ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast that Sixers assistant Sam Cassell & Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr are “two of the leading candidates” for the Wizards head coach opening.
Cassell is a native of Baltimore, which is just a short ride up I-95 from Washington, DC, and he also spent five years on the bench as an assistant coach with the Wizards from 2009-2014. Former Wizards guard John Wall has been on the record saying that Cassell was instrumental in his development as an NBA point guard. As for Unseld Jr, he also is a native of Baltimore and spent time as an assistant with the Wizards. Unseld Jr was on staff from 2005-2011, before spending time with the Warriors, Magic, and then the Nuggets since 2015 under Mike Malone. Probably his most notable connection to the franchise though is that his father, Wes Unseld is one of the best players in franchise history, having spent his entire 13-year playing career with the Bullets, winning the franchise’s only championship in 1978. He then went on to coach the team for a year as an assistant, and then six as the headman in charge from 1988-1994.