This was unexpected when the season ended but has seemingly become more and more likely in recent weeks.
The Wizards are “likely” going to keep Randy Wittman as coach next season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo.
That follows what Michael Lee wrote in the Washington Post late last week:A source with knowledge of the Wizards’ thinking recently described the situation as “an ongoing process,” adding that the team has no timetable to make a decision. Wittman and his assistants are still under contract for next season, lessening the urgency. But the silence – and lack of aggressiveness in pursuing other potential candidates – has raised speculation amongst agents and rival league executives that they all will be brought back.
A person who has spoken in recent weeks to President Ernie Grunfeld said “reading between the lines” from their conversations left the impression that Wittman would be retained. The person added, however, “Hey, I could be wrong.”
Wittman was 18-31 and that included a six-game winning streak to end the season. He certainly connected with and got more out of the roster than Flip Saunders, who was let go 17 games in (2-15). But confusing better than terrible with good would be a mistake. This is a roster that needs big changes and a locker room that needs a new culture. Is that Wittman.
The key reason to think it’s Wittman is nobody has come in for interviews. The Bobcats are conducting a coaching search and have brought in every coach East of the Mississippi River for an interview — and we know about it. Same with other coaching searches. You can’t keep those all that secret. The Wizards have made no steps, which implies they aren’t taking any steps.
But hey, I could be wrong.