In the midst of a disappointing season, the Washington Wizards officially fired president Ernie Grunfield on Tuesday.
The dismissal comes less than a week after the team was mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. For just the second time in the last six seasons, the Wizards have missed the playoffs.
This puts the entire organization in a pickle. Washington has some talent, and kept itself afloat for most of the year. But there are clearly pieces missing. Should the team rebuild or go for it once more next season? On Tuesday, team owner Ted Leonsis gave his take.
Via Fred Katz of The Athletic:
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis on if the Wiz are closer to playoffs or a rebuild: "I’m hitting a reboot. I want to figure out together what the right strategy is & that would be way premature to say, ‘Here’s what our strategy should be on the go-forward.' We’re in deep exploration" pic.twitter.com/xPNxn34Uwh
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 2, 2019
In his response, Leonsis did not commit to a rebuild, nor did he commit to building a contender. But he admitted that the organization needs a reboot. Leonsis noted that Grunfield hired much of the organization. The team will need to find a new president of basketball operations, and re-work the organization from there.
The Wizards are in the midst of a serious title drought. They have not won the NBA Finals since the 1977-78 season. This season, the team is 32-46, well behind the 38-39 Miami Heat at the back end of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Washington has some significant talent on their roster, most notably All-Star Bradley Beal and the injured John Wall. But between Wall's injuries and underperformance elsewhere on the roster, the Wizards just couldn't put it together this year.
The team is also set to lose starting forward Trevor Ariza to free agency this offseason, among others.
Leonsis and whoever he fires to fill the team president vacancy will have their work cut out for them this summer.
Follow Us
Subscribe