Pro sports executives often talk about strategies for success, offering their opinions on what it takes to build winning teams.

Tommy Sheppard, the Washington Wizards¡¯ new general manager, certainly knows that excellent players are needed to lead his team to victories. But his vision for the team¡¯s path to success also includes something that might best be described as an intangible element: relationships.

Sheppard repeated the word ¡°relationships¡± numerous times during an exclusive interview with Hoop Scoop in late September. This provided an inside look at Sheppard¡¯s management style early on in his tenure, e.g. before presiding over the team¡¯s day-to-day operations during an actual season.