Ownership told Flip Saunders to play kids in Washington and that they understood losses would follow.
But when the Wizards started 2-15, without discipline, consistent effort or signs of improvement it was too much.
The Wizards have fired Saunders, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo. CSNWashington.com confirmed the move.
Current Wizards assistant and former Minnesota and Cleveland head coach Randy Wittman has been will take over for the rest of the season, the team announced. (Wizards fans, you need to hope that is it, he is not the answer. Remember what he did to a .500 Minnesota team when he took over for Dwane Casey?)
Players were told of the change after their 20-point loss to the Sixers last night — the kind of sad effort that typified why Saunders was let go. There were flashes of potential, like the win over Oklahoma City, but they became covered in a mountain of apathy from the players.
Saunders was a questionable fit in Washington, a good coach of veteran teams he struggled to reach the young players in Washington (he was 51-130 in a little over two seasons). When he was hired the Wizards had made the playoffs the year before and had veterans like Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas on the roster, but that blew up in an ugly way for reasons that were not Saunders fault. It became time to rebuild, and that’s not what Saunders does. There was a real lack of focus and professionalism in the Wizards locker room and Saunders couldn’t seem to instill it. Put Saunders coaching a veteran team and he can still do the job, but not every coach is made for a rebuilding project.
Washington needs a builder. They have talent — John Wall should be an All-Star, guys like Nick Young and JaVale McGee have talent — but right now the team seems to coast through games unsure of themselves or what to do. There needs to be real accountability in the franchise, starting with big men McGee and Andray Blatch, who are mentally inconsistent night to night.