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On Friday morning, Monumental Sports & Entertainment principal owner Ted Leonsis held a general media availability online where he would take questions on the Washington Capitals, Mystics and Wizards.
During the press conference, Leonsis was asked a question about Wizards head coach Scott Brooks who is on the last year of his five-year contract.
in his response, Leonsis replied that he was more concerned about their remaining regular season games and the play-in tournament, if they make it.
When asked about a new contract for Scott Brooks, Ted Leonsis shifted the focus to wanting to win these last two games and get in to the play-in.
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) May 14, 2021
Leonsis also went on to say that he likes the play-in tournament given that it helps competitiveness and more. Ava Wallace of The Washington Post summed it up best.
He's an "unabashed fan" of the play-in not just because it helps "teams like us," but because the org owed games to their broadcasters. Play-in helps with that.
— Ava Wallace (@avarwallace) May 14, 2021
I’m not sure if there is anything to read into here. Brooks is on the last stretch of his current contract and the Wizards’ performance from now on could determine whether he gets another contract. That said, it’s not a sign of confidence when a coach is on the last year of his current deal. I would think that Washington would have extended him already if they won a second Southeast Division title a year or two ago.
That said, if the Wizards were a consistent playoff team throughout the last five years, then Ernie Grunfeld would likely still be here as well as President of Basketball Operations. So I’m not sure how many of you would feel about that.
Let us know your reactions about today’s news in the comments below.