The Wizards fired “a number of staff members” yesterday, Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN have reported.
However, that group did not include interim head coach Brian Keefe or assistant coach David Vanterpool, who remain with the organization.
According to ESPN’s duo, Washington’s front office is set to begin its “formal search” for a new head coach, with Keefe in consideration for the full-time position.
It wasn’t explicitly stated, but we’re assuming the report was referring to members of the team’s coaching staff, since Keefe and Vanterpool were singled out as coaches who were retained, at least for now. Several of Washington’s assistant coaches can be found right here.
The coaching staff had a mix of new and returning assistants entering the 2023-24 season. Former head coach Wes Unseld Jr. was moved to an advisory position in late January, which is when Keefe took over as interim coach. Instead of completely shaking things up mid-season, the Wizards decided to wait until their season ended to make additional changes.
Washington is reportedly looking for a “development-minded” head coach with a search officially underway. In the first season of their rebuild, the Wizards compiled the second-worst record in the NBA (15-67); that’s also the worst mark in franchise history.
Keefe was a longtime NBA assistant before becoming the interim coach, having made previous stops with the Thunder, Knicks, Lakers and the Nets. Wizards went 8-31 under Keefe in ’23-24.
A Maryland native whose lone NBA season as a player came with Washington, Vanterpool is another experienced assistant who has received head coaching consideration in the past. He has previously worked for Portland, Minnesota and Brooklyn.
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