Former Washington Wizards Coach Randy Wittman Good Fit For Philadelphia 76ers

Former Washington Wizards head coach Randy Wittman would be a solid fit with the Philadelphia 76ers, who are looking for an assistant

Randy Wittman was reportedly a candidate for several NBA head coaching positions after he was fired by the Washington Wizards immediately following their final game of the season in April.

The open coaching positions – all 30 of them, as it seemed – have been filled and Wittman is still at home looking for a new hobby that he could occupy his time with.

While we can all imagine Wittman finding a love for cooking, slowly mixing pasta or burning a batch of cookies, the NBA-lifer is going to want to coach very soon. Wittman had been involved in the NBA since he was drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1983 as a player and coach.

Wittman is one of those people who loves basketball more than anything in life. He’s going to be back and he found enough success in Washington to patch up his otherwise broken coaching resume.

For three straight seasons, the Washington Wizards had a .500+ record under Wittman and reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals twice. They were awfully close to making the Conference Finals in 2015, but the injury bug bit them at the most inopportune time.

The league and the sport as a whole has changed a lot since Wittman began his career in the NBA. As a 3-point shooter himself, Wittman tried to implement a modern system in D.C. and failed miserably, mostly due to personnel reasons.

Washington did not have the players that were capable of playing in an increased pace-and-space system, and Wittman took the fall.

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Despite being a lame duck coach this past season, Wittman still did a solid job of keeping the locker room together when things could have easily gotten ugly.

Wittman, to his credit, maintained a positive outlook and never considered this past season as his last in Washington, even though reports of his eventual firing began to pick up around All-Star break.

Washington Wizards fans and pundits – myself included – have been calling for Wittman’s firing for quite some time, but that doesn’t mean he’s a “bad” coach.

By most standards, Wittman had actually done quite well for himself during the last three years of his stint in Washington.

In 2012, the Wizards began the season without John Wall due to injury and were destined to visit the NBA Lottery again for the umpteenth time. Washington could have easily folded, but Wittman rallied his troops and they finished with around a .500 record in the second half of the season.

Wittman, a clearly stubborn, often narrow-minded coach, was someone whom the team always respected.

He did what he could with a poorly constructed roster this past season, exceeded expectations several times the years prior and found a somewhat long-term gig after being hired merely as an interim four years ago.

There are teams in the NBA, like the Philadelphia 76ers, that need an assistant coach and could benefit from having someone like Wittman on the bench.

Mike D’Antoni, who was hired to assist Brett Brown in Philadelphia, recently took the post with the Houston Rockets, leaving the coaching vacancy with the Sixers.

Bryan Colangelo, the team’s new general manager who’s clearly not once beloved tank commander Sam Hinkie, wanted to hire P.J. Carlesimo as D’Antoni’s replacement, but the veteran coach has opted to stay in broadcasting instead, according to Marc Stein.

"Sources told ESPN.com that Carlesimo had strong interest in the Philadelphia post and in reuniting with his former colleague in San Antonio, Sixers head coach Brett Brown, and new Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo, with whom Carlesimo worked in Toronto.But Carlesimo, sources say, ultimately decided to continue in his dual TV and radio broadcasting roles, which allow him to spend more time with his family."

Philadelphia needs an assistant coach who’s familiar with all different types of situations and Wittman might be that guy. Wittman has been a part of torturous losing seasons, winning seasons and ones that were ruined by injuries. He’s seen it all.

Wittman hasn’t been considered one of the league’s best at player development, but that wouldn’t be an issue in Philadelphia since they’ve employed several others who are solely there to help develop the young players.

Given the situation in Philadelphia and the tanking they’ve been a part of over the past several years, they need a coach who’s going to keep the players accountable and help them get better at things that will make the team a winning one soon: defense.

Now that Colangelo is leading the rebuild for the Sixers (much to the disappointment of Philadelphia fans), the team will likely make signing veteran players a priority this summer. Having a veteran coach along side Brown, who’s only been a head coach of the miserable Sixers in the NBA, is necessary.

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Wittman is not going to want to keep baking those cookies at home. At some point in the near future, we’re going to see him on the sidelines again. So, why not in the City of Brotherly Love?