John Wall and Bradley Beal "Have a tendency to dislike each other on the court"

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@USAToday[/caption] John Wall sat down for an interview with CSN Mid-Atlantic yesterday, and what he revealed was not the usually flattering summer “We’ve been working really hard,” “Eyes on the prize,” positive media hooplah. Nope, he straight up said that he and shooting guard/max contract Bradley Beal don’t like each other. Now, he clarified that it was “on the court,” but the comments have sparked concern among Wizards’ faithful, and rightfully so–Wall and the Florida product are supposed to be the franchise centerpieces. Here’s a full sampling of what Wall had to say:

"I think a lot of times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court. … We got to be able to put that to the side. If you miss somebody on one play or don’t have something go right ... as long as you come to each other and talk. If I starting arguing with somebody I’m cool. I’m just playing basketball," "Now that you have your money you got to go out there and improve your game. I want you to be an All-Star just as much as I’m an All-Star. If we were playing well as a tandem like the other two superstars that play together as a backcourt, play as a tandem, one night it’s going to be his night, one night it’s going to be mine, some nights it might be both of us. Those are nights it’s going to be tough to beat us."

On the surface, Wall’s comments seem a little crass. Saying that you and a teammate, especially the teams’ two stars who are signed to play with each other through 2019, have a mutual dislike of one another doesn’t bode well. But, I understand where Wall is coming from. It seems like he wants to get these issues out front, and make Beal aware of how he feels about their roles on the team. That said, this is the kind of comment that probably deserves to stay between the two players who share the Washington backcourt. Later in the interview he even likened Beal to the “Robin” to his “Batman.” Even if Wall is a little better, which I believe he is, no player of Beal’s caliber wants to hear that, and I can assure you he doesn’t want to read about it on the internet. Wall went on to compare his current situation to the one he had with the Cats during the 2009-10 season.

"It kind of goes back to when I was in college," Wall said. "Me and DeMarcus, E-Bled, they all knew I was getting all the media attention but every time I win I brought those guys along with me. I didn’t leave them behind. That’s because we hung out so much. We built a bond together. When you build that bond it’s kind of hard to break."

The Wizards didn’t make the playoffs last year going 41-41, and with the loss of a few key role players, Wall will need to fix he and Beal’s broken chemistry if they want to get the franchise back on the trajectory it appeared to be going in 2015 (If you recall, the Wizards were a fractured wrist/hand away from reaching the conference finals). When healthy, Beal has proven himself to be an extremely capable 2-guard, and Wall will need him to be on the same page if he wants to make the team better and campaign for a fourth-straight All-Star appearance. Maybe this is the first step for Wall and Beal to get over their shared dislike, but if I were Beal, I’d dislike what Wall said.