2021 NBA Offseason Preview: Washington Wizards
Despite enduring plenty of Bradley Beal trade speculation before and during the 2020/21 season, the Wizards never wavered on their stated plan to build around Beal. And the All-Star guard didn’t force the team’s hand by asking to be dealt, even after a dismal first two-thirds of the season that saw Washington get off to a 17-32 start.
Still, with the Wizards out of the playoff – and play-in – picture in early April, it looked like it might just be a matter of time until the team had to start seriously considering major offseason changes to the roster, the coaching staff, and even the front office. But a 17-6 finish to the regular season and a win in their second play-in game gave the Wizards a glimmer of hope heading into the summer, even if their playoff run was short-lived.
That run in April and May wasn’t enough to save Scott Brooks‘ job, however. The Wizards and their head coach were unable to agree to terms on a new contract, leaving the team in the market for a new coach, with Wes Unseld Jr. and Jamahl Mosley among a handful of finalists.
As for whether the team’s second-half success was enough to stave off major front office and roster changes, that remains to be seen. But for now, it looks like the plan is to hope a new coach and some tweaks to the roster will help buoy a core group led by Beal and Russell Westbrook to greater heights in 2021/22.
The Wizards’ Offseason Plan:
As long as Beal and Westbrook remain on the Wizards’ books, the team’s options for revamping the roster around them are somewhat limited. The star duo is earning a combined $78MM in 2021/22, over two-thirds of the projected $112MM cap.
Washington’s next two highest salaries belong to Davis Bertans ($16MM) and Thomas Bryant ($8.67MM), who would each likely be expendable in the right trade this offseason. Bertans’ contract, which still has four years on it, would be trickier to move than Bryant’s expiring deal.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Bryant is in the Wizards’ plans going forward — he missed nearly all of the 2020/21 season with an ACL tear and may not be back to 100% by the fall. Daniel Gafford, who is on a minimum-salary contract, emerged as a legitimate option at the five in the spring, but the team will need at least one more center with Alex Len and Robin Lopez facing free agency.
Besides Len and Lopez, the Wizards will have to make decisions on free agent guards Ish Smith, Raul Neto, and Garrison Mathews. All played roles in 2020/21 and would be worthwhile investments as long as their price tags remain modest.
However, re-signing more than one of their free agents, hanging onto their first-round pick, and not dumping any contracts in trades could put the Wizards’ team salary pretty close to the tax line, preventing the team from making use of its full mid-level exception. Without that mid-level, Washington’s best hope of upgrading its roster will be on the trade market, with Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, the No. 15 pick, and future first-rounders among the club’s most appealing assets.
It will be crucial this offseason to get a clear sense of where Beal stands. If the Wizards believe they can convince him to sign a contract extension this summer, or re-up with the team in 2022, trading some of those young players and draft assets for a win-now piece might make sense. If Washington feels Beal’s commitment to D.C. isn’t iron-clad, hanging onto those assets – and potentially even shopping Beal before he reaches free agency – may be the right play.
Salary Cap Situation
Note: Our salary cap projections are based on a presumed 3% increase, which would result in a $112.4MM cap for 2021/22.
Guaranteed Salary
Russell Westbrook ($44,211,146)- Bradley Beal ($33,724,200)
- Davis Bertans ($16,000,000)
- Thomas Bryant ($8,666,667)
- Rui Hachimura ($4,916,160)
- Deni Avdija ($4,692,840)
- Chandler Hutchison ($4,019,459)
- Total: $116,230,472
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Daniel Gafford ($1,782,621)
- Anthony Gill ($1,517,981) 1
- Caleb Homesley ($1,517,981)
- Total: $4,818,583
Restricted Free Agents
- Isaac Bonga ($2,079,826 qualifying offer / $2,079,826 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $2,079,826
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 15 overall pick ($3,383,640)
- Total: $3,383,640
Extension-Eligible Players
- Chandler Hutchison (rookie scale)
- Bradley Beal (veteran)
- Thomas Bryant (veteran)
- Daniel Gafford (veteran)
- Russell Westbrook (veteran)
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Ian Mahinmi ($23,175,077): Bird rights 3
- Robin Lopez ($8,760,000): Non-Bird rights
- Ish Smith ($7,800,000): Early Bird rights
- Alex Len ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights
- Raul Neto ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights
- Shabazz Napier ($1,669,178): Early Bird rights 3
- Ty Lawson ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights 3
- Ramon Sessions ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights 3
- Total: $48,080,967
Offseason Cap Outlook
The Wizards’ seven guaranteed contracts, Gafford’s non-guaranteed salary, and the No. 15 pick add up to approximately $121MM in commitments for nine roster spots. That puts Washington’s team salary well over the cap.
The tax line projects to be in the $137MM range for 2021/22. Depending on how they fill out the back end of their roster, the Wizards could have just enough flexibility to make use of the full mid-level exception. If they take on any additional salary in trades or re-sign certain free agents, they’ll likely be limited to the taxpayer MLE.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,536,000 4
- Bi-annual exception: $3,732,000 4
- Trade exception: $2,161,920
- Trade exception: $1,000,000
Footnotes
- Gill’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 7.
- Because he has been on a two-way contract with the Wizards for two seasons, Mathews is eligible for a standard minimum-salary qualifying offer.
- The cap holds for these players remain on the Wizards’ books from a prior season because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- These are projected values. If the Wizards approach or cross the tax line, they may forfeit these exceptions and instead gain access to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.9MM).
Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders, RealGM, and ESPN was used in the creation of this post.
Draft Decisions: Agbaji, Cockburn, Dickinson, Wong, More
Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji has decided to withdraw from the 2021 NBA draft and will return to school for his senior year, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Agbaji, who was the No. 67 prospect on ESPN’s big board, averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game for the Jayhawks last year, knocking down 37.7% of his three-point attempts in 30 games (33.7 MPG). Agbaji projected as a potential second-round pick, according to Givony, who refers to him as one of the best defenders at the NCAA level.
The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants in this year’s draft is on Wednesday, so there are plenty of other prospects making decisions on their future today. Here are a few of the other early entrants who are pulling out of the draft and returning to school:
- Warith Alatishe, F, Oregon State (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports)
- Maurice Calloo, F, Oregon State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Kofi Cockburn, C, Illinois (Twitter link via Andrew Slater of Pro Insight)
- Hunter Dickinson, C, Michigan (link via Jonathan Givony of ESPN)
- Remy Martin, G, transferring to Kansas from Arizona State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Jaden Shackelford, G, Alabama (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Roman Silva, C, Oregon State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Deon Stroud, G, Fresno State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Sidney Wilson, G/F, SIU-Edwardsville (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Isaiah Wong, G, Miami (link via Givony)
While a number of prospects are removing their names from the 2021 draft pool, some early entrants have made the decision to go pro. UCLA’s Chris Smith is one, posting a farewell message to Bruins fans on Instagram. Sources tell Rothstein (Twitter link) that Saint Louis forward Hasahn French is also going pro rather than returning to college.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 7/6/2021
Our live chat took place today from 12-1 pm central time.
Click here to view the transcript of today’s chat.
Rockets Adding Chris Wallace, Matt Bullard To Front Office
The Rockets are hiring Chris Wallace and Matt Bullard to positions in their front office, according to reports from Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link) and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
Wallace, a longtime NBA executive who has decades of experience in front office roles, previously served as the general manager for both the Celtics and the Grizzlies. He was re-assigned to a scouting job when Memphis shook up its basketball operations department in 2019.
According to MacMahon, Wallace will join the Rockets as the team’s director of scouting. As MacMahon explains, Houston has prioritized adding experience and expertise to its front office around general manager Rafael Stone, making an effort to invest in infrastructure during the organization’s rebuilding period.
As for Bullard, his résumé looks quite different than Wallace’s. A former NBA forward for the Rockets, Hawks, and Hornets, Bullard transitioned to broadcasting after he retired. He had been a television analyst on Rockets broadcasts for the last 16 years, up until an announcement last month that AT&T SportsNet Southwest wouldn’t be renewing his contract for the coming year.
Bullard’s exact role is unclear, but he’ll become the third former player in Houston’s front office, joining Ed Pinckney and Chuck Hayes, Feigen notes.
Ian Mahinmi Announces Retirement
Veteran center Ian Mahinmi has decided to call it a career, announcing his retirement during an appearance on ‘NBA Extra,’ a show produced by international outlet beIN Sports (video link).
Mahinmi, 34, made his NBA debut in 2007, but was playing professional basketball well before then, spending time with multiple French clubs beginning in 2003. After being selected 28th overall in the 2005 draft by the Spurs, he was a draft-and-stash prospect in France for two more years before coming stateside.
Mahinmi appeared in 618 total regular season NBA games for the Spurs, Mavericks, Pacers, and Wizards, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 16.8 MPG. The big man, who also played in 67 postseason contests, won a title with Dallas in 2011 and was a beneficiary of the 2016 salary cap spike, signing a four-year, $64MM contract with Washington during that offseason.
That ended up being Mahinmi’s last NBA contract, as he went unsigned when he reached unrestricted free agency in 2020. We heard in April that he was one of the options the Heat considered before they signed Dewayne Dedmon, but Mahinmi ultimately didn’t catch on with any team in 2020/21, prompting him to decide to hang up his sneakers this summer.
As he transitions to the next phase of his career, Mahinmi will be involved with NBA Africa as one of the investors in the venture, per beIN Sports.
Nicolò Melli, Troy Daniels To Join Olimpia Milano?
Former NBA guard Jerian Grant recently signed a contract with Olimpia Milano, and it doesn’t appear the Italian team is done acquiring players with NBA experience.
According to a pair of reports from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Olimpia Milano is also on track to sign veteran power forward Nicolò Melli and is close to reaching a deal with free agent shooting guard Troy Daniels.
Melli, 30, played for Olimpia Milano from 2010-15 and has spent time with a handful of other European clubs since beginning his pro career in 2007. He made his NBA debut in 2019 with the Pelicans and has since appeared in a total of 105 games (15.3 MPG) for New Orleans and Dallas, averaging 5.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.2 APG on .392/.316/.745 shooting.
Melli was involved in the March trade that sent J.J. Redick from the Pelicans to the Mavericks and played a part-time role for Dallas down the stretch. However, it seems his NBA career won’t continue, as the 6’9″ Italian sounds poised to return home. Melli is also expected to play for Italy in the Olympics later this month after helping the team earn a spot in last week’s qualifying tournament.
Daniels, meanwhile, has appeared in 339 career regular season NBA games, but didn’t catch on with a team for the 2020/21 season. His last stint in the NBA came in ’19/20, when he averaged 4.3 PPG on .387/.348/.625 shooting in 47 games (11.3 MPG) for the Lakers and Nuggets.
If Daniels finalizes a deal with Olimpia Milano, it’ll be his first time playing overseas, Carchia notes.
Willie Green, Charles Lee Among Top Candidates To Coach Pelicans
Suns assistant Willie Green and Bucks assistant Charles Lee are “prominent” candidates in the Pelicans‘ head coaching search, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Earlier in the process, Nets assistant Jacque Vaughn was considered the frontrunner to replace Stan Van Gundy as New Orleans’ new head coach, but he withdrew from consideration last week for family reasons. Now, it appears the Pelicans have their eye on two other veteran assistant coaches. New Orleans’ own assistant, Fred Vinson, has also interviewed for the position, Stein notes.
A former NBA shooting guard, Green transitioned into the coaching ranks in 2016, working with the Warriors as an assistant for three seasons before making the move to Phoenix in 2019. He has been on Monty Williams‘ staff for the last two years and has generated some buzz as an up-and-coming head coaching candidate, having also talked to the Wizards and Magic about their vacancies.
Lee is also a former shooting guard, having played at Bucknell from 2002-06 and then in international leagues until 2010. After joining his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2012, he was hired as part of Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Atlanta in 2014. Lee followed Budenholzer to Milwaukee in 2018 and – like Green – is now receiving head coaching interest from multiple teams — he’s said to be one of the Wizards’ finalists.
Green and Lee are set to face one another in the NBA Finals, beginning on Tuesday night.
While many candidates have been linked to the Wizards’ and Magic’s head coaching jobs, things have been relatively quiet on the Pelicans front. Besides the names mentioned above, Pelicans assistant Teresa Weatherspoon has been the only other contender confirmed to be in the mix, and David Griffin downplayed the chances of her being promoted. It’s possible New Orleans’ search has been fairly narrow, but it’s just as likely that a number of meetings have gone unreported.
2021 NBA Offseason Preview: Golden State Warriors
After bottoming out during the 2019/20 season, the Warriors appeared well-positioned to return to contention in the Western Conference in ’20/21. They were getting healthy and were poised to land a top young talent with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
However, just hours before the 2020 draft got underway, word broke that Klay Thompson had suffered another major leg injury — after tearing his ACL in June 2019, the veteran sharpshooter tore his Achilles in November 2020.
It was a brutal setback for Golden State and put a major dent in the team’s plans of getting back into the title mix. Given the top-heavy construction of the roster, there simply wasn’t enough depth to make up for the loss of a two-way impact player like Thompson, whose defensive ability on the wing were missed nearly as much as his floor-spacing and shot-making contributions on offense.
A superhuman effort from Stephen Curry nearly sent the Warriors to the postseason anyway. Ultimately though, the team lost two play-in games and finished in the lottery for a second straight season. Golden State will once again enter the offseason with the opportunity to add some young talent to the roster in the draft, while waiting for Thompson to finish rehabbing a major injury.
The Warriors’ Offseason Plan:
Curry is 33 years old; Thompson and Draymond Green are 31. The Warriors can’t count on those stars – who helped earn the team three titles during the 2010s – to continue producing at their current or previous levels indefinitely. That puts the team in an awkward spot.
In James Wiseman and a pair of lottery picks, Golden State has the pieces to put together a tantalizing trade package for a veteran star whose timeline would match up better with that of Curry, Thompson, and Green. However, the Warriors have seen first-hand during the last two years how quickly a major injury or two can derail a team’s season, making the prospect of going all-in with the current core a little risky.
If the Dubs were to take a more patient approach, they could potentially develop a next generation of impact players who could help smoothly transition from the Splash Brothers era into whatever comes next, ensuring Golden State remains a playoff team for years to come. But if those youngsters aren’t ready to contribute right away, the team risks wasting away Curry’s last few prime years without getting back to the Finals.
It’s a predicament without an easy solution. If there were a star player in his early- or mid-20s on the trade market, the Warriors could feel confident trading the farm and counting on that player to be the cornerstone for the next era of Bay Area basketball. But the only player who really comes close to fitting that bill is Ben Simmons. Are the Warriors ready to put all their eggs into the Simmons basket following his playoff collapse? Would the win-now Sixers even be interested in the sort of package Golden State could offer?
There’s a middle ground here — a deal in which the Warriors give up one or two of Wiseman and the lottery picks for a win-now piece could make the team a title contender without going all-in. And perhaps there are players besides Simmons who will emerge as logical trade targets for the franchise. Pascal Siakam‘s name has popped up in at least one rumor.
It’ll be fascinating to see which direction the Warriors go with Wiseman and those draft picks, but there are other issues for the team to address this offseason too. If the club doesn’t re-sign Kelly Oubre, getting something back in a sign-and-trade would be nice. Determining whether to use the taxpayer mid-level exception will come down to how much more money ownership is willing to add to its tax bill now that Golden State is a repeater team.
And, of course, the Warriors will have to determine whether they feel comfortable offering Curry a maximum-salary extension before he reaches free agency in 2022. A four-year max extension would pay him nearly $54MM(!) per year for his age 34-37 seasons.
As good as Curry was this past season, there’s a very real chance that deal would turn into a liability before it’s over — the 2025/26 cap hit would be a staggering $59.6MM. The organization may decide the risk is worth it, given Curry’s résumé, but if he’s willing to take a discount or accept a deal that’s not fully guaranteed on the back end, it would increase the Warriors’ long-term flexibility.
Salary Cap Situation
Note: Our salary cap projections are based on a presumed 3% increase, which would result in a $112.4MM cap for 2021/22.
Guaranteed Salary
Stephen Curry ($45,780,966)- Klay Thompson ($37,980,720)
- Andrew Wiggins ($31,579,390)
- Draymond Green ($24,026,712)
- James Wiseman ($9,166,800)
- Kevon Looney ($5,178,572) 1
- Jordan Poole ($2,161,440)
- Eric Paschall ($1,782,621)
- Juan Toscano-Anderson ($1,701,593)
- Shaun Livingston ($666,667) — Waived via stretch provision.
- Total: $160,025,481
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Gary Payton II ($1,977,011) 2
- Damion Lee ($1,910,860) 3
- Mychal Mulder ($1,782,621
- Alen Smailagic ($1,782,621) 4
- Total: $7,453,113
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 7 overall pick ($5,466,360)
- No. 14 overall pick ($3,562,080)
- Total: $9,028,440
Extension-Eligible Players
- Stephen Curry (veteran)
- Kevon Looney (veteran)
- Eric Paschall (veteran)
- Alen Smailagic (veteran)
- Andrew Wiggins (veteran)
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Kelly Oubre ($21,562,500): Bird rights
- Kent Bazemore ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights
- Matt Barnes ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights 6
- Andrew Bogut ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights 6
- Jonas Jerebko ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights 6
- David West ($1,669,178): Early Bird rights 6
- Total: $29,908,390
Offseason Cap Outlook
If they hang onto their players on guaranteed contracts and their two lottery picks, the Warriors will be committed to over $169MM in salary for 11 players.
While we expect a certain amount of offseason roster shuffling that could reduce team salary to some extent, the idea that Golden State will get below the cap – or even below the luxury tax line (projected to be in the $136-137MM range) – seems pretty far-fetched. Count on the Warriors to have another big tax bill in 2021/22.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Taxpayer mid-level exception: $5,890,000 7
- Trade exception: $2,250,000
- Trade exception: $1,824,003
Footnotes
- Looney exercised his player option for 2021/22.
- Payton’s salary becomes partially guaranteed ($659,004) after August 11.
- Lee’s salary becomes partially guaranteed ($500,000) after August 15.
- Smailagic’s salary becomes guaranteed after August 6.
- Because he’ll have four years of NBA service, Bell is ineligible to sign another two-way contract.
- The cap holds for these players remain on the Warriors’ books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- This is a projected value.
Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Mid-Level Exception
The mid-level exception is the most common way for over-the-cap NBA teams to sign free agents from other clubs for more than the minimum salary. It ensures that each team heads into the offseason with a little spending flexibility, even if that franchise is deep into luxury-tax territory.
Each team is eligible to use a specific type of mid-level exception depending on its proximity to the salary cap. The most lucrative form of mid-level is available to teams that are over the cap but below the tax apron. Clubs deep into the tax, and even those under the cap, have access to lesser versions of the MLE. Here’s a breakdown of how all three forms of the exception are structured:
For over-the-cap teams:
- Commonly called either the full mid-level exception, the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception or simply the mid-level exception.
- Contract can cover up to four seasons.
- First-year salary was worth $9,258,000 in 2020/21.
- First-year salary is projected to be worth $9,536,000 in 2021/22.
- Once used, the team cannot surpass the “tax apron” (approximately $6MM+ above tax line) for the remainder of the season.
For teams above the cap and the tax apron:
- Commonly called the taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
- Contract can cover up to three seasons.
- First-year salary was worth $5,718,000 in 2020/21.
- First-year salary is projected to be worth $5,890,000 in 2021/22.
For teams with cap room:
- Commonly called the room exception.
- Contract can cover no more than two seasons.
- First-year salary was worth $4,767,000 in 2020/21.
- First-year salary is projected to be worth $4,910,000 in 2021/22.
Each form of the mid-level allows for annual raises of up to 5% of the value of the first season’s salary. Last offseason, we broke down the maximum total salaries that players signed using the mid-level exception in ’20/21 could earn. Those numbers can be found right here.
Teams can use their entire mid-level exception to sign one player. Several clubs went this route in 2020/21, including the Celtics (Tristan Thompson), Clippers (Serge Ibaka), Lakers (Montrezl Harrell), Trail Blazers (Derrick Jones), Suns (Jae Crowder), and Jazz (Derrick Favors).
However, clubs are also allowed to split the mid-level among multiple players, and that’s a common course of action. For instance, the Kings used their MLE to complete four separate signings in 2020/21, devoting parts of it to Robert Woodard, Jahmi’us Ramsey, and Chimezie Metu (twice). Sacramento signed Metu using the mid-level, waived him, then used the MLE again to re-sign him later in the season.
Players drafted in the second round often sign contracts for part of the mid-level because it allows teams to give them contracts for more years and more money than the minimum salary exception provides. Woodard and Ramsey were both second-round picks in 2020 whom the Kings signed using the MLE.
Without the MLE, Sacramento would have been limited to two-year deals starting at $898,310 for those two rookies. The mid-level allowed the Kings to pay them more, sign them to longer deals, and to ensure they’ll have full Bird rights if they play out their contracts, rather than just the Early Bird rights they’d have after two years.
Some front offices prefer to leave all or part of the mid-level exception unused in the offseason so it’s still available near the end of the regular season. At that point, a contender could use its MLE to try to sign an impact veteran on the buyout market.
A non-contending club, on the other hand, could use its MLE to lock up an intriguing developmental player to a long-term contract, like the Heat did at the end of the 2018/19 campaign with Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn. Both players, who signed in the season’s final week, would have reached restricted free agency in 2020 if Miami had used the minimum salary exception to sign them to two-year contracts instead of using the MLE to negotiate three-year deals.
Near the end of the 2020/21 season, the Thunder used a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Gabriel Deck to a four-year contract with a salary worth $3.87MM in ’20/21. That oversized first-year salary, made possible by the MLE, gave Oklahoma City the leverage to make the rest of the contract non-guaranteed.
Unlike the bi-annual exception, the mid-level exception can be used every season. So whether or not a team used its mid-level in 2020/21, each club will have the opportunity to use some form of the MLE when the 2021/22 league year begins.
Under the old Collective Bargaining Agreement, the mid-level exception increased annually at a modest, fixed rate. However, under the current CBA, the mid-level increases – or decreases – at the same rate as the salary cap, ensuring that its value relative to cap room remains about the same from year to year. We’ve estimated 2021/22’s MLE figures based on the NBA’s projection of a 3% salary cap increase — a more substantial cap increase would mean next season’s mid-level is worth a little more too.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and the Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.
Wizards Identifying Finalists In Head Coaching Search
Having moved through the first phase of their head coaching search, the Wizards are identifying finalists and are zeroing in on a handful of assistant coaches from around the NBA, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Jamahl Mosley (Mavericks), Darvin Ham (Bucks), Charles Lee (Bucks), and Wes Unseld Jr. (Nuggets) are among the candidates who remain in contention for Washington’s coaching job and who will meet with the team again, Wojnarowski reports. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Mosley and Unseld are also serious candidates to fill the Magic‘s coaching vacancy.
While some clubs that have sought a new head coach this offseason have made it a priority to land a candidate with previous head coaching experience, it appears the Wizards are very open to the idea of hiring a first-timer. Virtually all of the candidates linked to Washington throughout the process – including those listed above – lack head coaching experience.
As we’ve noted in previous stories, hiring Unseld would perhaps be the best story for the Wizards, since his father was a D.C. legend who played for the team and held various positions with the organization following his retirement. However, Mosley, Ham, and Lee are all also accomplished assistants who have worked for multiple NBA teams and who have received head coaching interest in the past.
In addition to the Wizards and Magic, the Pelicans also continue to search for a new head coach, as our tracker shows.