The Washington Wizards have engaged in preliminary discussions with Cleveland Cavaliers defensive coach Michael Longabardi about joining Scott Brooks' staff, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post.
The Wizards removed the interim tag from Tommy Sheppard's title on Friday, making him full-time general manager. He assumed the role upon the April firing of longtime general manager Ernie Grunfeld, first appointed in 2003. Washington interviewed several candidates for the position in the interim, and was publicly linked to Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, but ultimately decided to maintain a sense of the status quo by promoting Sheppard, who joined the Wizards 16 years ago and previously held the title of senior vice president of basketball operations.
According to The Post, Sheppard is expected to make several additions to the front office and coaching staff.
He's reportedly already spoken with Longabardi, currently associate head coach of the Cavaliers. The 46-year-old was hired to be Cleveland's defensive coordinator by Tyronn Lue in 2016, guiding the wine and gold to their first championship in franchise history mere months later with a stunning NBA Finals victory over the Golden State Warriors. Longabardi has prior coaching experience with the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, and Houston Rockets, who hired him away from Towson University in 2003.
The Wizards went 32-50 last season, losing John Wall for the foreseeable future when he ruptured his Achilles while falling at home in February. It's unclear when or if the franchise point guard will be able to take the floor in 2019-20, and even if he's healthy enough to return, Washington would still be most likely to finish the season hoping for luck in the lottery.
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