My Thoughts on Wes Unseld Jr. Returning for Year Three 

     Per Joshua Robbins of The Athletic, Wizards Head Coach Wes Unseld Jr is returning for a third season. Unseld Jr. is entering the third year of a four-year contract. The fourth and final year is a team option, so he could very well be coaching for his job next season. 

     Although Unseld Jr. has severely underperformed and many fans want him fired, this move should come as no surprise. Wizards’ owner, Ted Leonsis, is a businessman first. He was never going to pay Wes to not coach his team. Ted has always let coaches finish out their deals, so this meets the status quo. 

Through 161 games as Wizards Head Coach, Wes Unseld Jr’s resume is as follows: 

• Career record: 69-92 
• 0 playoff/play-in appearances 
• Largest blown halftime lead (35) in NBA history 
• NBA-leading (7) blown 15-point leads resulting in a loss this season 
• Back-to-back blown 20-point leads this season 
• 10-game losing streak 

Does Unseld Jr. truly deserve another shot? You be the judge. 

     What frustrates me is that these past two years have been horrible to say the least. WUJ inherited two very talented rosters and has failed to finish higher than 12th in a bad Eastern Conference. What more do you have to see to figure out he’s not the man for the job? 

     And I understand the history of his father being a legend in this organization, but that should have zero effect on his job security. The fact of the matter is that he’s been given everything needed to succeed and hasn’t. This is the lack of accountability within this organization that’s precisely why we’ve been treading water for years. 

     And it’s not like the roster is getting an overhaul next year. We’re running it back with the same group of guys plus a lottery pick. Our same big 3 that he is going to finish 13th in the East with will be back. What has he shown that makes you think he can make a drastic change in ‘23-’24? 

     One area I will give Wes credit for is his game planning. We always seem to come out hot and compete for the first 12 minutes. The problem is that the other team adjusts, and Wes can’t answer. He waits too long to call timeouts when the opponent strings together a run and allows them to crawl back into the game. It’s a big reason why we lead the league in blown leads. 

     If he’s going to be back next season, he needs to improve his in-game philosophy because what he’s doing isn’t it. We, as fans, have no choice but to hope that Wes takes a leap from year two to year three. It’s all we have at this point. But don’t get it twisted. If Wes was the head coach of a competent organization and had this resume after two years, he would be looking for a new job. End of story. 

Credit: Twitter.com/JoshuaBRobbins for the Unseld Jr. news.