The Washington Wizards began preparations for the 2016-17 NBA season on Monday by holding their annual media day. The Wizards open training camp on Tuesday at Virginia Commonwealth University, and here were the big stories from the day:
Scott Brooks non-committal on offensive philosophy. Scott Brooks takes over the Wizards after the team fired Randy Wittman this offseason. When he was coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder, his team's style of play was dictated by the presence of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Now with the Wizards, he'll get an opportunity to show what his real coaching style is. Brooks mostly dodged the questions on how the Wizards will be playing this year, instead focusing on trying to build a style that involves the entire team. Expect a lot of 3s. Brooks said that he expects Jason Smith to add 3-point range to his shot and Markieff Morris mentioned shooting more 3s this season. There's also a sense that the team will run a lot.
No issues between Beal and Wall. Both John Wall and Bradley Beal insisted that offseason comments by Wall about his backcourt mate were blown out proportion. He also hopes that the two will make up one of the best backcourts in the league. "People want to put words in your mouth and make it seem like worse than what it was," Wall said. Meanwhile Beal, who signed a huge extension this offseason, will likely not be on a minutes limit this season after missing extended time the past two seasons.
Open competition for small forward spot. At least according to Otto Porter -- the starter last season. Porter likely has the inside track to hold down his starting spot but could be supplanted by 2015 first-round-pick Kelly Oubre or 2012 second-rounder Tomas Satoransky, who is in his first season in the NBA. Porter is a free agent at the end of this season and came into camp with added muscle as he hopes to impress his team.