Washington is certainly a big market city. But the Wizards aren’t perceived to be a big market team.
The Washington WIzards’ search for a new general manager is ongoing. All we assume is that Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis won’t be hiring this executive from in-house. Besides that, the Wizards have been very tight-lipped about who they may want to bring on.
Ava Wallace of The Washington Post recently wrote about the disconnect between how the Wizards may be trying to position themselves and how they probably should approach this search. Going after Masai Ujiri, the Toronto Raptors’ President of Basketball Operations is a big-time move. However, Leonsis doesn’t seem willing to give the next GM “carte blanche.” After all, Wes Unseld is supposed to return as the head coach.
So Wallace suggested that Washington approach this next search like a midmarket city franchise. While the Wizards are in a big-market city, they aren’t able to attract most marquee free agents. And fans of the city just want to watch good basketball. Wallace suggested some names, like Tim Connelly and Trajan Langdon whom we have written about earlier. But she also suggested Milwaukee Bucks assistant Milt Newton who was with the Wizards earlier for most of the 2000s.
Do you feel the Wizards are better off getting a GM who is more of a “meat and potatoes” guy instead of a “big ticket” like an Ujiri? Let us know in the comments below.