Well, if the owner is being honest, then I question his intelligence. I think anyone with any basketball knowledge could look at the Wizards situation, and see the team isn't going to be competing for a championship anytime soon. There are at least 3 teams, probably 4, that are far better than the Wiz in the east, and if by some miracle they could actually get to the championship game, they'd probably go down four straight. At the moment, they're in salary cap hell. They're in the same situation the Clippers were in prior to parting ways with Griffin, Paul, and Jordan.
If the Wiz do nothing, they'll have 6 players under guaranteed contracts. Wall, Porter, Beal, Mahinmi, Howard, and Troy Brown. Those combined salaries add up to $116,766,930.00. The projected cap for next season is 109 mil. So they'll be almost 8 mil over the cap with 9 more roster spots to fill. They have 4 players that will become restricted free agents if qualifying offers are extended. Tomas Satoransky, Thomas Bryant, Sam Dekker, and Chasson Randle. If extended, that would add another $11,465,031.00 bringing the total salaries up to $128,331,961.00. The projected luxury tax for next year is $132,000,000.00. And that would leave the Wiz 3.8 mil under the luxury tax threshold with 5 more roster spots to fill.
There is no possible way that I can see for the Wiz to get under the luxury tax threshold without getting rid of a big salary, and it does them no good to take equal salary back in return, at least in the short term. Now the owner can say what he wants, but unless he's a total idiot, and can't see that his team is going nowhere, and loves to just throw money away, I don't believe him.