The Washington Wizards have found their man in new head coach Wes Unseld Jr. Like Unseld, the Wizards targeted assistant coaches looking for their first chance to be a head coach in the NBA.
It appears to have been a direction steered by owner Ted Leonsis. Leonsis, who also owns the Washington Capitals and part of the Washington Mystics, seemingly took issue with former head coach Scott Brooks, who Unseld is replacing.
The Wizards introduced Unseld Jr. Monday during a press conference. That’s when Leonsis chose to take a swipe at Brooks and second-time head coaches.
“Sometimes when you’re a head coach, a second- and third-time head coach, I don’t think you work as hard,” Leonsis said per Fred Katz of The Athletic.
That’s a bold statement by the Wizards owner. Brooks was a second-time head coach with the Wizards. Brooks had coached the Oklahoma City Thunder for seven seasons, leading the team to the 2012 NBA Finals before being fired in 2015.
Still, it’s a questionable statement given the amount of success repeat head coaches have had recently in the NBA. See Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel, who won an NBA title last season. All four head coaches in the Conference Finals this season were repeat head coaches, including Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns and Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks who have their teams playing in the NBA Finals.
But it was evident Leonsis had one second-time head coach in mind. He continued speaking on the expected differences with Unseld Jr. while jabbing at Brooks deeper.
“I looked at our team and there were times when I thought we lost games we shouldn’t have,” he said. “Yes, defensively, but I just think having a work ethic and a demanding style will be a really, really good point of differentiation for us.”
The Wizards hired Brooks in 2016, receiving a five-year contract in which he was able to coach through. He guided the team to the postseason three times, and in his first season got one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, the next four seasons fell below expectations with two first-round exits in the playoffs and two seasons in which the Wizards failed to make the playoffs. The Wizards grew stale with its roster structure and style of play. Coupled with a major injury to John Wall and a series of bad contracts, the team never came close to the expectations that proceeded them after a strong 2016-17 season.
Not even the acquisition of Russell Westbrook to pair next to Bradley Beal could restore the team back to its winning ways. A 34-38 record was disappointing despite the Wizards nabbing the eighth-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. After their first-round exit to the 76ers in five games, Brooks’ five-year contract expired. It was then, Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard decided to part ways and search for a new head coach.
“Players all in the exit interviews, when we talked to them about what we were lacking and how we can improve, they talked about the little things,” Leonsis added. “They talked about defensive intensity. They talked about communications.”
The Wizards were one of the worst defensive teams the last three seasons under Brooks. Meanwhile, Unseld Jr. as an assistant, helped turn around the Denver Nuggets defensive presence that lead them to an appearance in the West Conference Finals in 2020 and a contender in 2021.
Washington expects to see the difference just in the approach and work ethic of Unseld Jr. that the team may have been missing with Brooks.
