The Wizards were officially eliminated from the postseason race on Tuesday night and have fallen short of their preseason expectations, but the team’s disappointing season won’t cost head coach Wes Unseld Jr. his job.
Unseld will retain his position as Washington’s coach entering the 2023-24 season, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Unseld, whose contract runs through the 2024-25 season, was hired by the Wizards to replace Scott Brooks in 2021. In his two seasons since taking the head coaching reins, Unseld has led the team to a 69-92 (.429) overall record and has missed the postseason in back-to-back years.
As Robbins notes, Unseld arrived in D.C. with a reputation as a defensive tactician, but hasn’t improved Washington’s unit, which placed 20th in defensive rating in the last season under Brooks. That ranking dipped to No. 25 last season and is at No. 20 again this year.
Despite the team’s underwhelming performance under Unseld, he has supporters, according to Robbins, who suggests that the Wizards’ relative lack of two-way players and injury woes have been factors in their struggles. Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma have played together just 35 times this season, though it’s not a great sign that Washington hasn’t played particularly well in those games, either, going just 16-19.
It will be a big offseason for the Wizards, who are expected to attempt to negotiate new contracts with Porzingis and Kuzma and are in position to secure a top-10 pick in the draft lottery. The team will likely enter the fall anticipating a playoff-caliber season, with Unseld facing increased pressure to deliver on those expectations.
