Wizards hire Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr. as new head coach
from Erin Walsh with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
The Washington Wizards have found their next head coach.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wizards have hired Denver Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr. as their next head coach. The deal is for four years, Wojnarowski adds.
The news comes after Wojnarowski reported Friday that Washington had offered Unseld its vacant head-coaching position.
Unseld has been an assistant under Michael Malone with the Nuggets since 2015. Before that, he worked as an assistant for the Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors and the Wizards, getting his start with the franchise as a scout out of college.
Unseld is the son of Hall of Famer Wes Unseld Sr., who spent his entire career with the Wizards and remains the franchise’s all-time leader in games, minutes played and rebounds. He starred on Washington’s only championship team in 1978 and later went on to work as a vice president, head coach and general manager for the Wizards.
Unseld replaces Scott Brooks, who parted ways with the Wizards in June after his five-year contract came to an end.
Jamahl Mosley, Darvin Ham and Charles Lee were also reportedly among the finalists for the Wizards head-coaching position.