Washington Wizards Burning Questions: Does Wes Unseld Jr. Still Deserve Fans Patience?
The hiring of Wes Unseld Jr. as the head coach of the Wizards was a reason for excitement and hope for many fans. Moving on from the previous coach alone made many happy, and bringing in someone well respected and connected gave hope to many in the fan base.
Normally, it would be ludicrous to question whether a coach still deserves patience this early into his tenure. For this Wizards team, norms don’t apply much.
Unseld Jr. finally realized a three-man center rotation was beneficial to no parties before last night’s game. That alone could have been a step in the right direction, but how he handled it leaves more questions than there were originally.
Daniel Gafford has done nothing but earn more playing time. His reward? Not just taken out of the starting lineup but taken out of the rotation entirely. The result was a first quarter that saw the Grizzlies dominate the glass and set the tone for the three quarters that followed. Steven Adams dominated the glass early and the Griz dominated as a team for 48 minutes.
Arguments can be made that the team will be trading someone to open minutes back up or Gafford. Better arguments would simply say that he needs to be on the court regardless of who else is on the roster.