Tank? Wizards owner calls idea 'offensive'

The Washington Wizards are 22-29 and 2 1/2 games outside of a playoff spot, and they have lost John Wall, half of their high-scoring backcourt, for the season with an injury. Even so, don't mention the word "tanking" to team owner Ted Leonsis.

Leonsis said in a radio interview on Thursday that a fan asked him whether the team was raising the white flag for the season and looking to rebuild. "I was asked point blank, 'Are you going to tank?'" he recalled. "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.'"

Instead, Leonsis told WTOP radio that he still expects the team to meet goals he had set before the season began. "My expectations are that we are going to make the playoffs and improve on last year," he said.

With the NBA trade deadline coming up Feb. 7, Leonsis made a point of saying there would be no rebuilding, specifying that the Wizards wouldn't shed payroll by getting rid of Wall, who is out after undergoing heel surgery, his backcourt mate Bradley Beal or forward Otto Porter Jr. The Wizards went 43-39 a season ago and lost to the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

With this season approaching the two-thirds mark, Washington is tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. --Field Level Media