The Washington Wizards have yet to formally announce who their next GM and team president will be, but whoever it is will have a lot on their plate from day one.
Ask nearly any disgruntled Washington Wizards fan for their list of complaints from the Dark Ages/when Ernie Grunfeld was team president, and you’re bound to get a laundry list of what wasn’t working. It’d probably be easier, or at least shorter, to ask for a list of what he was doing right. But then some fans might just give you silence.
To put it lightly, the new GM will have a lot of work to do. But the road to redemption in D.C. isn’t an impossible one, even if it is certainly an uphill battle.
In the aftermath of Grunfeld’s exit, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has been consistent in saying that he wants to take a step back before rushing into anything new. Before naming a new GM, the team will take a look at what didn’t work under Grunfeld and what is working elsewhere around the NBA.
Nothing has been officially announced yet, but names like Tim Connelly of the Denver Nuggets and Mike Zarren of the Boston Celtics are rumored to be in play. Working for a pair of playoff teams, they both have the proven success that Leonsis is looking for.
But no matter who ends up as the Washington Wizards next GM, there are four immediate areas they MUST focus on to make D.C. dominant again.