Everything is cool between Marcin Gortat and John Wall.
Well, almost cool.
The Washington Wizards teammates apparently met behind closed doors to discuss the mounting tension between the two that has been unfolding in the public eye recently, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes. Here are the details of the latest development in this sort of random soap opera:
Washington Wizards teammates John Wall and Marcin Gortat met privately last week to confront each other about where they stood after Gortat’s tweet two weeks ago that many interpreted as a passive-aggressive slight directed at the All-Star guard, league sources told ESPN.
It was the first time the two spoke in person regarding the tweet, according to league sources.
Both Wizards players requested the sit-down, sources say.
The meeting, which didn’t last long, facilitated the airing of grievances, but sources say there is still more work to be done to fully repair that relationship.
Gortat sparked the need for this meeting, in a way, by tweeting the following after a Feb. 1 victory over the Toronto Raptors—of which Wall wasn’t a part:
Unbelievable win tonight ! Great "team" victory!
— Marcin Gortat?? (@MGortat) February 2, 2018
Wall then responded in kind to Gortat’s tweet while making an appearance on ESPN. But, per Haynes, he did try to speak with Gortat about the tweet soon after it first dropped, expressing that he wanted the big man to directly come to him with any issues there might be. Gortat, of course, denied his social-media sentiments had anything to do with Wall.
The point guard clearly didn’t believe him—not entirely. Otherwise, why talk about the issue on television? And to that point, it feels like this meeting should have taken place from the jump. Regardless of whether Gortat triggered this whole saga, and irrespective of what his tweet actually means, neither he nor Wall sought a sit-down soon enough.
Both of these guys are veterans. They’ve been in the league for a while. They had to know exchanging barbs in the public eye wouldn’t go over well. Gortat had to know his tweet would be interpreted this way, even if it was in fact innocuous. Wall, in turn, had to know his comments on the matter would only fuel the fire.
Hopefully, for the Wizards’ sake, this beef can be considered quashed. The last thing the team needs is any awkwardness between its best pick-and-roll combo in advance of Wall’s eventual return from a knee debridement.
