door. And second, I was thinking more about the “east of the river” angle with this. NBA games, even with fans, aren’t going to have many games this year. ESA is in Ward 8, near many of D.C.’s lowest income neighborhoods and not close to the high number of trendy restaurants, CrossFit gyms and grocery shops in an increasingly-gentrified District.

I was thinking that the people who would go to this game would be people who work, live and serve Wards 7 and 8, both east of the river and areas that are underserved relative to those who live downtown, near Nationals Park and in the far western areas bordering Chevy Chase and Bethesda, Md.

There won’t be 4,200 people like a Mystics game in 2019, but at 10 percent capacity. I don’t think arena size and capacity limits are going to significantly change one’s risk of getting the coronavirus. But I am not a health expert, so someone who is can correct me and I’ll be glad to update it.

That’s all I have for this week’s SB Nation Reacts results. Do you have a question you would like to be in next week’s poll? Feel free to share it in the comments along with various answer choices.

And if you haven’t signed up for SB Nation Reacts, click on the link below.