As the Washington Wizards usher in a fresh era of basketball in the DMV, President of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger and General Manager of the Wizards Will Dawkins spoke in their preseason press conference about the importance of what I'm calling The Three P's: positivity, process, and patience.
During their latest media availability on September 26, they highlighted how they plan to bring sustained success to the hardwood in the Nation's Capital. Here are some of the most memorable quotes, categorized by where they fit in The Three P's.
POSITIVITY
"It's evident to us that our guys like being around each other. And that's really, really important. I think it's also evident that these guys are serious craftsmen. They care about the work -- the way they go about it... They're rooted in doing the work. These guys have been coming in, doing their individual workouts in the morning, coming back, getting extra shooting in, and just spending time working on their game... The habits they're building are things that we're looking for in current players but also future players. And they're helping [to set] the standards here." -Will Dawkins
"It's been a summer of work for our guys. The best part for me when evaluating training camp, is these guys put time in individually. They spend time individually working on their craft. And now you get to put it in a team environment -- a team setting -- 5 on 5 and see how it works." -Will Dawkins
"At the end of the day, it's a team that the fans can get behind. You're going to see the joy. You're going to see the pride. You're going to see the competitiveness that basketball fans and the common fan alike can notice and can see through the TV screen and see when they're around each other." -Will Dawkins
PROCESS
"With Will [Dawkins], with Ted [Leonsis], with our leadership group, we have a vision for the team. It is ambitious, and it is a very heavy lift. We want to build an organization that develops and can support a sustainably great team. We don't want to be a flash in the pan. We don't want to be a one-hit-wonder." -Michael Winger
"When you look at the new group, the best thing that they've done so far is come together and learn each other. I always like to say the basketball will take care of itself. That's what the training camp is for. What we've done I think is bring a group together that has a lot of experience mixed with youth as well. They'll have mentors in the locker room." -Will Dawkins
"We are of course holding everybody accountable for everything. We're not going to let slippage go unspoken. We're not going to let something other than 100% effort go ignored. That's not what we're going to do. So if we lose four in a row, but we're competing our behinds off, we're holding ourselves accountable on the floor, and we are getting marginally better in practice and in those games, we're going to live with that." -Michael Winger
"When we go through and do individual goals with players, it will be things that they are aware of, things that they contribute to, things that are attainable, things that can be recited, and things that can be tracked, so at all they know where they're at and they know what their goals [are]." -Will Dawkins
"With Jordan [Poole] and Kyle [Kuzma], the thing that has impressed me so far the most is their willingness to bring the group together. They've had guys come out to their summer homes and spend time with them out there. And when we talked about guys being here post-Labor Day, they've been here. They've been here the entire month. And when we talked about acquiring them and had the conversations with them, what happens on the court, starts off the court. And the leadership mentality that they've taken on, I would say they've embraced that. They're running with that -- hitting high marks on that." -Will Dawkins
PATIENCE
"With Bilal [Coulibaly], he's just like any other rookie. He's going to have his ups and his downs this year. But with him, being the third-youngest player in the league, he's got a competitiveness that I think will allow him to get on the floor right away. The biggest thing with him is not skipping any steps, not rushing him, allowing him to declare who he is as a player, and understanding that his prime is five, six, seven years down the line from now." -Will Dawkins
"There's going to be setbacks. There's going to be losing streaks. It's basketball. And even in games that we win, we're going to be like 'Hey, we should've done this better.'" -Will Dawkins
"We want to build the right way. We've studied all the teams in the league, historically and currently, that have done it, what we would characterize as, the right way. And it is a very heavy lift. Hard decisions, a lot of patience, an intense focus on player development, an intense focus on research, and that's what we're going to do. We will usher in at some point in the future, an era of sustainable contention, and we're going to work our butts off every single day to get us to that point." -Michael Winger