“Try not to be the piece that messes everything up, because they’re already on a good run,” Jennings said Friday morning. “The hardest thing is to try to come in and try to pick it up, so I have to come in and just play hard every night.”

Although Jennings said other teams expressed interest after his departure from the Knicks, he felt strongly about signing with the Wizards (36-24, third in the Eastern Conference). The style of play matches his own up-tempo pace.

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“The way that John [Wall] plays, the way that the whole team plays. I just felt like I could be a help off the bench. Just bringing energy and just running the second unit,” Jennings said. “Me and John been going at it since high school days. His progression, he’s one of the top point guards in the NBA. Top three to me. Just the fact that he can go get 20 points and also get 10 dimes a night. That’s big.”

Also, Jennings has a working relationship with Jason T. Smith — the two created a “pretty cool connection” on pick-and-pops while playing together in Orlando for parts of last season — as well as Wizards assistant coach Maz Trakh from their days with the Detroit Pistons.

A common theme here: Jennings has been around. Washington is his fourth team in two years, but in all these travels Jennings has not seen much action beyond April. While speaking to reporters, Jennings needed a moment to remember his last postseason appearance.