John Wall is the Washington Wizards.
Perhaps, within these statements lies the baseline problem with a moribund NBA franchise.
Over the course of one week, the Washington Wizards played (and lost) to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, won a game against the Brooklyn Nets, and lost another game to the Orlando Magic despite a career-high 52 points from Wall. The first two teams the Wizards faced occupy the upper echelon of the NBA’s Western conference. The latter two represent members of the NBA’s middle class—teams that prior to the start of the 2016-17 season were marked as “wins” on the Wizards calendar.