On the day his two new bosses, Wizards GM Will Dawkins and Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger, were introduced to the media, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. joined Craig Hoffman to reveal his thoughts on the new front office.
Spoiler: He likes it.
“Both are very impressive, and you can look at their resumes coming from winning programs,” Unseld said. “We’ve had limited conversations, but you can tell there’s a vision and a plan, and they want to take their time to vet what we have in-house and then take a step back once they have the lay of the land and hit the ground running. Having to go through this transition can be uneasy, but now that we have these two in place, it’s exciting, and we feel like we’re headed in the right direction.”
Unseld was with new VP of Player Personnel Travis Schlenk in Golden State for a year and with Dawkins last summer on a Basketball Without Borders trip, and he interviewed with Winger for a job with the Clippers, so he has limited knowledge of all three, and has had positive conversations so far.
“Michael’s reputation precedes him, very forward-thinking and collaborative in nature but has a serious side, which bodes well for us,” Unseld said of Winger, the one of the three he knows the least.
The head coach was not involved in any of the hiring process, although he was kept abreast of timelines, but he thinks that the trio that was hired fit Leonsis’ desires and what the organization needs to a T.
“They come from winning traditions, and understand some of the smaller things that don’t always surface day-to-day but translate to winning,” Unseld said.
Going forward, he’s coaching a team that will be brought together by the vision of the franchise, but it’s up to him in earnest to develop the team’s identity, and there are some things to build on.
“We have to look at the characteristics that embody Wizards basketball. Upgrading our competitiveness is paramount, and we talked a lot about identity at our exit meetings,” Unseld said. “Because we had guys in and out so much, it changed how we played at times, so finding a consistent level regardless of who is available is important, because it gives you more consistency. And, the one thing we can control is our shot diet; we don’t want to play in a box, but modernizing our style would help quite a bit.”
That’s not personnel-driven, even though you do want to play to the strengths of your personnel, but the entirety of the concept can overcome deficiencies in Unseld’s eyes. Defense was his calling card coming to DC, and the Wizards haven’t been great there, but he has some ideas.
“The rankings aren’t where we want to be, but I do think we’ve done some good things schematically,” the head coach said. “The things we need most attention on are transition defense, and the ability to close out and guard one-on-one; outside of scheme, some of it is will and want, and some of it is mindset, taking more pride individually in that ability to guard your yard.”
So how does Unseld instill all that into the Wizards, whatever they may look like this fall, and how does the new front office help in that regard?
“It’s a fine balance, with a degree of accountability that comes from staff and a degree that comes from within,” Unseld said. “With Travis, Will, and Michael, it’s important we’re all echoing the same message, even if the delivery comes in different ways. Having that synergy is important, so no matter where they turn, they’re hearing the same on what we want to prioritize and the standards we will hold to.”
Listen to Unseld’s entire interview with Hoffman above, which includes some talk on the possible futures of the Big 3, Bradley Beal’s best role, and his thoughts on his former team, the Nuggets, being up 2-1 in the Finals!
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