The Washington Wizards are planning on promoting interim general manager Tommy Sheppard to the full-time job, per Fred Katz of The Athletic.
No formal contract materializes yet, but Fred Katz added than an “official announcement” could arrive next week.
The Wizards cut ties with its long-time chief decision-maker Ernie Grunfeld in April of 2019 but had never named his successor over the course of the offseason, including the draft and free agency processes. Instead, Sheppard was acting in command of general manager duties in Grunfeld's stead.
Under Sheppard, the Wizards selected Gonzaga product Rui Hachimura with the ninth overall pick in the draft in June along with trading for the draft rights to Tennessee's Admiral Schofield.
During the ongoing free agency period, which began on June 30th, Sheppard and the D.C. franchise handed out contracts to Isaiah Thomas and Ish Smith and re-signed 21-year-old center Thomas Bryant. Sheppard also traded veteran All-Star center Dwight Howard to the Memphis Grizzlies for forward C.J. Miles.
Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri was previously rumored to be a possible candidate to replace Grunfield in Washington, but that didn't really pan out as Ujiri remained firm to stay in Toronto. Sheppard, who was formerly the team's senior vice president, acted as interim GM without a full-time guarantee in the future.
Should he take over on a permanent basis, Sheppard faces the difficult job of handling the futures of Bradley Beal and John Wall and elevating the Wizards to playoff contention as soon as possible.
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