John Wall and Roy Hibbert cleared up some things after a exchange of words through the media. (Ned Dishman/Getty Images)

Roy Hibbert and John Wall had some rather snarky comments about each other’s team as of late.

The Washington Wizards point guard said after scoring 37 points in a win against the Central Division champion Pacers over the weekend that “their bigs were playing soft.” The Pacers, 48-29, had been looking at a series sweep of the Wizards, 29-48, had they not lost on Saturday. The Pacers had beaten Washington the last nine consecutive games.

Scott Agness has Wall’s comments at NBA.com:

“Just coming out, we talked about it before the game that their bigs were playing soft. My bigs did a great job setting screens. I came out focused tonight and I was able to knock down shots right away.”

The Pacers “big” didn’t take too kindly to the jab. Hibbert said he credits Washington for turning its season around before “going fishing.” He also said the Pacers are in a position to contend for a championship now while the Wizards “have a chance to compete” for the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft, according to the NBA.com post:

[Washington] went out there and they played hard. John Wall was determined to get around our “soft” bigs, I guess. You have to tip your hat off to those guys. They’re changing their season around before they go fishing. [Wall] can say what he wants to say. He’s entitled to it. He’s a good player. We have a chance to compete for a championship. They have a chance to compete for the No.1 pick.”

Hibbert took to Twitter on Monday to say that he just spoke with Wall and cleared up the issues.

Just spoke 2 @John_Wall n cleared up somethings. Def should have hit him up 1st before opening my mouth pause* . @John_Wall is a good dude—
Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) April 08, 2013

And now, Hibbert is no longer a “soft big” to Wall but a “big homie.” Although he did still leave a point of contention, saying that the Pacers have a “soft concept in pick and roll.”

@Hoya2aPacer appreciate it big homie..never said Indy has soft bigs just said they play a soft concept in pick and roll…they got good bigs—
John Wall (@John_Wall) April 08, 2013

John Wall thinks he’s the NBA’s fastest player; he considered Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Mike Conley and Ty Lawson to be quick also. (David Liam Kyle/Getty Images)

Wizards point guard John Wall told the Washington Post he considered himself to be the NBA’s speediest player. After the team’s 103-80 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday night, Wall made comparisons between Russell Westbrook’s style of play and his own.

From the Washington Post report:

“I think we are both young, athletic, fast point guards,” Wall said. “That’s very rare that you see that in this league. I’m trying to take the same steps that he took to become an all-star. I give a lot of credit to how he is working and how is helping his team win.”

But when asked if he thought Westbrook was the fastest player in the league, Wall replied,

“No, I’m going to say myself….There’s a couple fast guys in this league. He’s up there, Derrick [Rose] is up there, when he’s healthy. Mike Conley’s pretty quick. It’s different guys. Ty Lawson’s quick. So there’s a lot of guys, but I put myself first. Just for fun.”

Wall, 22, is averaging 16.8 points, 7.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game so far this season.

John Wall said he will return to the Wizards in January. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The Washington Wizards have remained mum on a timetable for John Wall’s return. But now there reason to believe the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft will be back in the next couple of weeks, and the news is coming straight from the man himself.

Wall revealed to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night that he expects to be back sometime in January and that he’s not feeling pain after three consecutive days of working out. The Wizards point guard has yet to play this season because of a stress injury to his left patella:

“My timetable is some time in January. The way I am feeling with no pain, working out and doing it three [days straight] and it has no pain, I’m feeling good. I feel like I am taking the right steps and I haven’t had no pain the last couple of days after workouts.”

Wall made those comments after the Wizards lost by three on Wednesday night to the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by point guard Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Wall said he never considered the possibility of going the entire season without playing but he’s still not quite in game-shape form; doctors have yet to clear him to fully practice or even scrimmage with the team.  Wall said he still needs to strengthen his legs for jumping and cutting before he’s at a point where he can play in a game again. He also wants to drop 10 pounds before he makes his return; Wall has been in the locker room bulking up and is currently listed at 210 pounds.

Wall averaged 16.3 points, eight assists and 4.5 rebounds last season. He said when he returns in January, he will show everyone why he is one of the elite point guards of the future:

“If you look at the list of the point guards of the future, I’m not up there. That gives more motivation to me when I get back to show the NBA what I really have to give to the league. They will respect me again. Everybody will see. I won’t do the talking. I will let my game do the talking.”

John Wall will miss the first month of the Washington Wizards’ season due to a knee injury (David Liam Kyle, Getty Images)

The Washington Wizards will enter a crucial year of their rebuilding without their franchise player. The team announced on Friday that star point guard John Wall will miss eight weeks with what is described by the team as “early stages of a stress injury to his left patella.”

Wall will not need surgery for the injury, though rehabilitation is set to begin immediately. Wall will miss all of the team’s training camp, which begins on Tuesday, as well as the first month of the regular season. The injury is a huge blow to a Wizards team who were looking at this season as a way to get the team back into the playoffs after several seasons of poor performance on the court and embarrassing transgressions off of it.

The Washington Wizards have signed former Indiana Pacers point guard A.J. Price to back up John Wall, reports The Washington Post‘s Michael Lee.

Seeking a backup for John Wall, #wizards have agreed to terms with free agent PG A.J. Price. Price has been with IND past 3 years.

—
Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) July 24, 2012

The 25-year-old Price has spent all three years of his NBA career with Indiana. His playing time and scoring numbers both decreased last season. His best season in the league was as a rookie, when he scored 7.3 points per game. Last season, he averaged only 3.9 points per game.

Price is probably better known for his turbulent career at UConn. Tragedy struck early in his freshman season when he suffered a brain hemorrhage.

A year later, as he prepared to make his debut with the Huskies, he was arrested for stealing laptops and suspended for the entire season.

He eventually worked his way back onto the team and became UConn’s star player. He did well enough to be drafted late in the second round of the NBA Draft in 2009.

Washington Wizards guard John Wall called out his teammates yesterday following their 120-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The second-year point guard believes his team needs to get serious, according to the Washington Times.

“We lost the game before we went on the court,” Wall told the Times.  ”Too much joking in the locker room, too much joking through warm-ups.”

Wall contributed 20 points and 14 assists in the Wizards’ loss. For Washington it was their 29^th loss of the season, and the seventh in their last eight games. At 8-29, they currently have the second worst record in the NBA.

Wall, the former No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, also called out his teammates for selfish play earlier this season.

“It’s like everybody blanks out,” Wall told the Washington Post. “Everybody going for their own. And we don’t have anybody on our team that can just go get his own bucket whenever. You see everybody being selfish on the offensive end and on the defensive end, we’re not trusting each other … If we don’t find a way to play together and win games, it could get ugly this whole season.”

TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal are serving as team captains for this year’s All-Star Rising Star Challenge, and surprisingly, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft fell all the way to 12th for this event. That would be John Wall — and the Washington Wizards’ sophomore point guard isn’t happy about it.

“It’s a joke to me,” Wall told Michael Lee of the Washington Post. “If they think there are 11 guys better than me, then that’s their decision. But I know what I think in my mind, and all I can do is go out there and play basketball the way I know how to play.”

Wall was hyped as one of the best draft picks in years coming out of Kentucky in 2010, and he dished out a record 22 assists to win MVP honors in last year’s rookie-sophomore game. Last spring, he finished second only to Blake Griffin in Rookie of the Year voting.

Wall is now averaging 16.9 points and 7.5 assists in his second season, and he’s surprised it hasn’t earned him more respect.

“If they think I’m the 12th-best player out of all of those players, then that’s their decision. That’s my mindset. I know what I worked on this summer and I know what I can do on the basketball court,” Wall said. “That’s just one game. I’m not really worried about it.”

Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders feels that John Wall picked up too many bad habits in summer league play, according to CSN Washington.

“I’ve never been a proponent of [summer league play],” Saunders told CSN Washington after Monday’s practice. “I think you pick up too many bad habits and a lot of things are going to be very easy [are not].  I don’t think I saw a change all summer long.”

 Despite this, Saunders is optimistic that his best player can adjust back into a more structured NBA style of play.

“The positive thing is that when you’re the best player, you’re usually the one that can [help most],” Saunders said. “ You can help change things around as the coach can.”

Facing true NBA defenses this season, Wall has seen his scoring drop off from 16.4 points per game last year to 13.7 this season. Wall has also contributed 7.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game for the Wizards who have stumbled to a 1-8 start this season.

Despite an 0-8 start and reports of unrest in the locker room in Washington, Wizards head coach Flip Saunders’ job is safe for the time being, multiple sources have told the Washington Post.

While Washington remains the NBA’s only winless team, sources tell the Washington Post that Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is not willing to change the club’s plans on the rebuilding process this early into the  season. While Saunders was hired by the club’s previous ownership group, the Washington Post says that Leonsis understands that rebuilding through the draft, as he did with the Washington Capitals, takes time.

Since taking over as head coach Saunders has led the Wizards to a 49-123 record. The coach signed on with the squad expecting to coach a veteran team featuring Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison, however injuries and a major suspension for Arenas forced the team into a rebuilding mode.

Yesterday it was reported that veteran forward Rashard Lewis engaged in an argument with the coaching staff prior to Sunday’s game against the Timberwolves and refused to play. He was not seen on the bench.

Second year star John Wall also spoke out against the team’s attitude and selfish style of play earlier this year.

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall called out his teammates for being “selfish” after the club lost to the Orlando Magic 103-85 last night to fall to 0-6 on the season. They are now the only team in the NBA without a win this season.

“It’s like everybody blanks out,” Wall told the Washington Post. “Everybody going for their own. And we don’t have anybody on our team that can just go get his own bucket whenever. You see everybody being selfish on the offensive end and on the defensive end, we’re not trusting each other … If we don’t find a way to play together and win games, it could get ugly this whole season.”

Wall, 21, had 14 points on 6-16 shooting while dishing five assists and grabbing four rebounds. The second-year star committed zero turnovers on the night, after giving up a season-high seven in Washington’s previous game against the Boston Celtics.

The Wizards shot a season low 36% from the field in the loss.