The Washington Wizards reunited Monte Morris and Will Barton III with head coach Wes Unseld Jr. The continuity they share should help the Wizards find more stability both at the point guard position and with veteran knowhow and locker room presence.
Japanese forward Rui Hachimura was the star of the show for the Washington Wizards when they tipped off their preseason against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Japan Games 2022 at Saitama Super Arena last night.
The Japanese fans were of course excited to get their first live look at their native star playing his first NBA game in his home country. And despite the Wizards losing to the Warriors, Hachimura gave them plenty to cheer about as he scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds and a steal on his way to earning Rakuten Player of the Game.
But a more subtle, less highlight-worthy dynamic was also in play for Washington, as newly-acquired veteran point guard Monte Morris made his debut for the Dubs with nine points, five assists and a steal of his own.
The Wizards acquired both Morris and Will Barton III in an offseason trade that sent guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to the Denver Nuggets, with Denver seeking to bolster their defense and Washington hoping to find some long-elusive stability at the point guard position.
Stability isn’t technically Monte Morris’ middle name, but it might as well be. Morris has been top five in assist-to-turnover ratio for the last five seasons, and in second place in three of those. But beyond his efficient, low-mistake ball handling, he simply brings a calming, stabilizing presence to the court, one who can both restore order when things start to spin out of control, and who can also be trusted to make the right plays and avoid fatal errors in high leverage situations.
During the years – five for Morris, seven-and-a-half for Barton – that the pair spent on the Nuggets, stability in the form of continuity was one of the guiding principles of Denver’s front office, as through most of that time they by very intentional design had one of the lower season-to-season roster turnover rates.
Morris came to be emblematic of that stability as he gradually developed from a 51st pick on a two-way contract to becoming a trustworthy full-time starter last season following Jamal Murray’s ACL injury which sidelined him over a year.
