Sources: Wizards fire Wittman after 41-41 season
Randy Wittman has been told he will not be retained as coach of the Washington Wizards, sources told ESPN’s Marc Stein.
Wittman was informed of his dismissal Wednesday night after the team’s season ended with a 109-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, according to The Associated Press. Wittman went 178-199 in 4½ seasons with the Wizards, a .472 winning percentage.
NBA coaching sources tell ESPN.com’s Marc Stein that former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scotty Brooks is widely regarded as the Wizards’ preferred choice to replace Wittman, at least partly to assist with Washington’s long-held plan to chase D.C. native Kevin Durant in free agency.
After the season finale Wednesday, Wittman was asked about his job status and offered a defense of the job he did in Washington.
“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.”
He continued: “I’m proud of the work that I’ve done here. I really am. I’m proud of our guys. They played hard all the way to the end, playing for nothing. They gave me that. I’ll be here first thing in the morning. So if you want to come by, I’ll be here.”
Next season was to be the final year of Wittman’s three-year contract, which paid him more than $3 million per season but was not fully guaranteed.
Wittman took the team to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons since taking over for the late Flip Saunders in January 2012, but the team’s 41-41 finish this season was far below what prognisticators expected for the team this season.
