Why Wes Unseld Jr. Was Fired as Wizards Coach Despite the Team’s Flawed Roster | Top Vip News

WASHINGTON – No moment, no loss led Washington Wizards executives to remove Wes Unseld Jr. as their head coach on Thursday.

The decision came about in an unmistakable pattern this season.

Although many players made individual improvements, the team as a whole continued to struggle, with very few exceptions. The defense seemed inept. Players’ efforts often lagged behind. The same mistakes were repeated game after game. And through it all, Unseld made no changes to the starting lineup when players were healthy and did not reduce the minutes of underperforming rotation players.

The Wizards won just seven of their 43 games this season under Unseld, but the turning point wasn’t the sheer number of losses. It was more about as They lost most of those games. Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger and Wizards general manager Will Dawkins couldn’t imagine things would improve this season if Unseld remained as coach.

“It became clearer that there was something less than our most competitive self,” Winger said during a news conference. “You kept feeling it and seeing it, and so did Wes. I mean, he saw it. He knew it. He felt it. And he gave her everything he had.”

The new front office gave Unseld an inherently flawed roster this season, with an undersized starting backcourt tandem of 6-foot-4 guard Jordan Poole, whose effort on defense is often lacking, and 6-foot point guard Tyus Jones. His height and length disadvantages impact the entire defense.

Until Washington acquired Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers and two future second-round picks on Jan. 14, Unseld was forced to deploy the immobile Danilo Gallinari, who played out of position, or Mike Muscala as a backup center.

But Winger and Dawkins concluded that Unseld should have made more improvements (and more fight) on the roster. The Wizards faced deficits of at least 22 points in 18 of their 36 losses this season with Unseld as coach.

“Specifically, we know our energy wasn’t always there,” Dawkins said during the news conference. “We know that our competitiveness was not always there. And defensively, there were nights that were unacceptable, and those are things we want to continue to work on. And we believe that a fresh voice here and now is what we need, and also (is necessary) to improve the future.”

Winger and Dawkins went out of their way to praise Unseld’s character and said Unseld will take on an advisory role within the team’s front office.

“We are a better organization because of Wes,” Winger said. “Our players are better individually because of Wes. In the six or seven months that Will and I have been here, we are better off because of Wes. And I am really grateful that he was here.”

Third-year forward Corey Kispert said he was “heartbroken for Wes” and added that Unseld “is a really good man.” Poole said he was grateful to Unseld for helping him adjust after his offseason move from Golden State to Washington.

But some players indicated Thursday that they felt they had not been held accountable enough.

When asked about the front office’s decision to elevate assistant coach Brian Keefe to the role of interim coach for the remainder of the season, Kispert offered a telling answer.

“BK keeps it real 100 percent of the time, he’ll tell it like it is and he won’t hold back for better or worse,” Kispert said. “And we need a good dose of that in this locker room. “If we want to grow and be the team we think we can be for the rest of the season, we need to be accountable for what we do and don’t do.”

Forward Kyle Kuzma said: “I think right now we’re seeing a shift in organizational mentality, and that’s defense and accountability, and I think those are the first two pillars that will be emphasized and something that’s been missing. over the last 40-odd games. … When you talk about competitiveness and effort, the number one teacher of that is the bench. So if you’re not doing that, if you’re not playing for your teammate, if you’re not giving it your all , you can come and learn on the bench, and I think that will have an impact.”

Unseld used the same starting lineup of Jones, Poole, forward Deni Avdija, Kuzma and center Daniel Gafford in 37 of Washington’s 43 games this season. In the other six games, Poole or Gafford did not play due to injuries.

Unseld compiled a 35-47 record during his first season as coach, a season marked by internal friction from players who were upset about their roles in the offense and by Bradley Beal’s wrist injury he suffered in late January. and that ended his season.

The Wizards went 35-47 last season as they once again suffered extensive injuries but also underperformed on defense. At the end of that season, team president and general manager Tommy Sheppard indicated there was not enough accountability.

The Wizards Ted Leonsis fired Sheppard in April. Leonsis hired Winger, and Winger then hired Dawkins. The franchise passed on Beal and drafted rookie but promising 19-year-old French forward Bilal Coulibaly. The new executives directed more resources to the franchise’s infrastructure.

In Not sold this season, Washington ranked 29th in the league in points allowed per possession, 25th in points scored per possession and last in defensive rebounding percentage.

Unseld’s supporters around the league (and there are many within the coaching profession) often point out that it would be difficult for any coach to find even a semblance of success with Washington’s roster.

But even in the early stages of their rebuild, Wizards management expected more from their team.

“We talked a lot internally about (how) we can tolerate losing a game where we were competitive for 48 minutes,” Winger said. “We can tolerate losing a basketball game in which we see the team improve as a collective. With 48 minutes of competitiveness left, with no collective progress in team basketball over time, regardless of individual improvement, we have a problem to address.”

In the weeks and months ahead, Winger and Dawkins will see if their determination was correct. They’ll see if the new voice Keefe will provide can really make a difference to the roster they’ve assembled.

(Top photo of Wes Unseld Jr. and Bilal Coulibaly: Tommy Gilligan/USA Today)