Although the Wizards are without star point guard John Wall and have gone through a first that included a pair of 2-9 stretches, team owner Ted Leonsis insists Washington will continue to make a run for the playoffs this season.
“You have to go to the players, the coach, the staff and say, ‘Do we have enough to make the playoffs?’ And to a person, I was told, ‘Yes we do.'” Leonsis told WTOP on Thursday.
The Wizards are 22-29 this season, sitting in ninth in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games back of the Charlotte Hornets in eighth.
Leonsis also relayed a story of being asked by a fan whether the Wizards planned to tank, calling the idea “offensive.”
“I was asked point blank, ‘Are you going to tank?'” Leonsis told the radio station. “That’s an offensive question. You can’t go to your organization, to your players, to your coach and say, ‘Let’s plan to lose.'”
Leonsis said the team wouldn’t trade away any of its top stars, naming Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. as players the Wizards are keeping. Although trading Wall, who is out for the season following heel surgery, even if he were healthy would have been unlikely, as he has a four-year, $169.3 million extension that begins next season and includes a 15 percent trade kicker.