Here are five takeaways from Wideman and Johnson’s press conference

The Washington Mystics have officially introduced their front office and announced what their strategy is.

On Wednesday, Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger introduced Washington Mystics General Manager Jamila Wideman and Head Coach Sydney Johnson at Capital One Arena. The press conference was the first time that the media and the public were able to hear comments on what the Mystics were planning on doing.

Michael Winger goes into the detail behind his hiring of Wideman and Johnson

Some people are not good at press conferences, including some within our local sports teams. But Winger isn’t one of them. He came across as polished, a good explainer.

Winger explained that when he decided to search for a new front office, there would be a recommitment to Monumental Basketball’s core principles: Togetherness, Accountability, Competitiveness, Excellence, and Joy. He also wanted to look for candidates who especially had or “overindexed on”:

• Extreme Intelligence
• Depth of connectivity as people
• Intimate knowledge to get the why and how of the women behind the wins

Wideman is a Stanford University former player and graduate. Johnson is a Princeton University former player and graduate. And they have had long careers with people development in their past roles as league executives or coaches.

The 90/10 ratio. That doesn’t just apply with the Mystics. They apply to the Wizards too.

We typically know the “80/20” rule in business. We spend 80 percent of our time on 20 percent of our customers. Winger said that with professional athletes, they spend 90 percent of their time “outside of the lines” or non-basketball activities and only 10 percent in it.

Winger stressed that players are looking to express themselves and develop as people beyond the 10 percent they do as players. From this standpoint, it makes total sense why Wideman in particular is the GM.

There was a question Winger also answered regarding how this relates with the Washington Wizards. Winger acknowledged that he began working on a similar process with the Wizards for about 20 months and that the Mystics will use a similar process, tailored for the WNBA.

And there’s one more thing Winger said explicitly. He acknowledged that he was trying to envision what the Mystics and the WNBA will look like in 10 years, or 2035. He doesn’t just believe that Wideman and Johnson are the right people in 2035. He also believes they are the right people to take the Mystics to a long sustained period of success.

Again, Wideman and Johnson seemed to focus more of their comments on the 90 percent of the time when players are not playing or directly preparing to play basketball. Wideman stated that she wanted to be a visionary while in Washington. Johnson, when giving his remarks. stressed that he wanted the media to get to know the players behind the jerseys more.

There is no rush for the Mystics to win championships now or in the short run

One thing that Winger, Wideman and Johnson all said together was that it’s one thing to win a championship. However, it’s another to be a perennial championship contender. Wideman stressed that her current focus on team development is “how we get there,” referring to when the Mystics become a championship contender again.

This last sentence hints at the philosophical difference and why former GM Mike Thibault is no longer in D.C. The Mystics won a championship in 2019 but have not hosted a playoff game since then due to some big signing that didn’t pan out or by signing “quick fix” one-and-done players, often from other countries where they play on national teams that play together in the summer months.

With most WNBA teams already making various moves, the Mystics will probably not do much because they have yet to bring on a new player on a maximum contract. But we now know that they are focused on building the internal structure and programs the players will be part of first and then start figuring out which players best fit that.

The Mystics want to play fast, but it’s dependent on the structure of the organization’s structure too.

Johnson intends on playing that way, mentioning Shakira Austin and Brittney Sykes as potential big pieces. Wideman stresses that the style of play is also dependent on the organizational strategy that helps foster that environment. I’ll have you watch this clip below.

It is unclear whether Elena Delle Donne wants to be part of this Mystics team or not

Johnson said that still-free agent forward Elena Delle Donne has been contacted, but it’s unclear what she will do. Wideman also said that she did not make the decision to not core Delle Donne.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.