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Yahoo! Sports reports that Flip Saunders, formerly the head coach of the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves, will be the next head coach of the Wizards. League sources told Yahoo! Sports that Saunders comes to the team on a four-year, $18 million deal. Saunders -- who has done pretty much everything one can do in terms of coaching professional basketball but win a NBA championship -- will take over the helms after this season is up, an away game from now. Current interim coach Ed Tapscott will likely return to the front office.
Saunders, whom the Wizards have been chasing after for quite some time, is a fine coach -- his resume includes a 587-396 career record. He took the Pistons to their best regular-season record (64-18 in the 2005-06 season) and led the previously moribund Timberwolves to their first playoff appearance in 1996-97 and to 50 wins in both the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 seasons. Saunders also knows how to work with young players exceedingly well, fostering Kevin Garnett and others -- an ability that stems from his time in the "minor-league" Continental Basketball Association, of which he is considered the best coach of all time, winning two titles and promoting 23 players to the NBA.
That said, Saunders' reputation as a solid coach has done little to prevent him from getting tough breaks during his career. His dismissals from both the Pistons and T'Wolves were incredibly questionable at best: his departure from Minnesota owes to a Molotov cocktail of exceedingly poor front office management and maniacally egotistical players. His Detroit dismissal can be attributed to, well, terribly unlucky playoff matchups: He couldn't get past Dwayne Wade's Heat in 2006, LeBron James in 2007, or Boston's Big Three last year. Not many other coaches could, either, but he was nevertheless fired in Detroit. Canning him has clearly paid dividends: In their first season after Saunders' departure, Detroit barely made the playoffs and will finish under .500.
Their loss, the Wizards' gain -- as far as this team goes, Saunders is probably the best hire that the Wizards could have made. Of course, things can only get better for the team: With a solid nucleus returning next season and a very high lottery pick in the bag, Flip should have plenty to work with to return the team to respectability.
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Yeah this is really going to make a difference. What a safe an uninteresting hire this is. Blah. Mediocrity 4 ever!
Easy Sean Jean. Who do you think we should hire? Who would even come here?
I for one appreciated some positive news about the Wiz. We had a playoff contender for four consecutive seasons prior to this year. I wouldn't call that mediocrity, especially if you were around for the previous years of dreadfulness.
Saunders is a proven winner. As long as he makes the Wiz competitive and fun to watch I'm happy.
Not a bad hire. I would have preferred to see Avery Johnson on the sideline, but Flip's a solid coach. Now, if the draft lottery works out, the Wiz have a very strong chance of acquiring Blake Griffin, who I think should make an immediate impact, and should really flourish under Saunders's tutelage, given his success with younger players in the past. Here's hoping this is the bottom and that next year, there will be no talk of a high lottery pick.
Just a bit more of a risk. I don't know who is out there, but I'm sure that option is available. Saunders is a proven mediocre coach, which fits in pretty well with the Wizards I suppose.
Also, the previous Wizards teams were the definition of mediocrity. Middle of the road playoff team which regularly exited the playoffs in the first round. That's mediocrity my friend. Not trying to be personal, just realistic. Just because it was better than being godawful doesn't make it any less mediocre.
Holy triple post. I only pressed once. Not sure how that happened.
Take it easy, Jigglypuff, you're gonna put everyone to sleep.
Looks like comments are being a little bit wonky. Sean Jean, I took the liberty of cleaning things up a bit.
Thanks :)
Sensible hire - he's a good enough coach to not be an issue. The pressure should be squarely on the players - who must improve (especially the younger guys).
As a Pistons fan I can tell you he will get you nowhere in a hurry. Yes he has a solid offense scheme but he is horrible at defense and making adjustments. All those playoff scenarios listed above could have been avoided had he made the proper adjustments in game or at halftime. The Wiz may make the playoffs with him at the helm, just dont expect to get past the second round. Good regular season coach/horrible playoff coach. Look at the numbers. 587-396 in the regular season and a putrid 47-51 in the playoffs with teams he could have won with.
Also he tries to be too buddy buddy with his players and lacks any discipline with them. He avoids confrontation like the plague. Thats never a good trait with any coach in any sport.