Written by Jorge Castillo at WashingtonPost.com
The Washington Wizards’ disappointing 41-41 season has left them home for the playoffs and has already claimed its first casualty. Coach Randy Wittman was informed by Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld on Wednesday night that he will not return as head coach for the 2016-17 campaign, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Wittman was informed of the decision at Verizon Center minutes after Washington finished its 2015-16 season with a 109-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks, the same team that eliminated the Wizards from last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
After improving their win total and making the playoffs each of the previous two seasons, the Wizards had aspirations of reaching at least the Eastern Conference finals. Instead, they will watch as the postseason starts Saturday without them. The 56-year-old Wittman just completed the second season of a three-year deal that paid him more than $3 million annually, but next season was only partially guaranteed. Wittman compiled a 178-199 record in four-plus seasons.
“I love this job,” Wittman said following Washington’s 109-98 season-ending victory. “I’m going to come to work until they tell me I can’t.”
A few minutes later, Wittman was pulled aside and given the news.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done here. I took over four-and-a-half years ago and this was a sideshow. And we slowly changed the culture of this team. And we had a slip-up this year.”
The team is expected to call a Thursday afternoon press conference to formally announce the move.
Grunfeld, who retooled the roster last offseason with this summer’s salary cap space in mind, is under contract for at least next season. He is expected to return for his 14th campaign in his position. If he does, he’ll oversee his fifth coach during his tenure and, barring an extension, will likely not have his contract aligned with the new coach. Potential candidates to replace Wittman include Scott Brooks and Jeff Hornacek.
To continue reading this article, click here.
