Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis called the idea of tanking "offensive" and said that the Wizards are focused on making the playoffs this year.

"You have to go to the players, the coach, the staff and say, 'Do we have enough to make the playoffs?' And to a person, I was told, 'Yes we do,'" said Leonsis.

Leonsis said the Wizards would not tank the season. 

"I was asked point blank, 'Are you going to tank? 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.'"

Leonsis added that the team will not trade Bradley Beal, John Wall, or Otto Porter Jr.

John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins said they talked to each other about Cousins potentially signing for the Wizards last offseason. 

“He did consider here. Oh yeah, we talked about it. He definitely wanted to be here. He definitely wanted to come play but after that injury it’s kind of tough, like how much can you put into that," said Wall.

"Me and John talked. We talked. That's it," added Cousins.

Scott Brooks said the Wizards needed a center who could contribute immediately, leading to the signing of Dwight Howard.

“I think the conversation took place but it was his decision. When we made the trade [with] Gortat, we needed somebody now. We couldn’t afford to wait five or six months or four months into the season. We needed a live, active player that was ready to start the season.”

The Washington Wizards have been granted a Disabled Player Exception from the NBA worth $8.6 million following John Wall's season-ending injury.

The Wizards have until March 11th to use exception. 

The Utah Jazz have been a team interested in trading for Otto Porter.

The Washington Wizards could be more aggressive in shopping Porter if they fall out of playoff contention.

Porter has a player option in the 2020 offseason.

The Wizards, however, have made it abundantly clear they will not trade Bradley Beal.

The Washington Wizards have signed guard Gary Payton II to a 10-day contract.

Payton II (6-3, 190) has spent this season with the G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, averaging 19.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 3.4 steals in 13 games. He has appeared in 29 games (six starts) and has averaged 3.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists over his two-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Washington Wizards have shown little interest in trading away Otto Porter for a deal centered on future assets and cap flexibility.

Porter signed a four-year, $104 million offer sheet in the 2017 offseason with the Brooklyn Nets that was subsequently matched.

The Sacramento Kings also pursued Porter that offseason and have been linked to him this season as they look to improve the small forward position.

The Washington Wizards have no intention of giving up on the current season despite being several games under .500 and without John Wall for the remainder of the season.

“We set out goals, and you got to meet the goals,” Ted Leonsis said. “And the first goal is to make it into the playoffs and to do better than we did last year, and to me that will make for a successful year. … What I’m encouraged by is that guys aren’t feeling sorry for themselves. In fact, they looked at it now as an opportunity. They’re getting more minutes, and everyone wants to make the best of their time, but to meet the goal of making the playoffs, not for individual stats and accolades. This is a team, collective goal.”

Leonsis referenced the way the Philadelphia 76ers tanked several seasons to build their current team and that it is not a path the Wizards will take.

“We just played Philadelphia, and they have shoes that say ‘Trust the Process,’ ” Leonsis said. “And they were really, really bad for seven years. And I looked when we beat them at home, they had two guys that they picked in the first round in the lineup. So, you know, that process is pretty risky in and of itself. I don’t think you can tell players, coaches, staff: ‘Don’t make the playoffs and tank!’ We will never, ever tank.

“We had a strategic plan when I first bought the team to trade our all-star players and get under the cap and get high draft picks, and we did that. We were able to keep those high draft picks with second and sometimes third contracts. So that’s been our process. But I don’t want to do that process anymore. And I don’t think you can tell a coach, I don’t think you can tell a staff, ‘Don’t try to win.’ I will never do that. So if this team makes the playoffs on its own, that’s fantastic.”

Despite losing John Wall for the season, Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis stated that his goal is to still make the playoffs rather than tank for a high draft pick.

“We set out goals, and you got to meet the goals. And the first goal is to make it into the playoffs and to do better than we did last year, and to me that will make for a successful year. … What I’m encouraged by is that guys aren’t feeling sorry for themselves. In fact, they looked at it now as an opportunity. They’re getting more minutes, and everyone wants to make the best of their time, but to meet the goal of making the playoffs, not for individual stats and accolades. This is a team, collective goal,” said Leonsis.

The Wizards are 6-4 without Wall and are two games out of the final playoff spot. 

Bradley Beal told Leonsis that the Wizards would make the playoffs. 

“Bradley Beal told me, ‘We got enough. We’re going to make the playoffs. We’re not going to let you down.’ So who am I to change the goals? We said, ‘No excuses.’ It would be easy to say we have so many players out injured, but we’re not going to do that. We’re not letting anybody off the hook. We got to make the playoffs.”

The Washington Wizards have applied for an $8.6 million disabled player exception.

The exception would come due to the loss of John Wall for the remainder of the season.

The Wizards are currently nine games under .500 and 3.5 back from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Washington Wizards are one of the NBA teams most eager in looking to leverage gambling opportunities.

Monumental Sports would like to create a multilevel sportsbook within Capital One Arena. The arena is located in the middle of Washington D.C. and built on top of a subway station. Sports gambling is expected to begin in Washington D.C. by the spring.

"We want to try to give the arena life outside the game window," said Zach Leonsis, Monumental's senior vice president of strategic initiatives. "As soon as the game ends, we push 20,000 people out of the arena. For years the Capitals have played a home game on Super Bowl Sunday. Now the game ends and everyone leaves to watch the Super Bowl. Why wouldn't we encourage them to go watch it in a spectacular sportsbook?"

Ted Leonsis has been investing in gambling-related companies and already owns stakes in sports data giant Sportradar, DraftKings and a digital media gambling company called WinView.