Despite winning Wednesday nights game against the Atlanta Hawks, the Washington Wizards gave Head Coach Randy Wittman his walking papers. Wittman, who became head coach after taking over for Flip Saunders, has spent 4 and a half seasons as head coach. It wasn’t easy serving as head coach of a team that historically had a troubled past. No one will ever forget the 2009 incident that took place between Gilbert Arenas and his then teammate Javaris Crittenton when Arenas decided to pull a gun on his teammate. This incident was just one of the many the Wizards would like to forget.
According to ESPN Wizards President Ernie Grunfield made a statement on behalf of the franchise regarding the decision. “There were high internal and external expectations for this team coming into this season based on the momentum we had generated over the previous two years. Unfortunately, the inconsistency of the team’s performance and effort, particularly on our home court, did not allow us to meet those expectations and we decided a coaching change was needed.” He went on to say that: “Randy should be commended for the job he did in taking over as head coach during a very difficult time for our franchise and for helping to establish a culture and identity that led to success. ”
Randy Wittman went 178-199 in four and a half seasons, a .472 winning percentage yet it was not enough to allow him serve of the final year of his three year contract that ended after next season. He was paid more than $3 million per season, but the money was not fully guaranteed. This is the first time in three seasons that the Wizards have missed the playoffs, ending with a 41-41 record.
After Wednesday’s game closing out the season Wittman was asked about his position as head coach and explained to reporters: “I love this job,” he said. “I’m going to come to work until they tell me I can’t. I’m proud of what we’ve done here. I took over 4½ years ago, and this was a sideshow. And we slowly changed the culture of this team. And we had a slip-up this year.”
An hour later, Wittman was informed that he would not be returning next season. The Wizards are now looking for a head coach that can bring in Kevin Durant and make them a playoff bound team again.
Randy Wittman has released a statement after his dismissal. pic.twitter.com/30HK4zkZBg
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) April 14, 2016
