Why did the Washington Wizards fire Wes Unseld Jr. as head coach?

Wes Unseld Jr. has been moved to a front office advisory role, and the Washington Wizards are currently looking for a new head coach. The team stated that it will name an interim head coach later on Thursday, but it is unclear who will replace current head coach. There will be a thorough coaching search in the future offseason.

In July 2021, Wes Unseld Jr. was appointed coach of the Wizards. He was unable to turn the team into an Eastern Conference playoff contender. Washington has only won seven of its first 43 games this season, and another losing campaign is all but certain.

The Wizards, who are currently 14th in the standings, have dropped nine of their last ten games and five of their last six. Despite their struggles, Washington has a poor record, which increases their chances of being selected among the top picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The press release from the Washington Wizards explained their reasoning. It stated:

After joining the team for 2.5 years, Wes Unseld Jr. was unable to guide it to victory. The Washington Wizards won just 77 of their 207 games under the 48-year-old coach, so it seemed inevitable that they would hire a new coach to shake things up.

But Michael Winger, the team president, had nothing but praise for Unseld: