National Basketball Association

Washington Wizards' Scott Brooks Doesn't Acknowledge Brandon Jennings Following Dust Up With Casper Ware

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks supported Casper Ware after the guard got into a dust up with Brandon Jennings on Monday.

During media day last month, Washington Wizards guard Casper Ware sat alone. The practice court was filled with writers, television news reporters and dozens of people snapping photos of John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Ware walked among the reporters and watched as his teammates got their pictures taken. He took a seat next to my backpack, where I was charging my phone.

If he wasn’t wearing a red-white-blue jersey, no one would’ve known that Ware was even a member of the district’s basketball team. At 5-foot-10, Ware was virtually unnoticeable in the crowd.

Ware, who joined the team with no guarantee, is hopeful that the Wizards’ coaching staff isn’t one of the many people who’ve forgotten about his presence.

On Monday, Oct. 10, Ware finally got the opportunity to make himself known. And with the help of New York Knicks point guard Brandon Jennings, that’s exactly what Ware did.

With less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, Jennings shoved Ware, who was looking to get the ball from Otto Porter. Jennings then started to clap in Ware’s face and both players were hit with technicals.

This is just foolish. That's Casper Ware and this is preseason. You're in your own head. #WizKnicks pic.twitter.com/wNX6f9AIyU

— Hoop District (@HoopDistrictDC) October 11, 2016

In an interview for the Knicks’ broadcasting channel, MSG, Jennings spoke about wanting to become an irritant. He likened this year’s Knicks team to the Patrick Ewing led teams in the 1990s, saying that New York had the players to get underneath the opposition’s skin.

There’s one significant difference, though.

The “old” Knicks were actually championship contenders. This year’s Knicks team won’t even make the playoffs, according to odds released by Westgate Las Vegas Superbook.

It’s easy to get away with being an irritant if the results are positive, but the Knicks haven’t achieved any tangible success since Jennings was a child. Plus, the backup guard is coming off an Achilles injury and his future in the league could be determined by his performance this season.

Ware’s chances of actually making the Washington Wizards’ roster aren’t very high. Now that John Wall is back in the lineup and Tomas Satoransky has competed against Trey Burke for the backup spot, there isn’t any room for the diminutive guard.

Still, that didn’t stop Wizards head coach Scott Brooks from sticking up for Ware after the game was over.

“I always focus on playing the game the right way and one thing about Casper, he’s trying to make the team,” Brooks said, then paused to search for the right words. “Whatever the other guy wants to talk about and do, [Ware’s] trying to make the team. You’ve got to respect guys like Casper. It’s not easy making this league and he’s putting himself in position to make it in the league. Whatever the other guy was saying — that’s not how we do things. We want to focus on what we need to do and play good basketball and respectful basketball.”

For now, Ware is a part of the team just as much as Wall is a part of the team.

Brooks, as Candace Buckner also noted, has been called a “player’s coach” in the past, so it’s not a surprise that he’s batting for Ware in this instance. He didn’t even mention Jennings by name when speaking about his spat with Ware.

Ironically, the Wizards had a similar occurrence a few years ago during preseason when Paul Pierce got into a dust up with Joakim Noah, who’s now a member of the Knicks.

Preseason doesn’t count for much, but players, especially those fighting for roster spots, are trying to leave an impression. Ware left one on Tuesday, whether he intended to or not.