Wizards show their trust in Coach Unseld Jr. by picking up team option
By Cem Yolbulan
It is not often that a head coach who goes 35-47 in back-to-back seasons gets the fourth-year option of their contract picked up by the team. It’s even less expected if the management that hired you in the first place is no longer there because of these disappointing finishes. The common sense suggests that when there is a new front office in place, they will want to bring in their own personnel. That’s what everyone expected of Michael Winger and Will Dawkins. However, in rather surprising fashion, the Washington Wizards decided to pick up the fourth-year option on coach Wes Unseld Jr.’s contract.
This all but guarantees that Unseld Jr. will be the coach of this team for the next two seasons. Of course, he could still get fired at some point if things go way south but that seems unlikely during a rebuilding era.
This is a strong show of support for Unseld Jr. from the new front office. It also demonstrates the patient and mature way of thinking of the new management.
Having Unseld Jr. in a lame-duck situation where he would be fighting for his job and fielding questions about it all season would have put everyone in an uncomfortable position. Instead, they elected to give him an extra season to fully evaluate him.
Plus, there are no immediate expectations to win and compete this season. Unseld Jr. made a name for himself as a developmental coach as an assistant, and a rebuilding team with plenty of young players might be a more ideal situation for him. That is what the new front office might have in mind.
Moreover, the Wizards don’t really know what they have with their roster yet. This is going to be an evaluation season for everyone. Immediately bringing in a high-profile, high-paid head coach might not make sense for where the franchise is right now.
Yet, that can still be an option two years down the line. If Unseld Jr. fails to help develop the likes of Bilal Coulibaly or Deni Avdija in that time span, it’s hard to see him get a contract extension. For now, it’s nice to see the front office and the coaching staff working together and trusting one another to build a long-term contender from the ground up.
