Wizards are even worse than expected, and you can blame Wes Unseld Jr.

If you've watched the Wizards (2-8) play this season, they are the furthest thing from fun. They're lethargic and lackadaisical. Every game they're either blowing a big lead or spending all night playing catch-up after going down by 20 in the first quarter. They don't compete like a team with something to prove. They play like a bunch of guys having a fun time at the park.

In hindsight, it probably should've been expected given that Wes Unseld Jr. is still the head coach. These issues have been persistent under him since day one -- the lazy effort, the careless mistakes, the blown leads, the lack of any leadership whatsoever. Unseld doesn't push his players or hold them accountable, and it shows.

Worse yet are his roles and rotations. Jordan Poole was the big offseason acquisition this past summer, expected to have the ultimate green light to run the offense and a chance to break out into an All-Star caliber player. He's instead been miscast as a spot-up shooter while drawing opposing teams' best defenders, and -- surprise, surprise -- his production (16.2 points per game on 41.2% shooting) has disappointed thus far.

Big man Daniel Gafford is perhaps the only starter on the Wizards who regularly brings energy and hustle to the court. So naturally, Unseld refuses to play him during crunch time. It certainly feels like Washington could've used a rim protector on the floor during Monday night's fourth-quarter meltdown in Toronto.

Rookie Bilal Coulibaly has shown promise, but he still can't crack the starting lineup for a team that's playing solely for its future. Meanwhile, 2022 lottery pick Johnny Davis can't get on the floor at all, while Unseld instead wastes reserve minutes on role-playing journeymen such as Landry Shamet and Mike Muscala.

There are obvious fixes for so many of the Wizards' problems. Poole needs to play point guard. Coulibaly should be starting alongside him. Tyus Jones needs to come off the bench, a role he thrived in in Memphis. Gafford needs more playing time. Shamet's minutes should go to Davis.

With these adjustments, as well as a much-needed sense of urgency instilled in the locker room's collective mindset, you still probably don't have a very good basketball team. But at least you'd have a team that is maximized to its best capabilities, a team with a foundation to build and grow from.

The losing isn't the problem. No one expected otherwise from one of the least talented rosters in the league. The problem is the way the Wizards are losing. Unseld is setting his players up to fail, and enabling them to be content with those failures.