The Wizards won’t be breaking barriers or ceilings. They’re just sticking with experience for this go round.
On Tuesday, the Washington Wizards announced the coaching staff under Wes Unseld, Jr. for the 2021-22 NBA season. Here are the coaches:
- Pat Delany — Delaney was most recently with the Orlando Magic from 2018-21 and the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets (2014-18), both in assistant roles. He was the head coach of the G-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce in the 2013-14 season and was also with the Miami Heat for over a decade.
- Joseph Blair — Blair was with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2020-21 NBA season and the Philadelphia 76ers the year before. He was the Head Coach of the G-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers and led them to the championship in 2019.
- Mike Miller (not the former player) — Miller was most recently with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season as an assistant but has some NBA head coaching experience where he was in an interim role with the New York Knicks in the 2019-20 season. Miller was also the head coach of the G League’s Westchester Knicks from 2015-19 before being called up to the NBA team.
- Zach Guthrie — Guthrie was an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks last season but was with the Utah Jazz from 2015-20, spending his last four seasons there as an assistant coach.
Unseld has kept Ryan Richmond and Dean Oliver as assistant coaches for next season. The release also noted that Alex McLean is the Wizards’ new Director of Player Development.
In short, it appears that Unseld drew heavily from a team of assistant coaches who were have G League head coaching experience. In fact, three of his four assistant coaches were leading a G-League team before going to the NBA as assistant coaches.
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