Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld was disappointed by the failure to make the playoffs but insists his team has a strong foundation for the future, according to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Washington fired coach Randy Wittman shortly after the 41-41 season came to a close. “The players tell you what to do, and I thought we were very inconsistent this year,” Grunfeld said. “That’s probably the only consistent thing about us: We went up and down. And there was no sense of urgency. I don’t think we played with the type of energy on a nightly basis that you need to achieve the kind of goals that we had. We had high expectations internally and externally.” Grunfeld will lead the search for the Wizards’ next coach and says he has already heard from agents for several interested applicants.
There’s more tonight from the Eastern Conference:
- The trade that brought Tobias Harris to the Pistons emerged right before the deadline, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “His name wasn’t even out there for us until two days before we did the deal,” said coach/executive Stan Van Gundy. “We were really surprised.” Harris averaged 16.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game after arriving from Orlando, helping Detroit secure its first playoff spot since 2009 and the first of Harris’ career.
- Center Miles Plumlee is looking forward to next year after the late-season surge that made him a key part of the Bucks‘ rotation, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel. “I’m just really thankful for the opportunity to get out there and play,” Plumlee said. “I love the game. I love the team here. I think we’re building something really special and I hope to continue to be a part of it.” Plumlee completed his four-year rookie scale contract and will enter restricted free agency this summer.
- Sean Marks started fining players for showing up late after taking over as Nets GM, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Several players confirmed to Lewis that frequent lateness was a problem with the team.
I love when guys making millions can’t be bothered to – literally – show up on time , which as the old saying goes, is half of the game. Good for Marks. There may be hope for Brooklyn if their owner isn’t hauled away to Siberia by Putin.
Marks seems like a take-charge guy who can clean things up in Brooklyn. Management is going to have to show a lot of patience, though, as he probably won’t have a first-rounder for the next three drafts and it’s a tough sell to get top free agents to join a losing organization.