Brian Keefe proved to be the right head coach for the Wizards after being named to the position on an interim basis when the team fired Wes Unseld Jr. in January, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The organization hired Keefe as its permanent coach on Wednesday in a move that was highly expected and welcomed by Wizards players.
The final decision was made after talking with four to six candidates, who participated in the process even though Keefe was viewed as a clear favorite for the job, sources tell Robbins. Team officials wouldn’t confirm who they interviewed, but as we noted in our head coaching search tracker, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, Heat assistant Chris Quinn and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney were rumored to have received consideration.
The front office believes the Wizards showed improvement after Keefe took over, even though they were only 8-31. Robbins notes that the team displayed more discipline and resilience under Keefe, adding that the record isn’t an accurate measure because starting center Daniel Gafford was traded in February and point guard Tyus Jones was sidelined with an injury for the final month of the season. Keefe’s most impactful move was taking Jordan Poole out of the starting lineup and replacing him with rookie Bilal Coulibaly.
Keefe will begin working with general manager Will Dawkins to hire a coaching staff, Robbins adds. Most of the staff was fired after the end of the season, with assistant David Vanterpool as the only holdover.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Avoiding a major injury helped Magic guard Jalen Suggs make a breakthrough in his third NBA season, observes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Suggs was limited to 48 and 53 games his first two years, but he played 75 games this season and earned second-team All-Defensive honors as Orlando reached the playoffs. “This year was so much fun,” Suggs said. “I missed playing for something at the end of the year. I missed playing meaningful basketball games where it’s not just a set point to end the year. Now, it’s in your control, in your hands. We all learned a lot. It was good for us to go through this and carry this into the rest of our careers.”
- A maximum extension for Bam Adebayo this summer seems like a foregone conclusion, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, unless the Heat center opts to postpone negotiations for a year to see if he can qualify for a super-max deal by earning Defensive Player of the Year honors or making an All-NBA team.
- In his Hornets-themed mock draft, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer has the team selecting Connecticut guard Stephon Castle at No. 6 and Weber State small forward Dillon Jones at No. 42.