Wizards make decision on coach Wes Unseld Jr.’s future

The Washington Wizards have delivered their verdict on head coach Wes Unseld Jr.

Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports this week that the Wizards intend to keep Unseld as their head coach for the 2023-24 NBA season.

“He is our coach moving forward,” Washington GM Tommy Sheppard was quoted as saying of Unseld.

The decision comes amid disappointing finishes to both of Unseld’s first two seasons in charge of the Wizards. They are 34-45 this year and were recently eliminated from a play-in tournament berth. Last season, Washington was also a sub-.500 team, going 35-47 and also missing the play-in stage.

Robbins notes that Unseld, whose contract runs through 2024-25, has had to balance high roster turnover, exacerbated by a lack of availability by the Wizards’ star players. Namely, the trio of Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma has played in just 35 games together this year.

Washington could look very different next season with both Porzingis and Kuzma having the ability to become free agents in the summer. But even if there have been signs that Unseld is not extremely popular with the players, his job will officially be safe heading into the next NBA campaign.