Immediately following the Washington Wizards’ season-ending victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, head coach Randy Wittman was shown the door.
Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post was the first with the news:
Randy Wittman will not return as coach of the Wizards next season, according to a source.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) April 14, 2016
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical then followed up the report with some specific insight into the Wizards coaching search, which seems to have already started in some capacity:
After the dismissal of coach Randy Wittman, the Washington Wizards have significant interest in pursuing former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks, league sources told The Vertical.
Wittman was fired after a disappointing 41-41 season on Wednesday night, and Brooks looms as a significant target for the Wizards, league sources said. There had been some movement within the Wizards to pursue Brooks during the regular season, but the Wizards are expected to be aggressive in the marketplace with Brooks, league sources said.
…
Brooks isn’t the only candidate on the list, which will include interest in former Suns coach Jeff Hornacek and Philadelphia 76ers assistant Mike D’Antoni, league sources said.
Oh me oh my: Mike D’Antoni and John Wall? Yes please.
That said, Scott Brooks looms as a serious upgrade, if only because of his ties to Kevin Durant. It’s not totally clear whether the 2013-14 MVP, a free agent, likes Brooks enough that he would add his former coach’s new digs to his list of potential destinations, but you can bet the Wizards will find out.
Jeff Hornacek is an interesting candidate as well. The Phoenix Suns’ locker room devolved rather quickly, and frequently, under his watch, but the team’s entire management structure is crud, so it’s unlikely he really ever received the help or support from up above that he needed.
This vacancy in Washington is one of the league’s more attractive gigs. Many times new head coaches are walking into a bone-bare roster. The Wizards already have John Wall. They are going to re-sign Bradley Beal. They’ll have cap space. Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre Jr. remain intriguing prospects.
The Wizards, then, will have no problems finding takers for their position.
They just need to figure whom they should give it to.
